Running Aces Casino

Ron Thompson Leads as 26 of 159 Survive MSPT Running Aces Day 1a Flight

Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces Main Event – the second such event of Season 7 – drew 159 runners, which puts the tournament well on pace to surpass the advertised $200,000 guarantee. After 14 levels of play, just 26 players remained with Ron Thompson of Fridley, Minnesota and his stack of 282,000 leading the way.

Others who bagged and tagged were MSPT Meskwaki Season 6 champ Rich Alsup (204,500), Vladimir Revniaga (187,500), Rob Wazwaz (186,000), Jeremy Dresch (160,500), MSPT Season 7 Meskwaki champ Keith Heine (143,500), Rick “Moose” Syverud (89,000), and MSPT Running Aces Season 1 winner Jason Seitz (34,000).

Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to fall over the course of play were two-time MSPT champ Carl Carodenuto; World Series of Poker bracelet winner John Reading; former MSPT champs Travis Lauson, Joe Matheson, Kou Vang, and Jason “GrindMentality” Mirza; and all three MSPT Pros in Blake Bohn, Matt Kirby, and Matt Alexander, who finished runner-up in this event back in April.

All of those players and more have the opportunity to play Day 1b at 16:00 local time on Saturday. We expect to see many of those players try again, while some newbies such as CardsChat forum member Matt Vaughan and Iowa State Poker champ John Sun, who currently leads the MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year race, have both told us they’ll be making the trip up in the morning.

Until then, good night from Running Aces in Columbus, Minnesota!

End-of-Day 1a Chip Counts

Ron Thompson leads Day 1a with 282,000 at Running Aces Poker
26/159 players advance to Day 2
#canyoufeelit

Ron Thompson - Fridley, MN 282,000
Scott Weidema - Dayton, MN 206,000
Richard Alsup - New Hope, MN 204,500
Vladimir Revniaga - Burnsville, MN 187,500
Rob Wazwaz - Minneapolis, MN 186,000
Andy Beberg - Stillwater, MN 185,000
Andy Redleaf - Minneapolis, MN 175,000
Adam Jefferson - Burnsville, MN 169,000
Jeremy Dresch - Fridley, MN 160,500
Tony Moses - St. Anthony, MN 145,500
Keith Heine - Hillsboro, MO 143,500
Daniel Schmidt - South St. Paul, MN 135,500
Soap Song - Minneapolis, MN 130,500
Bradley Demotts - Lino Lakes, MN 115,500
Mike Gantzer - St. Paul, MN 115,000
Robert Michener - Minneapolis, MN 107,000
Richard Syverud - North Freedom, WI 89,000
Nicholas Balega - Dayton, MN 82,500
James Wilson - Minneapolis, MN 78,000
Jon Kulkay - Plymouth, MN 73,000
Gennady Shimelfarb - Minneapolis, MN 62,000
Aaron Johnson - Red Wing, MN 54,000
Kevin Quaas - Hugo, MN 50,500
Curtis Vierstraete - Wahpeton, ND 40,000
Jason Seitz - Shakopee, MN 34,000
Donald Beddow - Mankato, MN 29,000

Three More Hands

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play three more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for chip counts and a full recap of the Day 1a action.

Jason Sell and Mark Hodge Fail to Survive the Night

In one of the last hands of the night, MSPT Ho-Chunk Season 5 champ Jason Sell opened for 5,500 from middle position and James Wilson called from the button. Scott Weidema then three-bet to 16,600 from the small blind, the other two players called, and three players saw a flop of .

Weidema open-shipped for 52,300, Sell called off for 45,800, and Wilson tanked for several minutes before making the call to put both his opponents at risk.

Sell:
Weidema:
Wilson:

Sell was ahead with an overpair, but Weidema held two overs while Wilson flopped an open-ender. The turn was safe for Sell, but then the spiked on the river to give Weidema the winner.

Meanwhile, MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge was also eliminated from the tournament.

Scott Weidema - 200,000
James Wilson - 70,000
Jason Sell - Busted
Mark Hodge - Busted

MSPT Running Aces Season 3 Champ Eliminated

Rodger Johnson, who won this event back in Season 3, was just sent to the rail at the hands of Rob Wazwaz.

It happened when Johnson jammed his last 22,700 from early position and Wazwaz tanked before calling. The rest of the field then folded.

“I have a big hand,” Wazwaz stated. “I was just trying to get someone else to call.”

Wazwaz then tabled the .

“I can crack that,” Johnson said optimistically before showing his .

“That’s a start,” Wazwaz offered when the flop paired his opponent. The turn gave Johnson some open-ended straight draw outs, but he missed when the useless bricked on the river.

Rob Wazwaz - 190,000
Rodger Johnson - Busted

Nicholas Ingolfsland Falls in Last Level of the Night

Brad Cohen opened for 5,000 from early position and Andy Beberg called one spot over. Adam Jefferson came along from the cutoff and then Nicholas Ingolfsland three-bet all in for 29,000 from the small blind. Cohen and Beberg both folded, and Jefferson opted to make the call.

Jefferson:
Ingolfsland:

It was a race, and while Ingolfsland didn’t hit the flop directly, he picked up a flush draw to go with his overs. The turn was a blank, and much to the dismay of Ingolfsland, so was the river.

Adam Jefferson - 120,000
Nicholas Ingolfsland - Busted

Ron Thompson Sends Jarad Reiser to the Rail

Andy Redleaf opened for 3,500 and Ron Thompson popped it to 12,000. When action reached Jarad Reiser in the big blind, he four-bet all in for right around 36,000. Redleaf wasted little time in getting out of the way and Thompson made the call.

Thompson:
Reiser:

It was a race and Reiser was just looking to hold to stay alive. He survived the flop, but then disaster struck as the spiked on the turn. The river was no help to Reiser, and he was eliminated in the penultimate level of the night.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Poker Hall of Famer “Minneapolis” Jim Meehan was also eliminated from the tournament.

Ron Thompson - 135,000
Jarad Reiser - Busted
Jim Meehan - Busted

Late Night Counts

James Wilson - 220,000
Vladimir Revniaga - 175,000
Soap Song - 145,000
Eric Letourneau - 145,000
Daniel Schmidt - 140,000
Andy Redleaf - 120,000
Michael Gantzer - 100,000
Jeremy Dresch - 100,000
Bradley Demotts - 70,000
Keith Heine - 40,000
Vlad Tkachuk - 40,000

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 for the night.

James Wilson Keeps Chipping Up

Rick “Moose” Syverud raised to 4,000 from early position and a short-stacked player in late position called off for 2,100. James Wilson then three-bet to 16,800 from the small blind, which prompted Syverud to get out of the hand.

Wilson:
Opponent:

The flop gave the short-stacked player a sweat, but he came up empty as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river. With that, Wilson looks to be the first player to reach the 200k mark.

James Wilson - 200,000