Submitted Photo Wendy Rupert, left, tournament owner, posed with 2025 North Dakota Texas Hold’em Championship winner Josh Siegler of Rugby, who claimed first place and $20,000 during the final year of the charity tournament held in Minot Friday-Sunday, Dec. 26-28.

The 2025 North Dakota Texas Hold’em Championship concluded over the weekend in Minot, marking the final year of a long-running charity poker tournament that was created to boost trade, tourism and traffic to the Minot area.

The top 10 finishers in the final championship were:

– Josh Siegler, Rugby, first place, $20,000.

– Kellen Hunter, Minot, second place, $9,000.

– Kelly Kaelberer, New Salem, third place, $4,500.

– Chris Wilson, Reston, Manitoba, fourth place, $2,500.

– Adam Boivin, Stanley, fifth place, $1,475.

– James Bohlman, Rugby, sixth place, $1,200.

– Whitney Bell, New Town, seventh place, $1,000.

– Patrick Johnson, Mandan, eighth place, $900.

– Garrett Dahle, West Fargo, ninth place, $800.

– Ed Nemetchek, Swan River, Manitoba, 10th place, $700.

Competitors from 40 states and 11 countries traveled to Minot to participate in the final championship held Friday-Sunday, Dec. 26-28 at the Sleep Inn & Suites. Founded in 2004, the tournament was held 18 times, with organizers pausing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This tournament is retiring due to circumstances beyond our control,” said Wendy Rupert, the tournament’s owner. “We’ve had a great run over the last 21 years.”

Rupert said the event was originally designed as a marquee tournament intended to draw visitors to Minot while giving players a professional-level poker experience.

She said the goal was “to create a marquee event to draw in trade, tourism and traffic to the Minot area.”

Modeled after the World Series of Poker, the North Dakota championship mirrored the structure and competitiveness of nationally recognized poker events while maintaining a community-focused, charitable mission.

Since its inception, the tournament has paid out more $1.6 million in prize money and recorded 19,259 total entries. The largest field in the tournament’s history occurred in 2011, with 1,852 entries.

Over the course of the tournament’s run, three champions hailed from Minot and two from Rugby, highlighting the strength of local competitors alongside the event’s national and international draw. Organizers said increased traffic and tourism tied to the tournament generated an estimated $17 million in economic impact for the Minot community.

Stephanie Schoenrock, executive director of Visit Minot, said events like the championship play an important role in the local economy.

“These events, big and small, are very important to our community,” Schoenrock said. “They draw in a lot of tourism, and Minot really moves the needle from events like this. It’s people like Wendy Rupert who work so hard to make these events possible.”

Winners received a coveted title trophy, a championship bracelet and prize winnings.