Grand Falls Casino

After a huge collision near the end of the flight, John Dennehey emerged as the overwhelming chip leader for Day 1B and will carry the overall chip lead into Day 2 of the MSPT 156 Main Event at Grand Falls.

Dennehey bagged 443,000 chips to lead the way with Cy Church finishing second at 293,000. Gary Germann finished third scoring 204,500 followed by Steve Belland in fourth with 171,000 and Justin Saathoff rounding out the top five at 161,500.

Notables who came up short today included past MSPT champions Jonathan Kim, Alan Ahmann, Mark Wadekamper, Ervin Bjerga, Peixin Liu, Jason Seitz, Jason Sell and defending champion Ryan Skluzak. Also missing the cut were Alex Winter, Kim Rasmussen, Kanat and Umut Ozturk.

Day 1B added another 102 entries and combined with the 73 from Day 1A making the final total for the tournament 175 entries. 12 more players managed to find their way out of the flight and will join the other 11 players from Day 1A so 23 players will be back in action on Day 2. Cards will be back in the air Sunday at 11 AM Central as the quest to crown the next MSPT Main Event champion will resume.

We will be back tomorrow with Day 2 coverage of the MSPT 156 Main Event at Grand Falls as we resume coverage here on msptpoker.com at Grand Falls Casino & Gold Resort from outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It should be an incredible day of action so please join us here on the Mid-States Poker Tour!

At the very end of the night Leroy Dubray, in the big blind, was stuck in a rough situation with only a chip and chair. Dubray Was all in for 500, along with two other all ins, Jonathan Kim and Justin Saathoff.

Kim:
Dubray:
Saathoff:

The flop showed , giving Kim the flush possibility and Dubray the bottom pair.

The turn card put Dubray in the lead with two pair but the river counterfeited him and the pot got shipped to Saathoff, eliminating Kim and Saathoff.

Jason Reisdorfer just put Jonathan Kim into big trouble.

Kim bet out 8,000 chips and Gerald Cunniff called but Reisdorfer went all-in for his remaining 56,000. Kim got a count and then made the call. Cunniff folded and the cards were turned up with Reisdorfer holding against Kim’s . The board ran out and Residorfer moved to 122,000 with Kim reduced to 24,000.

Amazingly, we still stand at 16 players left with twenty minutes left to play in Day 1B.

John Dennehey just took complete command of the tournament as the two biggest stack of the flight collided.

Eric Atchison raised to 8,000, Dennehey re-raised to 24,000, Atchison four-bet to 70,000, Dennehey moved all-in for 233,000 and Atchison made the call.

Dennehey turned over Atchison trailed with .

The board ran out to ship the massive pot over to Dennehey, who now stands at a whopping 473,500 chips (118 bb) and Atchison went down to just 25,000. We still sit at 16 players left as we play on with a new chip leader this evening.

Jesse Rockowitz raised the blind to 6,500, on the button and action started to heat up.

John Dennehey re-raised in the small blind to 26,000 and Dustin Harter made his move for 54,500, in the big blind.

Rockowitz bailed and Dennehey made the call.

Dennehey:
Harter:

With Harter only having three outs, he hits the flop with .

Dennehey was now in much need of an ace but the turn failed with the and the river gave him the two pair, but it wasn’t enough. Harter got the double up he needed,

Dustin Harter - 116,500 (39 BB)
John Dennehey - 233,000 (78 BB)

No sense in wasting time.

Leroy Dubray moved all-in for his last 23,000 chips and Jonathan Kim raised to 55,000 clearing out the rest of the table. Kim turned over and Dubray was in a race for his tournament life holding . Kim’s engine got blown at the line when the flop came out giving Dubray Broadway right off the bat. The board ran out and Dubray doubled to 47,500 to stay alive. We remain at 16 players still standing as play continues in Day 1B.

MSPT Champion Jason Sells shoved under the gun for 44,000 only to be called by Gary Garmann in the middle position, the action folded around back to Sells who rolled over , Garmann tabled . The Flop The Turn The Riversending Sells to the rail.

Eric Atchison is looking to not just advance but put away the chip lead in tonight’s flight.

On a board, Justin Saathoff checked and Atchison bet out 15,000 chips. Saathoff called and the came out on the turn. Both players checked bringing the on the river. Saathoff checked again and Atchison bet out 40,000 sending Saathoff into the tank. After taking the time to make a decision, Saathoff called and Atchison turned over for a straight. Saathoff mucked and Atchison took the pot moving him to 310,000 chips (124 bb).

We are now down to 16 players left as Day 1B moves closer toward a conclusion this evening.

Steve Belland started the action immediately as he raised the bet to 7,500. Eric Eelkema decided to jam in his stack for 68,000 and the two large pairs battled it out.

Belland:
Eelkema:

The flop wasn’t much help for Eelkema with the and he was in dire need of another hook or the runner-runner straight.

The turn card ruined Eelkema’s straight possibility and was down to two outs. The river sent Eelkema packing with the and Belland kept stacking.

Steve Belland - 200,000 (67 bb)
Eric Eelkema - eliminated