Canterbury Park

Mike Ross Leads as 51 Players Survive Day 1B of Largest MSPT Canterbury Park in History

Day 1A of the MSPT’s 13^th Main Event at Canterbury Park drew 222, and today 253 entrants took to the felt to bring the total field to 475. That made it the largest MSPT Canterbury Park in history surpassing the 470 entrants from December 2015.

That means 45 players will get paid a minimum of $2,296, with the eventual winner taking home $110,220. The man from Day 1B best positioned to make a run at it is Mike Ross, who bagged the chip lead among the surviving 51 players with 270,000. That is a bit behind Day 1A chip leader Loki Abboud, who advanced with 323,500. Along with Day 1A’s 38 survivors, 89 players will return for Day 2.

Ross has nine MSPT cashes for $70,671. Two of those are final table appearances with his best finish to date being two fourth-place finishes. The first was back in Season 5 at Ho-Chunk for $25,175, and the other last season at Golden Gates in Colorado for $27,892. He is seeking his first cash here at Canterbury Park.

Others to make it through the flight were MSPT Season 8 Potawatomi Regional champ Craig Trost (247,000); former champs Mark Sandness (153,500), Luke Arora (127,000), Rodger Johnson (125,500), Peixin Liu (99,000), Rich Alsup (55,500), and Jason Sell (40,000); and MSPT Pro Matt Alexander (117,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1B were 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Greg Raymer; 2016 MSPT Iowa State Poker Champ John Sun; MSPT Pros Blake Bohn and Matt Kirby; MSPT Season 2 Canterbury Park champ Kou Vang; MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge; and Wisconsin players Dan Almerli and Rick Syverud.

Day 2 will kick off at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Join us then as we bring you all the latest and greatest straight from the tournament floor.

Day 1B Chip Counts

Three More Hands

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

Two-Time Champs Collide

MSPT Pro Matt Kirby, who has two MSPT title under his belt, got his last 17,000 all in preflop and found himself at risk against fellow two-time champ Peixin Liu.

Liu:
Kirby:

The flop was big for Liu as it gave him top pair with a flush draw. That said, Kirby did pick up a gutshot straight draw.

The turn left Kirby looking for a non-spade jack on the river, but it wasn’t in the cards as the useless peeled off instead.

Peixin Liu - 85,000
Matt Kirby - Busted

Matt Hamilton Bows Out

Shots of the Big Stacks

Thenison Atenas Sends MSPT Pro Blake Bohn to the Rail

We missed the preflop action, but we do know that MSPT Pro Blake Bohn got his stack all in and was at risk against Thenison Atenas.

Atenas:
Bohn:

Bohn was behind, but he was drawing to two live cards. Unfortunately for him, neither appeared as the board ran out a dry .

Thenison Atenas - 175,000
Blake Bohn - Busted

"That's My Life Right There"

MSPT Pro Blake Bohn moved all in for 19,900 from early position and Carlos Galell called off for 13,000 from the hijack. The player on the button called, and after the blinds folded all three players turned up their hands.

Bohn:
Galell:
Button:

The flop gave Galell a ton of outs, but at that moment Bohn’s sevens were still the best hand.

Neither the turn nor river helped Galell and he was eliminated from the hand while Bohn nearly tripled.

“That’s my life right there,” Bohn said after the hand.

Blake Bohn - 60,000
Carlos Galell - Busted

Drew Schulz Ships a Double

After the under-the-gun player raised to 4,500, MSPT Season 8 Golden Gates Regional runner-up Drew Schulz called from late position. Both blinds called and four players took a flop of .

Action checked to Schulz, and he moved all in for 27,600. The player in the small blind folded, the big called, and the original raiser got out of the way.

Schulz:
Opponent:

Schulz was out in front with top pair, but his opponent was drawing to spades and an over. The turn was safe for Schulz, and so was the river. Ship the double to the man from Colorado!

Drew Schulz - 75,000

MSPT Grand Falls $350 Regional Event Kicks Off Thursday!

One of the new events on the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Season 8 schedule is May’s $350 Regional Event at Grand Falls Casino, which is located just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The event, which requires players be 21 or older, will take place next week, May 4-7, and feature a $50,000 guarantee.

The Regional Event will feature three starting flights. Days 1A and 1B will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 4 and Friday, May 5 respectively. Day 1C will then be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. The surviving players will then combine for Day 2 action at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 7 and play down to a winner.

“Over the past five years, the Grand Falls Casino has continued to grow, which is why we thought Season 8 was the perfect time to add a Regional Event to the schedule,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “Of course this will be in addition to our annual Main Event.”

Schedule for August, the MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event features a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool and tends to draw players from across the Midwest. Last year, the tournament attracted 187 entrants and saw Fishing Hall of Famer Ted Takasaki top a tough final table to walk away with $52,360.

The first visit at Grand Falls took place way 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 2015 champ Alan Curl, who topped a field of 238 entrants to win $64,655.

“Our players look forward to the MSPT every year,” said Grand Falls poker room manager Renee Thomas. “It’s a great way for our local players to have the opportunity to satellite into a large tournament without having to travel. Because of our location we bring in players from multiple states and because of our amenities, many of them treat it like a mini vacation with their spouse.”

Here’s a look at the MSPT Grand Falls Regional schedule:

Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort was granted an operator's license for a casino 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. Since then, the property has won a number of awards including Midwest Gaming and Destination Magazine 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards for “Best Amenities,” “Best Golf Course,” and “Best Casino Personnel.”