Gene Gioia bagged the top stack with 302,100 here at Mid-States Poker Tour Golden Gates Day 1a. Mark Sandness, winner of MSPT Running Aces earlier this year, trails in a distant second with 234,800. John Taitt (193,800), David Gutfreund (192,100), and Charles Anderson (161,900), also bagged top five stacks.
A total of 137 entrants were recorded today, and some notable players survived the grind: Phil Mader (86,000), Ryan Tepen (61,200), and Bryan Devonshire (38,100). Though Devonshire bagged one of the shorter stacks, he still looms as one of the more dangerous players in the tournament, as his resume includes more than $2 million in live cashes.
Gioia gained most of his stack on one of the last hands of the night. With the first four cards coming , Gioia bet 25,000 and got called. On the river, he put all of his red T5,000 chips in the center: 85,000. His opponent immediately called, and Gioia tabled . The button raised his cards high into the air and slammed onto the felt. Nobody else had time to catch Gioia after that, as just one more hand was played at his table.
Day 1b will commence tomorrow at 5 p.m. local time, and PokerNews will be on the scene to bring all of the live updates, so come back and see us then.
We found a large heads-up pot brewing between Gene Gioia, in early position, and an opponent on the button. With the first four cards coming , Gioia bet 25,000 and got called. On the river, he put all of his red chips in the center: 85,000. His opponent immediately called, and Gioia tabled . The button raised his cards high into the air and slammed onto the felt.
The players just counted down their stacks under the staff's supervision, and we'll have all of the counts up shortly.
The player in the big blind checked to Ryan Tepen after a flop of , and Tepen checked it back. When the turned, the big blind checked again, and Tepen bet 3,000. His opponent raised to 6,000, and Tepen came back with a small raise of his own to 10,000. The big blind called, and a hit the river. Tepen bet approximately 30,000 after his opponent checked, and the player made the call.
Tepen showed for a turned full house, and the big blind had for aces up with a kicker that played. He stormed away from the table and possibly out of the casino despite the fact that he still has a few thousand remaining, which is currently being blinded off.
One player in today’s field is playing her first-ever Mid-States Poker Tour Main Event. We’re talking about Christa Pryor. Along with her husband, Jim, the couple are easily recognizable on the circuit as both regularly sport Blue Shark Optics (BSO), which is fitting as they are members of Team BSO.
“Christa and I actually met at the poker table in 2009,” Jim explained. “I had admired her for a while, but we had never actually talked. Then one night at a game she was talking about her upcoming move from Colorado to Las Vegas. That's when I learned she had been a poker dealer in Cripple Creek, CO; and was moving to Las Vegas to start working as a dealer at the Rio.”
Jim tried to contact her in Vegas, but that proved easier said than done.
“Dealers aren’t easy to get in touch with during the World Series of Poker,” he said. In Feb. 2010, Jim and Christa’s paths crossed once again at a poker tournament in Colorado Springs. “We talked, flirted, and quickly began dating. That turned into a marriage in July 2011.”
Jim had a prior relationship with Kerry Karoutsos, owner and operator of Blue Shark Optics, and that lead to two spots on the company’s pro team, which made them the only married couple on the roster.
“One thing I quickly learned was that although I was a BSO team member, she was actually the best poker player in the house,” Jim admitted. “As her success at the game grew, Kerry took notice, and invited her to join the team in October 2013. We were officially the only married couple on the team.”
Indeed, Christa has recently found success at the Colorado Poker Championship when she finished runner-up in a no-limit Omaha event and sixth in a no-limit hold’em tournament.
“We have set a goal for Christa to get her at the tables for a variety of regional and national tours,” Jim said of his wife. “That all starts with this Mid States Poker Tour event here at the Golden Gates.”
Chad HollowayGolden Gates Casino. Photo courtesy of thegoldengatescasino.com.
Three stops on the fifth season of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) are in the books. Last weekend, Ken Baime topped a field of 301 players to win $77,681 at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana, but that's in the past as tonight the MSPT kicks off its first-ever stop at Golden Gates Casino in Blackhawk, Colorado.
The three-day $1,100 Main Event, which features a $200,000 guarantee, will begin tonight at 5 p.m. with the Day 1a flight. Then tomorrow, Day 1b will kick off at the same time, followed by 1c on Saturday. On Sunday, the surviving players will return for Day 2 and then the final table will play out on Monday.
“We’re very excited for the MSPT to visit Colorado for the very first time,” said MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. “The venue is among the most scenic we’ve ever visited, and the excitement for a brand new stop seems to be at an all-time high. The MSPT is definitely going to make its mark on Blackhawk.”
Indeed, players have been flocking to Blackhawk from across the country. Among those making the trek are MSPT Team Pros Matt Alexander and Matt Kirby; Cole Robinson, Adam Wilbur, Travis Northrope, and Christa Pryor. In addition, players will be greeted by the lovely Valerie, who will be working the MSPT booth all weekend long.
Action is set to kick off at 5 p.m. local time, which is a little over an hour from now. We'll be bring you updates and color posts throughout the evening, but we encourage players to download and utilize the My Stack app, which allows poker players to update hands and chip counts straight into PokerNews' live feed.
, Gioia bet 25,000 and got called. On the river, he put all of his red T5,000 chips in the center: 85,000. His opponent immediately called, and Gioia tabled 
. The button raised his cards high into the air and slammed 
onto the felt. Nobody else had time to catch Gioia after that, as just one more hand was played at his table.
, and Tepen checked it back. When the 
turned, the big blind checked again, and Tepen bet 3,000. His opponent raised to 6,000, and Tepen came back with a small raise of his own to 10,000. The big blind called, and a 
hit the river. Tepen bet approximately 30,000 after his opponent checked, and the player made the call.
for a turned full house, and the big blind had 
for aces up with a kicker that played. He stormed away from the table and possibly out of the casino despite the fact that he still has a few thousand remaining, which is currently being blinded off.
