In the middle of the 2013 World Series of Poker, Kevin "Phwap" Boudreau collapsed in the parking lot of a nearby Subway restaurant during the dinner break of an event. The young poker pro was rushed to the hospital and the community was shocked to learn that he had suffered a traumatic brain injury, one that came with a grim prognosis.
Boudreau, who was part of the famed Ship It Holla Ballas crew, had sudden bleeding in his brain and was placed in an induced coma. As his family rushed from Colorado to be by his side, many of his close friends in Vegas did what they could. The outlook was grim.
Fast forward two years. Boudreau, who is still on a long road to recovery, is back playing the game he loves. A miracle in and of itself. At this time last year, Boudreau set the poker world ablaze when he final tabled this very event, ultimately finishing in fourth place for $34,678 after suffering a brutal bad beat to eventual champ Reza Yazdi.
Boudreau has returned to Golden Gates Casino and is looking for a bit of redemption, and he immediately got back to his winning way.
In a recent hand, Boudreau opened for 300 from the cutoff and received calls from the player on the button and MSPT Team Pro Matt Kirby in the big blind. The flop saw Kirby check, Boudreau bet 700, and only the button call to see the turn, which both players checked.
When the completed the board on the river, Boudreau bet 1,050 and his opponent paid him off. Boudreau tabled the for a flopped two pair, and it was good as his opponent simply mucked.
Season 6 of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) continued yesterday with Day 1a action from the Golden Gates Casino Main Event!
The first of three starting flights attracted 126 entrants, but after 16 levels of play just 20 remained with Ross Reichert and his stack of 357,500 leading the way. Today, the second flight will kick off with a mix of new faces and Day 1a casualties looking to reenter such as MSPT Golden Gates Regional champ Bobby Sanoubane, who is already two bullets deep; MSPT Team Pro Matt Kirby; Nebraska farmer Phil Mader; Bryan Devonshire, who finished sixth in the Colorado Poker Championship back in August; and Aaron & Ralph Massey.
Some players we won't see in action are defending champ Kane Lai (304,000) and MSPT Team Pros Matt Alexander (270,500) and Nick Pupillo (100,000), all of who advanced from Day 1a. Lai topped a field of 409 entrants back in March to win a $101,365 first-place prize, and interestingly, he won the HPT Ameristar St. Charles for $150,593 earlier this week. With a big stack headed into Day 2, Lai will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
Day 1b will kick off at 12:00 p.m. local, which is less than an hour from now. Late registration and reentries are open all day long, so check back soon for all the action straight from Black Hawk, Colorado!
In the meantime, here's a look at the remaining MSPT Golden Gates schedule:
Day
Event
Buy-In
Time
Friday, Nov. 13
MSPT Qualifier
$250
9:00 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 13
MSPT Main Event Day 1b
$1,100
12:00 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13
MSPT Qualifier Turbo
$250
9:00 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14
MSPT Qualifier
$250
9:00 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14
MSPT Main Event Day 1c
$1,100
12:00 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15
MSPT Main Event Day 2
-
12:00 p.m.
The Main Event, which will start players with 30,000 in chips, will see the Day 1b field play 16 levels, and the same for Day 1c on Saturday. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday morning at 12:00 p.m. and play until a champion is crowned. The Main Event final table will be broadcast live (15-minute delay) with hole cards worldwide on msptpoker.com and PokerNews.
Here's a look at those who've capture titles in Season 6 thus far:
Dates
Event
Entrants
Winner
Prize
Jan. 15-25, 2015
MSPT bestbet Jacksonville
421
Brian Arbaugh
$102,806
Jan. 30 – Feb. 8, 2015
MSPT Running Aces
354
Erv Bjerga
$91,941
Feb. 14-22, 2015
MSPT Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells
463
Ben Wiora
$114,512
March 5-15
MSPT Golden Gates
409
Kane Lai
$101,365
March 21-29
MSPT Meskwaki
371
Chad Willett
$96,760
April 4-12
MSPT Potawatomi
635
Jason Mirza
$147,529
April 6-19
MSPT Maryland Live! Casino
270
Greg Himmelbrand
$72,910
April 17-26
MSPT Canterbury Park
430
Dan Hendrickson
$106,182
May 9-17
MSPT FireKeepers Casino
614
Mark Rubenstein
$142,637
June 1-5
MSPT Venetian
1,964
Angelina Rich
$215,815
July 24-26
MSPT Meskwaki
410
Blake Bohn
$101,229
August 14-16
MSPT Grand Falls
238
Alan Curl
$64,941
August 21-23
MSPT Tropicana Evansville
251
Michael O'Neill
$67,746
September 4-6
MSPT Potawatomi
462
Dan Goepel
$114,117
September 18-20
MSPT Running Aces
328
Peixin Liu
$85,498
October 10-18
MSPT FireKeepers Casino
559
Michael Ferraroti
$134,642
November 6-8
MSPT Meskwaki
410
Rich Alsup
$101,229
For additional news and updates, be sure to follow the tour on Twitter @msptpoker. Cards will be in the air in just a couple of hours, so stay tuned!
The PokerNews MyStack App is available for players here in the EMSPT Golden Gates Casino Main Event, allowing players to directly update their chip count on the PokerNews Live Reporting page for their friends and family to see.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Be forewarned, however, any abuse of the app will result in account suspension or termination.