The Venetian

Alex Noble Leads as 116 Players Advance from Day 1b

It was a massive day for the Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian $1,100 buy-in, $2 million guaranteed Main Event on Tuesday as 968 entrants packed The Sands Poker Room. Along with Day 1a's 499 runners, that brings the total field up to 1,467 with Day 1c still to go.

Speaking of Day 1c, which will kick off at Noon local time on Wednesday, registration is now open; in fact, approximately 250 players have already preregistered. If you want to avoid long lines and the possibility of being an alternate – though The Venetian has 72 tables reserved for the flight – we recommend either registering yet tonight or showing up a bit early in the morning.

Of course those who survived the Day 1b flight, of which there where 116, they don't have to worry about coming back until Day 2 action on Thursday. After 15 levels of play, no one did better than Alex Noble of Rockford, Illinois, who bagged up 382,000. That was decent, but it was still behind Brazilian Felipe Difini, who bagged up the Day 1a lead with 554,000.

Others who bagged up big stacks were Chris Cornell (306,000), Travis Remmert (296,500), Nick Stowell (291,500), and James Casement (283,000), who round out the top five.

They were joined by the likes of Darren Rabinowitz (255,500), Erwan Pecheux (205,500), Rachel Kranz (181,500), Chris Conrad (180,000), Rick Syverud (140,000), Keith Heine (126,000), Dylan Wilkerson (112,000), Jared Hamby (102,000), Rich Alsup (96,500), Jeremy Dresch (95,500), Andy Spears (70,000), Mark Hodge (67,500), Justin Zaki (56,500), and Lily Kiletto (48,500).

Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to fall on Day 1b were MSPT Pros Matt Alexander, Matt Kirby, and Blake Bohn; Venetian Ambassador Annette Obrestad; 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Jerry Yang; World Poker Tour champ Matt Salsberg; Wisconsin's Joe Kuether, Josh Reichard, and Dan Almerli; and former MSPT champs Rodger Johnson, Greg Himmelbrand, Dan Goepel, and Aaron Massey, just to name a few.

Along with Day 1a's 61 survivors, a total of 177 players have punched their ticket to Day 2. Those who haven't will have a final opportunity tomorrow as Day 1c is set to kickoff at Noon local time.

Once again the plan is to play 15 levels, and late registration will be open until roughly 6:30 p.m. Players have the opportunity to reenter once during each flight. We'll see you then.

