Meskwaki Casino

Jason Bender Leads as 36 Players Survive Day 1b of MSPT Meskwaki

Day 1b of the Mid-States Poker Tour Meskwaki Main Event attracted 210 entries, and along with Day 1a’s 195 brought the total field up to 405 entrants. That has created a $405,000 total prize pool – well ahead of the advertised $300K guarantee – that will be distributed to the top 45 players.

A min-cash is worth $1,957, while the eventual winner will take home $93,922. The man best positioned to make a run at it is Jason Bender, who bagged up the chip lead among the 36 surviving players with 324,500. That is well ahead of Day 1a’s Troy Repp, who bagged that flight’s lead with 269,000.

Others who bagged on Day 1b were MSPT Pro Matt Alexander (206,000), World Series of Poker bracelet winner John Reading (197,000), two-time MSPT champ Carl Carodenuto (173,500), and poker pro Aaron Massey (95,000), who looks to pass John Sun (he busted on Day 1b) on the MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year leaderboard. Right now they sit one and two with just three stops remaining in the year.

Of course not everyone was so lucky to bag and tag. Among those to fall over the course of the day were former MSPT champs Ken Pates, Keith Heine, and JJ Olson; MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship runner-up Cy Church; MSPT Wisconsin State Poker champ Andy Rubinberg; and MSPT regulars Gennady Shimelfarb, Jim Boone, and Rob Wazwaz, just to name a few.

The surviving 69 players from both starting flights will return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday to play down to a winner. Join us then as we bring you all the actions and eliminations straight from the floor of the MSPT Meskwaki Main Event.

End-of-Day 1b Chip Counts

Jason Bender 324,500
Ryan Hohenstein 223,500
Terry Bender 206,000
Matt Alexander 206,000
John Reading 197,000
Keegan Brouillette 196,500
Justin Tallman 185,000
Carl Carodenuto 173,500
Chuck Costanzo 168,500
Steve Liarakos 165,000
Dakota Burnett 165,000
Matthew Hamilton 164,500
DJ Buckley 157,500
Milton Blasing 139,000
Ryan Pham 125,500
Ramon Ziadeh 99,000
Ken Coy 99,000
Aaron Massey 95,000
Col Eric Lovelock 92,500
John Whitacre 88,500
Brett Reichard 82,500
Drew Woodke 79,500
Alex Smith 78,500
Gabriel Neighbors 78,000
Jeremy Sudbury 68,500
William Perpich 63,000
Michael Vanier 61,500
Sarah Zeluf 57,500
Karl Reinholdt 54,500
Benjamin Rasumussen 53,500
William Chihak 48,500
Frank Cerminara 40,500
Steven Hess 39,500
Tim Garles 23,500
Luke Blindert 14,000
Jodi Rourke 3,500

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 complete with chip counts, a full recap of the Day 1b action, and the Day 2 seat draw.

Gennady Shimelfarb Busts Ryan Anderson Before Busting Himself

Gennady Shimelfarb open-shipped for 24,600 from the cutoff and action folded to Ryan Anderson, who called off for a little less from the big blind.

Shimelfarb:
Anderson:

It was a flip, but not after the flop came down to give Shimelfarb a boat. The turn left Anderson drawing dead, and he headed for the exit after the completed the board on the river.

Unfortunately for Shimelfarb, he could have been a part of history, but instead he’s just another unsolved mystery as he busted in unknown action two minutes later.

Gennady Shimelfarb - Busted
Ryan Anderson - Busted

"I Might Be Drawing Dead"

With around 14,000 in the pot and a board reading , Jeff Bryan checked from the big blind and Ryan Phan, who finished runner-up in this event back in the spring, bet 8,000. Bryan check-raised all in for 25,500 and Phan hit the tank.

“I might be drawing dead,” he admitted before making the call.

“Good call,” Bryan said as he started to get out of his seat.

Bryan:
Phan:

Bryan needed some help on the river, but it wasn’t meant to be as the bricked to send him home in the last level of the night.

Ryan Phan - 130,000
Jeff Bryan - Busted

Some Smiling Faces Still in the Field Part 2

Some Smiling Faces Still in the Field Part 1

Read New Issues of MSPT Magazine Online Absolutely Free

Earlier this season, the Mid-States Poker Tour launched the first issue of MSPT Magazine, which is released on monthly basis. Physical copies of the magazine are available at all MSPT host venues in Nevada (Venetian), Wisconsin (Potawatomi), Iowa (Meskwaki Casino), Minnesota (Mille Lacs, Canterbury Park & Running Aces), Indiana (Tropicana Evansville), Colorado (Golden Gates Poker Parlour), Michigan (FireKeepers), South Dakota (Grand Falls Casino), and Florida (bestbet Jacksonville).

For those around the world who may not be able to make it to those casinos, you can now read issues online absolutely free.

Simply click here to be taken to our library!

Jason Joerling Doubles Through Ramon Ziadeh

After a middle-position player opened for 4,600, a short-stacked Jason Joerling moved all in for 14,700 from the cutoff. Ramon Ziadeh then four-bet all in from the button for 65,000 and the original raiser got out of the way.

Joerling:
Ziadeh:

The board ran out and Joerling shipped a much needed double.

Ramo Ziadeh - 50,000
Jason Joerling - 35,000

Last Break of the Night

Players are now on their last 10-minute break of the night.