Golden Gates Casino

Jim Morrison Leads as 21 Players Survive Day 1A of the MSPT Golden Gates Main Event

Traditionally at the MSPT Golden Gates in Black Hawk, Colorado, Day 1A is the smallest of the three starting flights. While that may hold true this weekend, the turnout was still larger than expected as 139 entrants took their shot in the opening flight.

After 14 levels of play, just 21 bagged chips with Jim Morrison, who is seeking his first MSPT cash, and his stack of 402,000 leading the way.

Others that bagged big stacks were 21-year-old Cannon Conolty (357,500), Colin York (315,000), Ruth Graham (181,000), and Bryan Wienhoff (181,000), who round out the top five.

They were joined by the likes of MSPT Season 6 MSPT Golden Gates champ Kane Lai (144,500), World Series of Poker Colossus II winner Ben Keeline (117,500), and Colorado pros Darren Hicks (110,500), Bobby Garcia (110,500), and Matt Bingel (54,000). Also bagging, albeit on the short stack with 17,500, is Bobby Sanoubane, who in 2015 won the MSPT $360 Regional Event here at Golden Gates for $33,000.

Poker is a zero-sum game, so obviously not everyone was so lucky. Among those to try and fall on Day 1A were four-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Scott Stewart, MSPT Season 6 Golden Gates champ Phanora Prom, Colorado pros Travis Northrope and Chris Moon, and Iowa’s Jason Bender.

All of those players and any new ones looking to get in action will have two more options to do so as the Day 1B and 1C flights are set to take place at Noon local time on Friday and Saturday. We’ll be providing live updates from both those flights, so be sure to check back tomorrow for all the latest and greatest straight from the floor of the MSPT Golden Gates.

End-of-Day 1A Chip Counts

James Morrison (Parker, CO) 402,000
Cannon Conolty (Colorado Spring, CO) 357,500
Colin York (Black Hawk, CO) 315,000
Ruth Graham (Denver, CO) 181,000
Bryan Wienhoff (Evergreen, CO) 181,000
Kane Lai Highlands (Ranch, CO) 144,500
Zachary Gutierrez (Denver, CO) 118,500
Thomas Ellsworth (Denver, CO) 117,500
Ben Keeline (Oswego, IL) 117,500
Larry Davidson (Vancouver, WA) 114,000
Igor Balaban (Denver, CO) 112,000
Darren Hicks (Arvada, CO) 110,500
Bobby Garcia (Aurora, CO) 110,500
Vinh Than (Henderson, CO) 78,000
Keith Univ (Pomona, NY) 68,000
Douglas Ruegsegger (Denver, CO) 62,500
David Perez (Windsor, CO) 58,000
Jon Cohen (Greenwood Village, CO) 55,500
Matthew Bingel (Westminster, CO) 54,000
Naval Subra (Parker, CO) 36,500
Bobby Sanoubane (Aurora, CO) 17,500

Five More Hands

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players 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 recap of the Day 1A action.

Noomis Jones Move All In Dark

Noomis Jones has been gambling it up here in the last level of the night, and that was evidenced by a recent hand where he moved all in dark under the gun for 27,300.

Thomas Ellsworth ended up raising to 54,600 from the hijack and then Jim Morriosn, who had a stack of around 180,000, moved all in over the top from the cutoff. The button and blinds all folded, and Ellsworth released his hand.

Morrison showed the and it was time for Jones to look at his hand. With several friends surrounding the table, he looked at the first, which was the . Jones seemed disappointed as he said he didn’t want to share cards with Morrison. He then looked at the second... the !

Jones woke up with Big Slick and was a heavy favorite to double.

The flop had the table in an uproar, but for all the excitement it ended up being a chopped pot as the appeared on the turn followed by the river to give both players Broadway.

MSPT Returns to Milwaukee's Potawatomi Hotel & Casino April 1-9

The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) is headed back to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From April 1-9, the venue will play host to a series of satellites that will culminate with an $1,100 buy-in, $200,000 guaranteed Main Event.

That tournament, which will take place the weekend of April 7-9, will feature two starting flights – Day 1A and Day 1B at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 respectively. The survivors from both those flights will combine for Day 2 at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 9 and play until a champion is crowned.

“Milwaukee has proven itself to not only be one of the hottest poker destinations in the Midwest, but in the entire country,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “Between locals, players from nearby Chicago and Madison, and those comings from surrounding states, Potawatomi is consistently setting new state records for largest fields and prize pools. We’re looking forward to another big one come April.”