End-of-Day 1b Chip Counts

116 players survived the Day 1b flight…

Alex Noble 382,000
Chris Comell 306,000
Travass Remmert 296,500
Nick Stowell 291,500
James Casement 283,000
Delmiro Toledo 279,500
Hussain Sajwani 275,000
Darren Rabinowitz 255,500
Diaz Guillume 255,000
Harry Lodge 252,000
Sol Carmone 237,500
Ryan (Minh) Phan 234,500
Edward Hislop 221,000
Michael Younan 220,500
Almedin Imsirovic 218,500
Nate Bandy 218,000
Chris Roth 217,000
Jonathan Fhima 216,500
Kerignard Yorane 212,500
Darius Narmontas 210,500
Rory Lucero 210,000
Bobby Poe 208,500
Erwan Pecheux 205,500
Nipun Java 194,000
Edward Lewis 191,500
Shivan Abdine 189,500
Rachel Kranz 181,500
Chris Conrad 180,000
Zachary Zaltos 175,000
Tim Ulmer 170,000
Yulius Sepman 168,000
Randy Pfeifer 166,000
Theo Lima 158,500
James Gilbert 157,000
Mausim Semisoshenko 157,000
Markus Prinz 152,500
Clay Henry 148,000
Thomas Bolvin 145,500
Joseph Alban 144,000
Richard Syverud 140,000
James Arenhead 139,500
Frank Lucarelli 139,000
John Gordon 135,500
Lance Garcia 134,000
Don Landon 131,000
Ryan Darby 129,500
Christopher Larrea 128,000
Keith Heine 126,000
Josh Mancuso 122,000
Nikolai Sears 120,500
Hannes Spaiser 118,000
Charles Welch 112,000
Henry Tran 112,000
Dylan Wilkerson 112,000
Paul Spitzberg 111,500
Gladys Landegger 109,500
Casey Bogus 107,000
Dean Baranowski 102,500
Brian LeBlanc 102,500
Jared Hamby 102,000
Hewitt Poland 101,000
Grayson Nichols 97,000
Rich Alsup 96,500
Kevin Boesel 96,500
Jeremy Dresch 95,500
Nicholas Christodoulides 94,000
Alex Greenblatt 94,000
David Tovak 92,000
Cliff Deardorff 90,500
Dan Hendrickson 88,500
Franciso Rafarl 88,000
Desmonde Thomas 87,000
Michael Katz 84,500
Larry Gurney 81,000
Jason Vanstrom 80,500
Michael Hilauaty 80,000
Mark Dube 79,000
Doanh Le 78,000
Thomas Lutz 73,000
Robert Neal Conner 71,500
Brian Delatte 70,500
Andrew Spears 70,000
Scott Cooper 70,000
Roman Valerstein 69,000
Zach Groneberg 68,500
Milan Oragic 68,000
Vyacheslar Staysnov 68,000
Mark Hodge 67,500
Christopher Usude 67,000
Christian Nofal 67,000
Tom Kearney 66,500
Damon Johnson 66,500
Conrad de Aramos 65,500
Earl Barron 65,000
Fergal Nealon 64,000
Krzysztof Stybaniewicz 63,500
Bryan Piccioli 62,500
Brian Ray 59,500
Jude Ainsworth 56,500
Justin Zaki 56,500
Cristobal Luna 55,000
Harold Evans 55,000
Dejuante Alexander 54,000
Vanja Ovuka 52,000
Walan Kite 49,500
Zach Ackley 49,000
Lily Kiletto 48,500
Oddie Dardon 48,000
Adam Bishop 47,000
Henri Ojaka 47,000
David Simon 45,000
Rohan Long 43,000
William Davis 40,000
Craig Gold 37,000
Ronald McGinnity 33,000
Ralph Wong 19,500

8 More Hands

The tournament staff just announced that the remaining players will play eight more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. We’ll have a list of survivors with chips counts and a full recap of the Day 1b action in a bit.

Stay tuned!

MSPT Maryland Live! Champ Hits the Rail

MSPT Maryland Live! champ Greg Himmelbrand open-shoved for 39,200 from the hijack and the player on the button moved all in over the top for 45,800. Casey Bogus then called off for 39,100 from the small blind and all three hands were turned up.

Himmelbrand:

Bogus:

Button:

Bogus woke up with the granddaddy of all hands, and it held after the board ran out . Himmelbrand was eliminated on the hand while Bogus tripled up.

Meanwhile, Simon Deadman was also eliminated from the tournament in unknown action.

Casey Bogus - 120,000

Greg Himmelbrand - Busted

Simon Deadman - Busted

Mark Your Calendars for MSPT Potawatomi Regional from July 9-17

From July 9-17, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) will return to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for our second $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed Regional Event of Season 7. The stop, which requires players be 21 years of age to play, will host more than a dozen $50 and $90 satellites for the Regional Event, which will feature three starting flights.

Day 1a will kick off at 5:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, July 14, while Day 1b will take place at the same time on Friday, July 15. Then, on Saturday, July 16, Day 1c will get underway at 2:00 p.m. The survivors from all three flights will then combine at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 17 to play down to a winner.

Players are allowed a max of one reentry per starting flight during the standard registration process. Each starting flight will play 16 levels that will last 30 minutes each.

"Few poker markets thrive as well as the one in and around Milwaukee," said MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. "Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is a luxurious property with unlimited gaming options. As such, it's no surprise to see our events there attract players from throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota."

Indeed, the last time the MSPT rolled into Milwaukee for a Regional Event was back in January when 904 entries – a record for the Regional Events – took to the felt to battle for a $58,964 top prize. Oscar Arndt walked away with the top prize, while the likes of David Gonia (3^rd - $20,965), Jason Bender (7^th - $9,303), and Travis Lauson (18^th - $1,493) all walked away with some cash.

