Day 1b of Mid-States Poker Tour Meskwaki is in the books after 14 levels of play. Minnesotan David Gonia went on a huge rush in the last few levels of the night to bag a monstrous 392,000, nearly 100,000 clear of Day 1a leader and fellow Minnesota native Brandon Meyers.
Gonia is no stranger to running deep in MSPT events, as his breakthrough live cash came in February 2013, when he shipped the first event of the season at Running Aces Harness Park for $93,941.
The total field Saturday was 204, and 35 players survived to brave the short turnaround to Sunday morning's Day 2. A total of 71 will return. Among other Day 1b survivors: Chance Lautner (289,000), Ben Keeline (261,500), Brian Zupancich (229,000), Lance Harris (208,500), Matt Alexander (121,000), Scott Mahin (85,500), Adam Zych, (65,000), Molly Mossey (36,500), and Ryan Hohenstein (36,000).
Harris is coming off of a strong World Series of Poker in which he added about $150,000 to his war chest via five cashes, including a fourth in Event #11 for nearly $120,000. Harris got things going early by busting Ryan Hartmann with top two, but he ran into a significant and strange roadblock late in the night.
Apparently, the flop had come and Terry Ring had bet 20,000. Harris raised to 50,000, and Zupancich went all in for just over 70,000.
"Alright, let's do it," Ring apparently said as he dropped some chips into the pot. Harris called, flipping , but Zupancich had the lead with for a set. Ring was in last with . Nobody improved on the last two streets, and Zupancich dragged the massive pot.
Harris collected what he presumed to be a side pot containing all of Ring's remaining chips, but Ring pointed out that he had never actually said all in. The floor was called, and the ruling was that since Ring never moved in, everyone had just called Zupancich's bet and Ring would retain his last 45,000. A disgusted Harris tossed the chips back into the middle, saying he thought Ring was all in and he was calling Ring's shove as well.
Ultimately, Harris got his revenge by busting Ring a short time later.
In addition to Ring, Brett Kuznia, John Morgan, Allen Kessler, Josh Reichard, Matt Kirby, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Anderson, Brett Schwertley, and Chris Tryba fell short of the finish line.
The 71 Day 2 qualifiers will be back at it at 10 a.m. local time here in Tama, Iowa, so don't go far. The highlights of the action will be posted right here on PokerNews.
Terry Ring was allowed to survive due to a technicality.
Just before break, a massive and controversial pot happened at Table 17.
Apparently, the flop had come and Terry Ring had bet 20,000. Lance Harris raised to 50,000, and Brian Zupancich went all in for just over 70,000.
"Alright, let's do it," Ring apparently said as he dropped some chips into the pot. Harris called, flipping , but Zupancich had the lead with for a set. Ring was in last with . Nobody improved on the last two streets, and Zupancich dragged the massive pot.
Harris collected what he presumed to be a side pot containing all of Ring's remaining chips, but Ring pointed out that he had never actually said all in. The floor was called, and the ruling was that since Ring never moved in, everyone had just called Zupancich's bet and Ring would retain his last 45,000. A disgusted Harris tossed the chips back into the middle, saying he thought Ring was all in and he was calling Ring's shove as well.
We didn't see when the money went in, but we found the dealer running out a board between Matt Kirby, who held , and Aaron Johnson, who had . The flop was already on the felt: . An turn changed nothing, but a fell to give Johnson a winning pair of queens. A frustrated Kirby jetted out of his chair and stalked away.
At another table, Josh Reichard's seat was filled by another player.
Molly Mossey reacts to getting kings in against aces.
Molly Mossey got it all in with against a player holding , and she got out of her seat and paced around, playing with her hair as she exclaimed about how she thought there was something funny about her opponent's bet. No help arrived for the first four cards, but a river saved Mossey, and she received a double up of just under 20,000 from her opponent.
Meskwaki is traditionally one of the most successful stops on the MSPT schedule, which is due in part to participants only having to be 18 years old to play.
“The MSPT is excited to return to Meskwaki, which always draws players from around the Midwest,” said MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. “We’re looking forward to following up our first stop in Las Vegas by returning to Iowa for another successful stop at Meskwaki, which in the past has attracted local pros Jeff Fielder and Blair Hinkle. With a little luck, we’ll set yet another state record.”
The Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel is located in Tama, IA, between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids on Highway 30. With a huge bingo hall, table games, active craps tables, good blackjack games, horse book, indoor pool, exercise room, spa, and a large number of hotel rooms, Meskwaki has something for everyone.
To prepare for this weekend’s $1,100 Main Event, PokerNews decided to take a look back at the history shared between the MSPT and Meskwaki.
