Running Aces Casino

Alex Moua Leads 39 Advancing Players from Day 1B of Largest-Ever MSPT Running Aces

Day 1B of the MSPT Running Aces Main Event attracted 204 runners, which along with 1A’s 179 brought the total field up to 383 entries. That makes it the largest MSPT Main Event ever held at the venue dating back to 2009, surpassing the previous record of 367 set back in 2013.

That means the top 45 players will get paid a minimum of $2,035, while the eventual winner will walk away with $81,402. The player best positioned to make a run at it, at least from the Day 1B field, is Alex Moua, who topped the 39 survivors with a stack of 333,500. That is a good bit behind the 467,500 Sam Topalovic bagged on Day 1A.

Others to bag big stacks were Vlad Tkachuk (326,000), Harold Brenden (219,000), MSPT Grand Falls champ Ahmed Taleb (196,000), and Jeff Brit (184,000), who round out the top five. They were joined by the likes of Alan Carty (178,000), two-time MSPT champ Peixin Liu (173,500), Erick Wright (114,000), Sherry Hammers (55,000), and Tyler Caspers (42,000).

Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to find a bag. Among those to bust on Day 1B were former MSPT champs Jon Kim, Paul Cross, Dan “DQ” Hendrickson, John Sun, Blake Bohn, Matt Kirby, Ken Pates, Joe Matheson, Rodger Johnson, Joel Klipping, Josh Reichard and Jason Ramos. Likewise, MSPT Players of the Year Nate Fair (Season 2), Mark Hodge (Season 6), and Rich Alsup (Season 7) all fell, as did professional soccer player Bernardo Anor.

Day 2 will kick off at 11 a.m. local time on Sunday with 68 players coming back and playing down to a winner. Be sure to join us tomorrow as we bring you all the latest and greatest straight from the tournament floor.

Day 1B Chip Counts

Poker Hall of Famer Falls Short

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 recap, list of chips counts, and the Day 2 seat draw.

Xue Lee Stands His Ground Against Koua Her

Koua Her opened to 7,000 from middle position, finding callers in Erick Wright and Xue Lee. Her and Wright checked the flop over to Lee, who bet 15,000. Both Her and Wright called.

Her chose to bet right out on the turn for 30,000, prompting Wright to fold and Lee to snap-call for exactly the same amount.

Her:
Lee:

Lee had the best hand, but had to fade the flush draw and overcard of Her. The fell on the river, improving Lee to a set and awarding him a nice pot as the night comes to a close.

Koua Her: 140,000 (58 bb)
Xue Lee: 135,000 (56 bb)

Mike Lovelace Gets Crippled By A Miracle River

Daniel Lu shoved his short stack of 25,900 from early position. Mike Lovelace looked down at his hand from the big blind and immediately announced a call.

Lovelace:
Lu:

Lu had picked a bad time to jam with king-high, but the flop brought him a little help. The took away three of his outs, though, and he said “Need the king!” before the river fell.

As you might have guessed, the spiked on the river to snatch the hand away from Lovelace, giving Lu a critical double and leaving Lovelace on fumes, and he busted a short time later.

Daniel Lu - 56,000 (23 bb)
Mike Lovelace - Busted

Harold Brenden Doubles Through Todd Melander

Todd Melander raised to 5,500 from early position and Harold Brenden called one spot over. Vlad Tkachuk then three-bet to 16,500 from the cutoff and action folded back to Melander, who moved all in for 72,400. Brenden opted to call off for 36,600 and Tkachuk got out of the way.

Melander thought he needed some help, but that wasn’t the case.

Melander:
Brenden:

Melander had the better king, and the flop didn’t present too much danger. However, that is when the dealer burned and turned the to pair Brenden. The river was a blank and Brenden doubled through a none-too-pleased Melander.

Harold Brenden - 99,000 (41 bb)
Todd Melander - 36,000 (15 bb)

Jeffrey Birt Sets Up Duane Anderson

On a , Duane Anderson got his short stack all in and was primed to double through Jeffrey Birt.

Birt:
Anderson:

Anderson got it in good with a set, and he stayed in the lead on the turn. Unfortunately for him, the dealer drove a dagger through his heart by putting out the on the river to give Birt a bigger set.

Jeffrey Birt - 160,000 (80 bb)
Duane Anderson - Busted

Some Late Night Shots

Jeffery Birt Takes A Chunk From Anthony Lacey

Jeffery Birt limped in from UTG+1, and Anthony Lacey made a hefty raise to 10,000 from the small blind. Birt flicked in two orange chips and made the call.

The flop was met with a “Same bet,” from Lacey, and he indeed fired 10,000 into the pot. Birt didn’t think long before making the call.

The on the turn saw Lacey take two towers of 500 denomination chips and slide them into the middle for a bet of 20,000, which was about half of his remaining stack. Birt didn’t hesitate and moved all-in with a covering stack, and Lacey looked frustrated and mucked his hand, awarding Birt the pot.

Jeffery Birt - 95,000 (48 bb)
Anthony Lacey - 21,000 (11 bb)