Speaking of Lauson, who is in action today, he returned to the property in April and won the MSPT Potawatomi Main Event for $129,077. What's even more amazing, he did it after finishing runner-up in the same event in the fall of 2015. You can read more about Lauson's incredible victory by clicking here.

Here's a look at the upcoming MSPT Regional schedule:

Various Chip Counts from Around the Room

Jonathan Fhima - 270,000

Ryan Phan - 230,000

James Casement - 220,000

Rachel Kranz - 180,000

Kelly Minkin - 150,000

Rich Alsup (MSPT Meskwai champ) - 125,000

Mike Shaw - 125,000

Rick Syverud - 115,000

Rob Wazwaz - 89,000

Jason Vanstrom - 85,000

Ryan Darby - 80,000

Dan “DQ” Hendrickson (MSPT Canterbury Park champ) - 80,000

Mark Hodge (MSPT Season 6 POY) - 75,000

Dylan Wilkerson - 74,000

Simon Deadman - 70,000

John Morgan - 50,000

Jake Balsiger - 49,000

Will Failla - 48,000

Greg Himmelbrand - 45,000

Jason Pritchard - 40,000

Lily Kiletto - 30,000

Keith Heine (MSPT Meskwaki champ) - 18,000

Matt Alexander (MSPT Pro) - Busted

Blake Bohn (MSPT Pro) - Busted

Dan Almerli - Busted

Some Late Night Glamour Shots

Jesse Capps Hits the Rail

After a player opened with a raise, Jesse Capps three-bet all in from the big blind for his last 11 bigs. The original raiser called and Capps discovered the bad news.

Capps:

Opponent:

Capps was looking for either an ace or some clubs, but he came up empty as the board ran out dry.

Jesse Capps - Busted

Last Break of the Night

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

MSPT Returns to Grand Falls Casino in Sioux Falls, South Dakota August 20-28

For the first time in Season 7, the Mid-States Poker Tour will visit South Dakota! From August 20-28, Grand Falls Casino in Sioux Falls will play host to an $1,100 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed Main Event.

The stop, which requires players be 21 or older to play, will feature numerous $65 Super Satellites and $220+$30+$10 Satellites, as well as two bonus events. The first is a $40 Omaha Hi/Lo Spread Limit tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 22, and the other is a $40 no-limit hold'em Grand Falls weekly at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 23.

Then, on Friday, August 26 at 4:00 p.m., Day 1a of the Main Event will get underway. Day 1b will take place at the same time on Saturday, August 27, and then the surviving players from both flights will return on Sunday, August 27 at 11:00 a.m. to battle down to a winner. For those who fail to make it through or fall early, Grand Falls Casino will host a $100 no-limit hold'em tournament at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The Main Event 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 entirety of the 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 stop marks the fifth time the MSPT has visited the property. The first took place back in 2012 when Dan Sun topped a field of 215 entrants to win $60,486 and become the MSPT's first back-to-back champion. Other winners of the MSPT Grand Falls Casino include Josh Smith, who topped a field of 218 to win $59,221 in August 2013; MSPT Pro Blake Bohn, who outlasted 200 other entrants to win in August 2014 for $54,607; and defending champ Alan Curl, who topped a field of 238 entrants to win it last year for $64,655.

"The annual stop at Grand Falls Casino is one that we always look forward to," said MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. "Not only does it take place in a scenic area, the gaming action is top notch. Of course there is the poker, but in addition to that there are more than 900 slot machines, 16 blackjack tables, and plenty of entertainment to be had. There's really something for everyone."

Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort was granted an operator's license for a casino in Lyon County in May of 2010, which followed the passage of a referendum approving a gaming structure by the citizens of Lyon County, Iowa in September of 2008. For more information on the property, visit grandfallscasinoresort.com.

You can also see the full MSPT Grand Falls schedule by clicking here.