Muneer Wins Inaugural MSPT Stop at Meskwaki
The inaugural MSPT stop at Meskwaki took place from March 24 to April 1, 2012. That first tournament attracted 349 entrants and created a prize pool of $348,500, easily surpassing the $300,000 guarantee. Among the notables who came to compete were Blair Hinkle, Ari “BodogAri” Engel, and Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul. Hinkle actually began Day 2 as the chip leader, but he ultimately fell in 27th place for $2,692.
Meanwhile, Muneer Ahmed began Day 2 11th in chips, and actually dipped to just six big blinds before bouncing back to make the final table. During three-handed play, a big pot developed between Ahmed, who qualified for the tournament through a satellite, and Molly Mossey. The board read and Ahmed moved all in. Mossey tanked for several minutes with , but ultimately folded. If she could see Ahmed's cards, she wouldn’t have, as Ahmed showed for a bluff.
Mossey ended up falling in third place, Jeff Petronack in second, and Ahmed went on to capture the title and $89,184 first-place prize.
“The money is great, but this bracelet means the most,” Ahmed said of the RF Moeller diamond championship bracelet he received for the victory.
Here’s a look at the first-ever MSPT Meskwaki final table:
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Muneer Ahmed
$89,184
2
Jeff Petronack
$48,799
3
Molly Mossey
$32,310
4
Heidi Roggenkamp
$21,875
5
Mark Butler
$16,827
6
Steve Reichelt
$13,462
7
John Oetker
$11,779
8
Ben Jacobs
$10,096
9
Mitch Ackerman
$8,414
Dan Sun Captures His First MSPT Title at Meskwaki
Only two players have won two MSPT titles. MSPT Pro Matt Kirby is one, and the other is Dan Sun of Cedar Rapids, IA, and his first-ever win came at Meskwaki. It came back in late July 2012 when he conquered a field of 301 entrants, which created a prize pool of $301,500.
One man that was in the tournament was 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event champJamie Gold. The former world champ made it deep on Day 1, but with an hour left in the night he got many of his chips all in preflop holding and was well out in front of MSPT regular Jeremy Dresch, who was at risk with . A queen on the flop ended up crippling Gold, and he hit the rail a short time later.
“I had a blast this week.” Gold said of his MSPT experience. “I had heard about this tour a year ago and have been wanting to check it out. I finally got a week off and decided last minute to make the trip to Iowa to spend a few days playing cash games and the main event. I couldn’t have been more impressed, the players are so friendly here and fun to play with.”
Meanwhile, Sun, a software engineer, thrived on Day 1 as he bagged up the seventh biggest stack of the advancing 101 players, and by the time the final table rolled around he held the chip lead. Others at the final table included the aforementioned Dresch, local fan favorite Gene Bennett and 2011 MSPT Player of the Year Nate Fair. Fair ended up falling in seventh place for $10,183, while Bennett lasted a little longer before hitting the rail in fifth place for $14,548.
Dresch managed to make it to heads-up play against Sun, but failed to overcome his chip disadvantage. In what would be the final hand, Dresch raised with offsuit and Sun called to see a flop of . Dresch bet, San raised, and Dresch moved all in. Sun called with , and captured the $77,103 first-place prize after a blanked on the turn followed by a brick on the river.
Here’s a look at the second-ever MSPT Meskwaki final table:
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Dan Sun
$77,103
2
Jeremy Dresch
$42,183
3
Michael Fink
$27,932
4
Jason Brin
$18,912
5
Gene Bennett
$14,548
6
Erik Burton
$11,638
7
Nathan Fair
$10,183
8
David Gutfreund
$8,729
9
Brett Reichard
$7,274
Reynolds Wins MSPT’s Third Visit to Tama
The MSPT visited Meskwaki for the third time from October 27 to November 4, 2012, and this time the Main Event attracted 297 entries and resulted in a $300,000 prize pool. The final table featured former MSPT champ Jason Seitz, but he was looking up at the massive chip lead of Chicago’s Mike Reynolds.
Seitz ended up busting in eighth place, but around this time Reynolds fell to the short stack. Not to be deterred, Reynolds battled back and ultimately captured the title and accompanying $81,060 first-place prize. After the win, Reynolds stated that he planned to use some of the money to buy a condo in Las Vegas and continue to play poker there.
