Grand Falls Casino

Scramble for the Top Spot Sees Dave Swenson Lead 27 Advancing Players

The first day of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Grand Falls $1,110 Main Event drew 197 entries to kick things off, almost surpassing the tournament's $200,000 guaranteed prize pool with one flight still to go.

Plenty of big names made their way to Grand Falls Casino, creating a star-studded field with a room full of MSPT champs and Hall of Famers.

With chips flying and players dropping throughout the day, play slowed down after the final break and a full 15 levels were played until completion.

Once players put their chips into the bags, it was Dave Swenson leading the pack with 369,000, edging out Kevin Berthelsen (341,000), and Josh Fordyce (334,00) for the top spot.

Rounding out the top five stacks were Luke Hewitt (306,000) & Dalton Smith (289,000), while MSPT champ’s Aaron Johnson (241,000), Chris Burke (235,000), and Dan DQ Hendrickson (126,00), all found a Day 2 birth.

All who did not bag will have one more flight to try and do so, with that being held tomorrow Saturday, March 11th at 3 p.m. local time.

As usual, the live reporting team will be back at it then, so be sure to come back and see who else adds their name to Sunday's Day 2 roster.

End of Day 1A Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Dave Swenson	369,000	345,000
Kevin Berthelsen	341,000	315,000
Josh Fordyce	334,000	334,000
Luke Hewitt	306,000	404,000
Dalton Smith	289,000	289,000
Justin Gish	257,000	257,000
Aaron Johnson	241,000	155,000
Terry Williams	241,000	280,000
Chris Burke	235,000	245,000
Yi Klassen	227,000	216,000
Jeremy Ferguson	225,000	304,000
Robert Urbatsch	194,000	194,000
Dan Dykhouse	163,000	163,000
Scott Mahin	145,000	160,000
TJ Murphy	130,000	175,000
Dan DQ Hendrickson	126,000	213,000
Jay Goughnour	116,000	116,000
Zachary Nickolite	106,000	106,000
Daryl Oppelt	99,000	150,000
Dennis Stevermer	97,000	60,000
Andrew Weber	82,000	240,000
Rick Lutt	80,000	80,000
Brady Ellis	74,000	74,000
Jens Jensen	62,000	62,000
William Thompson	53,000	53,000
Wesley Cannon	50,000	59,000

Final Five Hands

The tournament director has just announced the final five hands of the evening with 28 players remaining.

Klassen Flushes Swenson in Battle of the Blinds

Action folded to Kitkat Klassen who limped-in from the small blind only to call a 15,000 raise from Dave Swenson in the big blind.

The flop was checked to the turn where Klassen led out for 10,000 and Swenson called to see the complete the board on the river.

Klassen continued with her aggression and fired out a 50,000 bet.

Swenson thought for a moment before calling only to muck his hand after seeing Klassen roll over to win the pot with a king-high flush.

Dave Swenson - 345,000
Kitkat Klassen - 216,000

Williams Takes from Hewitt

Luke Hewitt raised to 15,000 from early position and was called by Kevin Berthelsen from the cutoff, along with Terry Williams from the big blind.

The flop was checked by all three players bringing the turn.

Williams check-called a 15,000 bet from Hewitt while Berthelsen folded, and the completed the board on the river.

With three hearts on a paired board, Williams opted to check-call a 20,000 and it turned out to be the right decision.

Hewitt rolled over for air while Williams tabled to win the pot.

Luke Hewitt - 404,000
Kevin Berthelsen - 315,000
Terry Williams - 280,000

Stevermer Doubles with Two Ladies

The hijack opened for 17,000 and then called the 26,000 three-bet jam Dennis Stevermer made from the small blind.

Dennis Stevermer:
Opponent:

Stevermer was ahead holding two ladies and the runout secured his double-up.

Dennis Stevermer - 60,000

Case Ace Keeps Berthelsen's Main Event Alive

Terry Williams raised to 11,000 from middle position only to have the player directly to his left three-bet to 27,000.

Action folded to Kevin Berthelsen who four-bet all in for 127,000 from the big blind and only Williams called.

Kevin Berthelsen:
Terry Williams:

“Oh, nice hand,” Williams said to Berthelsen as a pretty lady appeared in the window on the flop.

The turn was no help to Berthelsen as he needed a miracle on the river to stay alive.

Luckily for Berthelsen, the dealer answered his prayer by dropping the on the river to secure his double-up, and Berthelsen’s opponent who folded preflop let him know, that was the case ace as well.

Terry Williams - 370,000
Kevin Berthelsen - 282,000

Weber's Live Cards Prevail

Andrew Weber raised to 14,000 from middle position and then called the 28,000 three-bet jam from the hijack.

Opponent:
Andrew Weber:

Weber was behind and the flop wasn’t a great one.

Luckily for Weber, the turn fell the to give him top pair, and the river secured him the elimination.

Andrew Weber - 240,000

Kings Hold Strong for Burke, Drops Wheeler

MSPT Deadwood champ Chris Burke opened for 9,000 from early position only to have Alex Wheeler three-bet to 30,000 from the cutoff.

Action folded back to Burke who fired back with an all-in four-bet and Wheeler called off his 115,000 stack.

Alex Wheeler:
Chris Burke:

Wheeler didn’t like what he saw after the cards tabled but the flop did give him some life.

Unfortunately for Wheeler, both the turn and river were bricks, ending his Day 1A flight.

Chris Burke - 245,000
Alex Wheeler - 0

Hewitt Hits Three Outer to Drop One

The button was all in for roughly 75,000 and Luke Hewitt looked them up from the small blind.

Opponent:
Luke Hewitt:

Hewitt was way behind until the flop paired his queen.

The turn and river were of no consequence to Hewitt’s hand as he eliminated his opponent.

Luke Hewitt - 180,000