Potawatomi Casino

Luke Arora Seeks Back-to-Back Titles; 64 Advance from Day 1b Field

Day 1b of the Mid-States Poker Tour Potawatomi Hotel & Casino attracted 292 runners, which meant with Day 1a's 246 entrants the field swelled to 556 entries. That crushed the advertised $200,000 guarantee by creating a $556,000 total prize pool. That will be distributed to the top 54 finishers – a min-cash will be worth $2,151 – with the eventual winner taking home $129,077.

The man best positioned to make a run at it, at least from the Day 1b field, is Richard Bai of Schaumburg, Illionois, who bagged up the chip lead among the 64 survivors with a stack of 299,000. However, when the 113 surviving players from both starting flights combine at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Illinois' Abraham Montenegro, who bagged 387,500 on Day 1a, will lead the pack.

Rounding out the top five Day 1b big stacks are James Calvo (210,500), Miroslav Semanisin (201,500), Luke Arora (199,500), and John Zawaski (174,000). Aurora's run is of particular interest as less than a week ago he won the MSPT Running Aces Main Event for $83,773, which you can read about here. Can Arora (pictured above) possibly go back-to-back?

Others who advanced to Day 2 include Larry Ormson (152,000), defending champ Dan Goepel (148,000), Mike Holm (145,500), MSPT Pro Blake Bohn (85,500), Wisconsin State Poker champ Andy Rubinburg (61,000), MSPT bestbet Jacksonville Regional winner Blake Whittington (60,600), and two-time MSPT champ Dan Sun (60,000).

Of course not everyone was so lucky. Those to take a shot (or two) on Day 1b only to fall were Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon, Josh Reichard, Jeff Fielder, former champ Jason Mirza, MSPT Pros Matt Alexander and Matt Kirby, Ralph and Aaron Massey, and the talkative Howard Hankin, star of the MSPT's popular To Hell w/ Howard video series of Facebook.

Day 2 will kick off at 11 a.m. CDT on Sunday. The plan is to play through the money all the way down to a winner, so be sure to check back then as we bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the floor of the MSPT Potawatomi Main Event.

End-of-Day 1b Chip Counts

Richard Bai is the Day 1b chip leader with 299,000.

Richard Bai Salamberg, IL 299,000
James Calvo Naperville, IL 210,500
Miroslav Semanisin Wisconsin Dells, WI 201,500
Luke Arora Arden Hills, MN 199,500
John Zawaski Oak Lawn, IL 174,000
John Schray Chicago, IL 169,000
Larry Ormson Elroy, WI 152,000
Dan Goepel Harland, WI 148,000
Mike Holm Naperville, IL 145,500
Mike Burns Oshkosh, WI 145,500
Chad Petrie Waukesha, WI 145,000
Kyle Cruse West Bend, WI 139,000
Brad Livermore Milwaukee, WI 137,500
Shane Thorne Sheboygan, WI 136,000
Ken Daciolas Chicago, IL 120,500
Kirby Rogers Verona, WI 117,000
Florencio Arevedo JR Hobart, IN 116,500
James Engelbrecht Manitowoc, WI 111,500
Byron Ziebell Hales Corners, WI 111,000
Keith Lutz Chicago, IL 106,000
David Lojeski Racine, WI 104,500
Spiro Lempesis Rockford, IL 103,500
Scott Vetter Washington, IL 99,000
Thomas Ruzecki Roundlake, IL 93,500
Michael Gorby Aligo Viejo, CA 91,500
Leroy Cheeseman Milwaukee, WI 88,500
Mike Paul Springfield, VT 87,000
Blake Bohn Burnsville, MN 85,500
Michael Roenneburg Milwaukee, WI 82,000
Gary Herstein Chicago, IL 81,500
Susan Klatt Neenah, WI 79,000
Craig Rebman Water Lake, IL 78,500
Ken Komberer Grafton, WI 78,500
John Brzozowski Winneconne, WI 76,000
John Bitakis Stickney, IL 76,000
Michael Koh Chicago, IL 76,000
Dedric Henderson Minneapolis, MN 74,500
Thomas Peebles Appleton, WI 74,000
Rajesh Mehta Minneapolis, MN 71,500
Travis Lauson Menitowoc, WI 65,500
Brad Sailor Lombard, IL 65,500
Michelle Doorn Wauwatosa, WI 65,000
Allan hampert Muskego, WI 64,000
Andrew Rubinberg Chicago, IL 61,000
Blake Whittington Jacksonville, FL 60,500
Shawn Rusch Milwaukee, WI 60,500
Dan Sun Cedar Rapids, IA 60,000
Brian Shurte Chicago, IL 59,500
Michael Partipilo Chicago, IL 56,500
Benjamin Reinhart Laporte, IN 56,000
Tom Anderson Manitowoc, WI 54,000
Dan Hendrickson Faribault, MN 50,000
Rodger Johnson Grand Forks, ND 48,500
Michael Sconsone Menomonee Falls, WI 46,500
Nick Kost Chicago, IL 45,500
Michael Kamenjarin Chicago, IL 40,500
James Lushin Wesfield, IN 39,000
Joseph Gille Belvidere, IL 28,500
Nick Maris Mequon, WI 28,000
Steve Alonzo Belort, WI 23,000
David Hoffenberg Skokie, IL 21,500
Michael Juszczak Zimmerman, MN 19,500
Robert Fink West Allis, WI 17,500
Stephen Roenneburg Greenfield, WI 12,500

Five More Hands

The tournament staff has just informed the players that they will play five more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chips counts as well as a full recap of the Day 1b action.