Here’s a look at the third-ever MSPT Meskwaki final table:
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Michael Reynolds
$81,060
2
Jeff Grimes
$43,421
3
Phil Mader
$27,501
4
Brad Sullivan
$20,265
5
Steve Federspiel
$17,370
6
Ed Nassif
$13,028
7
Kirk Flom
$11,001
8
Jason Seitz
$9,843
9
Gennady Shimelfarb
$8,106
Ring Overcomes Stacked Final Table to Win MSPT Meskwaki
The first MSPT Meskwaki stop of 2013 accounted for 342 entries and created a prize pool of $342,700. Even more impressive is that it resulted in a “final table [that] may have been the toughest in MSPT history.” That’s because it included WSOP bracelet winners Blair Hinkle and Nick Jivkov; winner of the Chicago Poker Classic and MSPT Pro Blake Bohn; MSPT Running Aces champ David Gonia; an MSPT regulars Mark Sandness and Eric Loehr. There was also an amateur from Durant, IA by the name of Terry Ring.
Wouldn’t you know it, Ring’s slow-and-steady approach earned him pot after pot, and before long he found himself heads up against Jivkov holding a massive chip lead. Ring, who also has a Heartland Poker Tour title on his résumé, used it to seal the deal and take down the $87,694 first-place prize.
Here’s a look at the fourth-ever MSPT Meskwaki final table:
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Terry Ring
$87,694
2
Nick Jivkov
$47,983
3
Kevin Boskey
$31,768
4
Dominic Giarango
$21,510
5
Doyle Elwell
$16,546
6
David Gonia
$13,237
7
Eric Loehr
$11,582
8
Mark Sandness
$9,928
9
Blair Hinkle
$8,273
Van Blair Captures $88,958 First-Place Prize
The MSPT returned to Meskwaki for a second time in Season 4 from July 20-28, 2013 and saw 348 entrants create a prize pool of $347,600. It turned out to be the longest Main Event in MSPT history up until that point, and in the end it was Andy Van Blair, an occupational therapist from Des Moines, that walked away with the $88,958 first-place prize.
Van Blair survived Day 2 with 76,600 in chips, which put him 33rd of the advancing 102 players. From there, he continued to build and ended up at the final table with 1.2 million, putting him second in chips behind Kansas construction operator Shane Fuller. Action stalled when just four players remained, but after several hours Sam Desilva got his chips all in holding the and was up against Fuller’s . An ace on the flop would be all it took for Desilva to bow out in fourth place for $21,819.
After Derek Dempster fell in third place, Fuller took a 3-1 chip lead into heads-up play against Van Blair. On the third hand between the two, Van Blair got his stack in with the and was flipping against Fuller’s pocket threes. The board ran out and Van Blair rivered a straight to keep his tournament alive.
Van Blair went on to take over the chip lead, and on the 10th hand between the two, Fuller raised from the button with the and then called when Van Blair shoved with the . Fuller got it in good, but the flop gave Van Blair the lead with fours. Neither the turn nor river helped Fuller, and he had to settle for second place and a $48,672 consolation prize.
The stop marked the MSPT’s 31st event, and it’s worth noting that it was Everett Carlton’s seventh MSPT final table and ninth cash, making him the most decorated MSPT player up to that point.
Here’s a look at the fifth-ever MSPT Meskwaki final table:
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Andy Van Blair
$88,958
2
Shane Fuller
$48,672
3
Derek Dempster
$32,224
4
Sam Desilva
$21,819
5
Nathan Russler
$16,784
6
Everett Carlton
$13,427
7
Brett Schwertley
$11,749
8
Derek Crooks
$10,070
9
Shaun Decker
$8,392
Survival was the Name of the Game for Spooner
From October 26 to November 3, 2013, the MSPT was back at Meskwaki and 296 entrants turned out to create a prize pool of $300,000. Six out of the 10 final tablists were from Minnesota, but it’d be Jesse Spooner, a process engineer from Easton, MI, that would walk away with the $81,060 first-place prize.
Spooner didn’t exactly thrive on Day 1 — finishing 65th out of the advancing 90 players — but he went into survival mode on Day 2. He made it all the way to the final table, but was the short stack with just nine big blinds. Fortunately for him, he doubled early and then hit a heater that eventually led to him becoming the chip leader; in fact, he began heads-up play against Tom Tracy, a supply chain manager from Apple Valley, MN, with a 9-1 chip lead.
Tracy managed to fight his way into the chip lead, but then momentum swung back in Spooner’s favor. In the 140th hand of the final table, Tracy got his stack all in holding the and was way out in front of Spooner’s . The flop was disaster for Tracy, and he watched helplessly as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.
Here’s a look at the sixth-ever MSPT Meskwaki final table:
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Jesse Spooner
$81,060
2
Thomas Tracy
$43,425
3
Ryan Hartmann
$27,503
4
Jason Sell
$20,260
5
Jeff Bryan
$17,370
6
Daniel Schmidt
$13,027
7
Joe Matheson
$11,001
8
Aaron Johnson
$9,843
9
Jacob Kramer
$8,106
Anderson Wins Largest MSPT Meskwaki to Date; Denies Kirby Third Title
The last time the MSPT was at Meskwaki was from March 29 to April 6, 2014. The first of three stops in Season 5 attracted 389 entrants, which made it the biggest MSPT Meskwaki to date.
