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Alex Powell Seizes the Chip Lead on the Last Hand of Day 1b of the RPT Montana State Poker Championship
Alex Powell waited until the last moment to seize the chip lead on Day 1b of the Roughrider Poker Tour $635 Montana State Poker Championship.
On the last hand of the night, Powell flopped a full house and put in a big shove for 533,000 on the turn. Mikiyo Aoki went deep into the tank before calling with trip queens, and she couldn’t improve on the river as Powell earned the massive double up. He bagged up 1,242,000, putting him into the overall chip lead as 31 players advanced to Day 2 tomorrow.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Powell | United States | 1,242,000 | 124 |
| 2 | Rick Burleson | United States | 978,000 | 98 |
| 3 | Lance Schuchard | United States | 802,000 | 80 |
| 4 | Kevin Sickels | United States | 589,000 | 59 |
| 5 | Nathan Allen | United States | 566,000 | 57 |
| 6 | James Armstrong | United States | 490,000 | 49 |
| 7 | Eric Hjelmstad | United States | 430,000 | 43 |
| 8 | Kevin Clyde | United States | 407,000 | 41 |
| 9 | Carl Devries | United States | 376,000 | 38 |
| 10 | Angie Lee | United States | 367,000 | 37 |
Rick Burleson soared up the leaderboard when he turned the nut straight to bust AJ Stiffarm and Nick Hammarstrom in a double elimination. While he was caught by Powell at the end of the night, Burleson still finished with 978,000 and in second place. Lance Schuchard (802,000), Kevin Sickels (589,000), and Nathan Allen (566,000) round out the top five.
Allen and Schuchard teamed up to end the title defense of last year’s champion Dan Burcham. Allen was all in for 311,000 with two kings, but he ran right into Burcham’s aces and was at risk of elimination until the flop gave him a set and a double up. Schuchard, who finished in third place in the South Dakota State Poker Championship two weeks ago, finished Burcham off a few hands later, winning a race with tens against ace-king.
Others through to Day 2 include Eric Hjelmstad (430,000), Miles Barnum (313,000), Kevin Ellis (272,000), three-time RPT Player of the Year Arlie Brandvold (270,000), Alan Curl (223,000), and John Schroer (138,000). Aoki, meanwhile, was left nursing a short stack of 53,000 after losing the pot to Powell.
A total of 184 players came to the Billings Hotel & Convention Center today for the last starting flight. Among those who took their shot but couldn’t make it through the day were last year’s runner-up Andrew Hilleren, South Dakota State champion Terry Ketterer, and Dave Ouellette.
The two starting flights combined to create a total field of 325 entries. Just 55 will return tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time to play down to a champion. The action picks up on Level 16 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. The top 50 players will finish in the money and secure a piece of the $175,500 prize pool, while the winner will earn $30,000 and the championship bracelet.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following the race for the bracelet and providing live updates until a new Montana poker champion is crowned.