Out of more than 1,400 players from 22 states, as well as Canada, Gregg Dahle, of Carpio, emerged as the winner of the N.D. Texas Hold’em Championship Monday. He took home $45,000 from the weekend tournament.

Dahle said poker is a common skill in Carpio.

“We have a strong poker group,” he said, mentioning Carpio has had “many players” in the top three spots since the tournament began.

The tournament is held annually at The Vegas Motel in Minot. The Minot State University Alumni Association sponsors the event, and part of the proceeds from the tournament go toward MSU scholarships.

Most players in the tournament came from cities across North Dakota. Eight of the top 10 players were from North Dakota. Second-place winner Tom Gullickson, winning $20,000, is from Hazen. The third-place prize of $13,000 went to Virgil Olson of Loring, Mont.

Dahle had placed second in 2010. He’s the first player to return to the final table and claim the top prize. Vincent Racine of Dunseith, who took ninth place and $4,000, had been at the final table for his third time.

Fourteen percent of the players this time were from three Canadian provinces. Ten percent of the players were female.

The tournament, modeled after Las Vegas tournaments and sometimes referred to as being a smaller version of the World Series of Poker, paid out $162,000.

For more information on the tournament, those interested can call The Vegas Motel at 839-3000 or see the ND Texas Hold’em Championship page on (Facebook.com).