MSPT Pro and two-time champ Matt Kirby began Day 2 as the chip leader among the returning 70 players, and he won a big pot midway through the day. It happened when James “mig.com” Mackey got his stack all in with , another player with , and Kirby with . A six on the flop gave Kirby a set, and he turned a full house to send Mackey to the rail and rake in a massive pot that allowed him to make it all the way to the final table.
In fact, Kirby made it to heads-up play against Matthew Anderson. Kirby was seeking his record third MSPT title, but in one of the first hands the two played, Kirby shoved over a check-raise from Anderson on a flop. Anderson quickly called with the , which was ahead of Kirby’s flush draw. Anderson managed to turn quads, and that was all she wrote for Kirby, who took home $54,481 for his runner-up finish. Meanwhile, Anderson was awarded the top prize of $100,075.
Here’s a look at the most recent MSPT Meskwaki final table:
A player bet 3,500 on a flop of and got raised twice. Frank Huschle made it 8,000 to go from the next spot, and John Morgan shoved all in for roughly 25,000 on the button. The bettor folded.
"I have to call you," Huschle announced, turning over for the nuts.
"You're ahead," Morgan said dryly, showing for a flush draw and a gutshot to a chop. The turn and river didn't bring the diamond Morgan sought, and he sent his stack to Huschle.
Ryan Hartmann bet 2,850 from the big blind into Lance Harris, on the button on a board of . Harris made it 4,875 more, and Hartmann thought for a couple of minutes before moving all in. After getting a count of 25,750, Harris made the call.
Hartmann showed for two pair, but Harris had a better two pair with . The river sealed things by giving Harris a full house.
A small pot quickly turned huge at one of the outer tables. We found Veronica Weaber with 9,000 in front of her on a board of . Her opponent had fired 3,000, and he then moved all in. Weaber called, showing for second set. Her unfortunate opponent had for a turned lower set. After the hit, Weaber received a total of 21,300 from her foe.
John Morgan, pictured in the Big One for One Drop.
One of the participants in today's field is business mogul John Morgan, an Omaha, Neb., transplant who now resides in Minneapolis.
He played one of the biggest tournaments in the history of poker earlier this month. Morgan, the leader of the Winmark Corporation, bought into the Big One for One Drop, the historic second running of the $1 million buy in tournament at the World Series of Poker.
It wasn't Morgan's first $1 million buy in, as he played in the inaugural one in 2012. There, he played one of the most talked-about hands in the last few years of poker. On a board of , Morgan pushed all in for 3.4 million over a bet of 700,000 from Mikhail Smirnov, who decided to muck face up.
Whether Morgan had it or not, he's no stranger to splashing his way through tournament pots, as he claimed during this year's One Drop that he "plays bad whether it's a $300 tournament or $1 million." He's managed to ring up about $160,000 in tournament cashes on the occasions he can take time from his busy work schedule, so perhaps he sells himself a bit short.
We'll keep an eye on Morgan as he tries to add to those winnings today, and his boisterous personality means he will always be highly visible.
and Terry Ring had bet 20,000. Harris raised to 50,000, and Zupancich went all in for just over 70,000.
, giving Feiz quads and eliminating Johnson just when he appeared to be gathering momentum after his knockout of Matt Kirby.
, and Aaron Johnson, who had 
. The flop was already on the felt: 
. An 
turn changed nothing, but a 
fell to give Johnson a winning pair of queens. A frustrated Kirby jetted out of his chair and stalked away.
river saved Mossey, and she received a double up of just under 20,000 from her opponent.
, but ultimately folded. If she could see Ahmed's cards, she wouldn’t have, as Ahmed showed 
offsuit and Sun called to see a flop of 
. Dresch bet, San raised, and Dresch moved all in. Sun called with 
, and captured the $77,103 first-place prize after a 
and was up against Fuller’s 
. An ace on the flop would be all it took for Desilva to bow out in fourth place for $21,819.
and Van Blair rivered a straight to keep his tournament alive.
turn nor 
river helped Fuller, and he had to settle for second place and a $48,672 consolation prize.
, another player with 
flop. Anderson quickly called with the 
, which was ahead of Kirby’s 
. Harris made it 4,875 more, and Hartmann thought for a couple of minutes before moving all in. After getting a count of 25,750, Harris made the call.
. The 
for a turned lower set. After the 
hit, Weaber received a total of 21,300 from her foe.