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 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 Potawatomi for a Main Event was back in November when Alex Aqel topped a field of 596 entrants to win a $138,385 first-place prize. Amazing, Aqel had another big score at the property just six months later when he won the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event there for $208,184.

More recently, the MSPT kicked off Season 8 at Potawatomi back in January with a $350 Regional Event, which set what was then a state record for largest poker tournament with 1,228 entries. Craig Trost came out on top in that event to take home $63,252.

In April 2016, Travis Lauson topped a field of 556 entries to win a $129,077 first-place prize in the Main Event. Before that, in September 2015, Dan Goepel topped a field of 462 entries to win a $114,117 first-place prize. Amazingly, Lauson had finished runner-up in that event!

Prior to Goepel’s win, the MSPT had visited the property two other times – in April 2015 when Jason Mirza topped a field of 635 entries to win $147,529, and in September 2014 when Jason Zarlenga became a two-time champ by emerging victorious over a 487-entry field to win $120,164.

Click here for a look at the full MSPT Potawatomi schedule.

Set in the heart of Milwaukee, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is Wisconsin’s premier entertainment destination, offering guests the best in gaming, dining and entertainment. The property features six award-winning restaurants, the intimate 500-seat Northern Lights Theater and more than 60,000 sq. feet of event space. A 381-room, 19-story hotel opened in August 2014.

It has come a long way since its opening in 1991 when the Forest County Potawatomi first opened as a 45,800-square foot bingo hall, making it the first tribal off-reservation gaming operation in the country.

Aside from gaming, Potawatomi offers seven great dining options to choose from including beautiful Italian cooking at Bella Italiana, down-home cooking at Canal Street Café, and authentic Asian cuisine and sushi bar at Ruyi.

To discover more visit https://www.paysbig.com/.

Kane Lia Takes Last Hand of Level 13

In the last hand of the level, MSPT Season 6 Golden Gates champ Kane Lai raised to 4,500 from early position and Cannon Conolty defended his big blind to see a flop.

Conolty check-called a bet of 6,500 and then action went check-check on the turn. When the completed the board on the river Conolty led out for 8,000 and Lai called.

Conolty showed the for a pair of fives, but it was no good as Lai held an overpair with the .

Cannon Conolty - 300,000
Kane Lai - 100,000

A Round of Late Night Chip Counts

Colin York - 295,000
Cannon Conolty - 280,000
Jim Morrison - 215,000
Larry Davidson - 170,000
David Levy - 165,000
Kane Lai - 138,000
Ruth Graham - 100,000
Matt Bingel - 100,000
Darren Hicks - 100,000
Bobby Sanoubane - 60,000
Ben Keeline - 53,500
Noomis Jones (Re-entered) - 50,000
Chris Allison - Busted

MSPT Proud to Offer Discounted Airfare on Delta

The Mid-States Poker Tour has again teamed with Delta to provide discounted airfare to MSPT players looking to travel to and from all MSPT events.

The discount ranges from 2% to 10% based on the Delta Booking Class purchased.

Delta Booking Class - % off:

F/J/C/D/Y/P/I – 10%

B/M/H/Q/K/L – 5%

U/T/V/X – 2%

Meeting Code NMPNP

Below are online booking instructions:

Reservations and ticketing is available via www.delta.com/meeting. When booking online:

1. Select BOOK A FLIGHT
2. Ener Meeting Code in the box provided: NMPNP

Reservations may also be made by calling our Delta Meeting reservations at 800 328 1111 Mon-Fri 7am-7pm CDT.

*Please note that there is a direct ticketing fee for booking by phone

*Discounts applicable to U.S./Canada originating passengers

David Levy Doubles Big Through Noomis Jones

With around 20,000 in the pot and a flop of , the player in the small blind checked and David Levy moved all in for 63,500 from middle position.

“You only live once,” Noomis Jones declared before calling from late position. The small blind folded and the cards were turned up.

Levy:
Noomis:

Levy had shoved with ace-high, and it was actually the best hand as Noomis had went with his flush draw.

Neither the turn nor river helped Noomis, and Levy shipped the big double. Noomis was left with just 200 in chips and went bust the very next hand.

David Levy - 150,000
Noomis Jones - Busted

Last Break of the Night

Playres 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.