Bohn Crushes Day 1a of MSPT Golden Gates
Day 1a of Mid-States Poker Tour Golden Gates tallied 126 entrants, and exactly 100 of them hit the rail empty-handed. After 15 levels, 25 of the survivors are looking way, way up in the counts at tour pro Blake Bohn, who bagged 511,500, a monster lead over second-place Alex Greenblatt, who finished with 347,000.
Bohn, a Minneosta-based pro, arrived in Colorado coming off of a torrid run that's seen him score nearly $700,000 in live cashes since the beginning of the World Series of Poker this summer. One of those scores was a $54,607 win at MSPT Grand Falls, his first victory on the tour after numerous final table finishes. This Day 1a run was reminiscent of his Day 1a in Grand Falls, when he bagged 403,000 after 14 levels, nearly double the next stack, on his way to the win.
Greenblatt is a skilled California-based player with just under $400,000 in live cashes, and he had players at his tables commenting on how consistently he was sweeping up chips. Both he and Bohn actually bagged up well below their peak stacks, as Bohn was nearing 600,000 at one point while Greenblatt had nearly 500,000.
Other players to survive the day included Robert Brubaker (331,500), Sardor Gaziev (242,500), John "JohnnyGstaks" Hayes (221,000), Ralph Massey (152,500), and Bohn's fellow sponsored pros Matt Kirby (138,500) and Kou Vang (109,500).
Bohn made a few monster hands at key times, such as when he flopped queens up with 
after calling a three-bet from Phanora Prom preflop during Level 12 (800/1,600/200). Prom led out and got raised to 25,000 by Bohn, and he responded by shipping for close to 100,000. Bohn called on the 
board and held against 
. In another pot, 
flopped in a pot Bohn min-raised under the gun. He checked, saw an opponent bet 6,000 and another call, and then raised and got it in with 
against 
, holding up.
He also wasn't afraid to mix it up with mediocre holdings, such as when Matt Grisham bet about 18,000 and was called by Bohn on a 
board.
"I sure hope you check the river," Bohn said.
The 
hit the river, and Grisham bet 20,000. Bohn raised to 100,000. Grisham mucked his hand.
"I paired my four," Bohn said, tabling 
.
Chris Tryba, Mike Ross, Allen Kessler, Brady Bullard, Josh Reichard, John Holley, and Ben Keeline were among the players buying in today but falling short. They'll surely be back to fire more bullets, and they'll have plenty of chances as two more Day 1 flights remain. The next one will be Day 1b, kicking off on Friday at noon, and PokerNews will again be on hand for the live coverage.
for about 90,000, and Gaziev had him crushed with 
.
on the turn and celebrated wildly despite still having 10 cards to fade. The 
and 
and then 
hit, sending the pot to Gaziev.
, but a board of 
meant Vang pulled out the win on the river.
flop, and Matt Kirby made it 3,775, chasing out a third player. The big blind called, then bet out another 10,000 on the 
for a straight draw. The 
river, Monroe shoved in for 11,175, and Kessler tanked for a couple of minutes before calling.
for a boat, and Kessler slid his cards in before turning over 