Golden Gates Casino

Alex Greenblatt Leads Advancing 40 Day 1c Players

The third and final starting flight of the MSPT Golden Gates attracted 209 entrants to Black Hawk, Colorado. Along with Day 1a’s 98 and 1b’s 183, that brought the total field to 490 entrants. After 13 levels of play, Alex Greenblatt led the surviving 40 players with a stack of 330,000.

To put that in perspective, Scott Stewart bagged the chip lead on Day 1a with 351,400, while Jackson McAllister held the Day 1b chip lead with 257,000.

Greenblatt has $646,826 in lifetime tournament earnings with his best score being $145,898 for a runner-up finish in the 2013 Heartland Poker Tour Main Event here in Black Hawk. As for the MSPT, Greenblatt has just one cash, which was a 291^st-place finish or $2,546 in this summer’s event at the Venetian.

Others to advance from the Day 1c field with big stacks were Jim Boone (299,600), Henry Billete (237,500), Adam Wilbur (232,900), and two-time MSPT champ Carl Carodenuto (205,200). They were joined by such players as Will Givens (192,600), April’s MSPT Golden Gates runner-up Jason Vanstrom (113,000), and MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year contenders Rich Alsup (81,200), TJ Thondup (45,100), and Rodger Johnson (36,700).

Unfortunately, not everyone could make it through the night. Among those to fall were Tyler Corbett, Travis Northrope, David Gutfreund, Bobby Sanoubane, “Wild” Bill Romer, Reza Yazdi, and two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner David Warga.

At 11 a.m. on Sunday, the surviving players from all flights -- 92 players (13 from Day 1a; 39 from 1b; and 40 from 1c) – will merge into one field and play down to a winner. We’ll be there every step of the way to bring you all the action, so be sure to join us then.

End-of-Day 1c Chip Counts

Four More Hands

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play four more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chip counts, a full recap of the Day 1c action, and the Day 2 seat draw.

Eric Maier Sends One to the Rail

Eric Maier raised to 6,000 and was met by an all-in three-bet to 29,200 by Adam Thoutt in late position. When action folded back to Maier, he snap-called and tabled the cowboys.

Maier:
Thoutt:

Thoutt’s best shot of staying alive was to catch an ace, but that didn’t happen as the board ran out a lowly .

Eric Maier - 110,000
Adam Thoutt - Busted

Adam Wilbur Busts Two-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner

Action folded to two-time WSOP bracelet winner David Warga on the button and he moved all in for 18,400 and Adam Wilbur called from the small blind.

Warga:
Wilbur:

Warga got it in good, but he fell behind when the flop paired Wilbur. Neither the turn nor river helped Warga and he took his leave in the last level of the night.

Adam Wilbur - 190,000
David Warga - Busted

Last Break of the Night

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

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Some Late Night Shots

A Round of Chip Counts

Alex Greenblatt - 195,000
Henry Billete - 180,000
Jay Yates - 160,000
Carl Carodenuto - 155,000
Ho Park - 145,000
Jim Boone - 140,000
Rich Alsup (MSPT Season 6 Meskwaki champ) - 140,000
Richard Klein - 110,000
Rodger Johnson (MSPT Season 3 Running Aces chap) - 72,000
Craig Varnell - 40,000
Ruth Graham - 40,000
TJ Thondup - 33,000
Gene Gioia - 31,000
David Warga (two-time WSOP bracelet winner) - 22,000
Will Givens - 20,000

Eric Maier vs. Jason Vanstrom

Jason Vantrom, who finished runner-up in this event back in April, raised to 2,700 from middle position and action folded to Eric Maier, who called from the big blind.

Both players proceeded to check the flop and then Maier bet 3,200 on the turn. Vanstrom called and then both players returned to checking on the river.

Maier tabled the for a pair of jacks, but it was no good as Vanstrom held a bigger pair with the .

Eric Maier - 135,000
Jordan Vanstrom - 82,000