MSPT Pro Matt Kirby Fails to Make Day 2

A short-stacked Matt Kirby moved all in from early position for his last 16,300 and received a call from Michael Gorby.

Kirby:

Gorby:

Kirby was looking for either an ace, diamonds, or some other luck, but none of it came as the board ran out clean to send him to the rail.

Michael Gorby - 100,000

Matt Kirby - Busted

Rubinberg Given New Life on the River

MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Champion Andy Rubinberg moved all in for his last 23,000 from early position, and the player on the button called off for 500 less. The blinds both folded and Rubinberg discovered he was in dire straits.

Button:

Rubinberg:

“I have one over,” Rubinberg said with little hope in his voice.

The flop was no help to Rubinberg, and neither was the turn. Rubinberg needed a king and a king only on the river to stay alive, and as you can tell from the title of this post, he caught it as the spiked!

Andy Rubinberg - 50,000

MSPT Season 7 to Visit Minnesota's Canterbury Park April 15-24

Season 7 of the Mid-States Poker Tour continued April 15-24 by returning to the place where it all began – Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. The venue played host to the first-ever MSPT event way back in 2010, and ever since then has been a staple on the schedule. The stop, which requires players only be 18 years old to participate, will feature a series of qualifiers and bonus events leading up to the $200,000 guaranteed, $1,100 buy-in Main Event the weekend of April 22-24.

"The MSPT and Canterbury Park go back to the very beginning, so it's almost like coming home each time the tour returns," said MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. "We're extremely excited to be hosting our 11^th Main Event at Canterbury and can't wait to see who becomes the next MSPT champion."

The Main Event will feature two starting flights beginning with Day 1a at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 22. Then, on Saturday, April 23, Day 1b will take place at the same time. The surviving players will then return on Sunday, April 24 for Day 2 to play down to a winner.

The final table will be broadcast LIVE (15-minute delay) worldwide on msptpoker.com using RFID technology allowing all viewers to see the hole cards. In addition, the entire Main Event will be live reported in the MSPT's brand new live blog, which can be found on msptpoker.com once the tournament begins. Simply look for the neon green button that reads "Live Updates."

The last time the MSPT visited Canterbury Park was back in December when 470 entrants took to the felt and created a $470,000 prize pool. Carl Carodenuto emerged victorious in that event and walked away with a $116,103 first-place prize. Before than, in April of last year, the MSPT Canterbury Park drew 430 entrants and saw Dan "DQ" Hendrickson capture a $106,182 first-place prize.

Among those expected to be in attendance are MSPT Pros Blake Bohn, Matt Kirby, and Matt Alexander, who is fresh off a runner-up finish in the MSPT Running Aces Main Event.

"Poker in Minnesota is thriving, which was evidenced by the big turnout at the Running Aces event earlier this month," said Alexander, who holds the record for most money won in Minnesota casinos. "I look forward to the upcoming stop at Canterbury Park as it will not only give me an opportunity to add to my record, but also offer great poker action, good value, and a fun experience."

In addition to the MSPT qualifiers and Main Event, Canterbury Park will be hosting a number of bonus events including a $100 No-Limit Hold'em on Sunday, April 17; $120 Green Chip Bounty on Monday, April 18; and $35 No-Limit Hold'em on Thursday, April 21.

For a full look at the MSPT Canterbury Park schedule, click here.

Wisconsin State Poker Championship Rematch

Back in February, Andy Rubinberg won the MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Championship for $120,808. Placing third in that same event was Byron Ziebell, who took home $42,555 for his performance. Interestingly, those two are seated at the same table and just squared off in a small pot.

It happened when Rubinberg, who is on the shorter side of things, opened for 4,000 from middle position and Ziebell called from the button. The blinds both folded, the flop came down , and Rubinberg continued for 5,500.

Ziebell made the call and then both players checked the turn and river.

“Queen high,” Rubinberg admitted, which prompted Ziebell to table the winning .

Byron Ziebell - 110,000

Andy Rubinberg - 22,000

Last Break of the Night

Players are now on their last 10-minute break of the night. When they return they’ll play two more levels before bagging and tagging,

Cooler River Card Sends Shih to the Rail

We missed the hand play out until the river with a board reading . That is when John Zawaski led out for what looked to be 15,000 and Ben Shih moved all in for just over 40,000.

Zawaski snap-called with the for the nuts, and a shell-shocked Shih showed the for a lower straight. Both players also held flush draws on the turn, which is when some chips went in. No matter the action, the result was the elimination of Ben Shih from the MSPT Potawatomi Main Event.

John Zawaski - 120,000

Ben Shih - Busted

The Drinks Have Arrived

A little while back, MSPT Pro Blake Bohn offered to buy the entire room a round of drinks, an announcement that was met by a thunderous roud of applause. The wait staff was busy taking orders from all around the room, and now, much to the delight of the players, the drinks have arrived.