Eau Claire, Wisc., native Chris Burmeister brings 360,000 in chips into Day 2 to lead the 71 players who survived two Day 1 flights the past two days. He leads a field that includes Day 1a leader Aaron Johnson (233,500), Kou Vang (167,500), David Gutfreund (143,500), David Gonia (127,500), Patrick Steele (113,500), Nick Jivkov (103,500), and Jason Sell (41,000).
Undoubtedly the biggest storyline to watch going into today will be Vang, who is gunning for an amazing fourth straight Mid-States Poker Tour final table. He notched finishes of second, eighth, and fifth in the past three MSPT events, so he's surely still hungry to score that first big win of 2014.
Blinds will begin at 1,500/3,000/500 at Level 15 when play begins here in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc., at 10 a.m. local time. So, get your coffee ready and follow along with us here at PokerNews as we bring you all of the live updates.
We found Bryan Moon calling the all-in shove of a short-stacked Dale Wolf.
Moon:
Wolf:
"Put some clubs out there," Moon said.
Both players flopped gutters on the flop, and a turn closed out some of Moon's outs by giving Wolf a flush draw. The river gave him a royal flush, securing his double in style.
Marc "Poker Joker" Powers called a big raise to 27,500 from Day 1a chip leader Aaron Johnson, who was in the big blind. Both players checked until the end, when action quickly escalated on the board. Johnson put out about 60,000, and Powers shoved all in and was snap-called.
Johnson showed for a rivered gutshot, which also gave Powers two pair with his .
Ryan Jefferson flopped aces full and got big action.
After a flop of , Ryan Jefferson bet 15,000 and got raised to 30,000 by Ernest Garrett. Patrick Steele made it 60,000, and Jefferson shoved. Garrett did the same, and Steele folded face up. Jefferson tabled for the overfull, and Garrett was drawing dead with . The and finished out the board, and Jefferson's over 300,000 now.
The MSPT first visited Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells in Season 3 from Sept. 8-16, 2012. The $1,100 Main Event, which was the first major event of any kind to be held in the casino, attracted 244 entrants and created a prize pool of $243,600, which was a state record at the time. Straight away the traveling pros were impressed by the venue, while local players had similar feelings toward the tour.
“I was really impressed with how things went here this week,” said Minnesota’s Chris “Fox” Wallace. “This is a perfect location and could definitely be a match made in heaven. The players here are passionate and craving this.”
Likewise, Madison’s Mark “P0ker H0” Kroon fell in love with the MSPT: “This week was a blast. This was my first MSPT event and I couldn’t have been more impressed. I loved the structure and how well things are run. Hopefully the MSPT will be back soon and often.”
The final table ended up including several local players like Derek Harvey, Lester Ray, and Mike Murray, but it was an outside who eventually won the title. Joe Illingworth, a teacher from Newton, Iowa, had qualified for the tournament through a $90 satellite and managed to finish as the overall Day 1 leader. He eventually made it to the final table as the chip leader, and then onward to the winner’s circle.
“I had a lot of fun and the structure is phenomenal,” Illingworth said before addressing the final hand. “I wasn’t too happy having to call with threes, but he had been pushing a lot all-in and I knew I had the best hand at that time. I just figured its time. I wanted to make sure I at least had the best hand going in.”
Indeed he did as his was ahead of Tim Treffert’s . The board ran out and the first-ever MSPT Ho-Chunk Main Event came to an end.
Here’s a look at the Season 3 MSPT Ho-Chunk final table:
The MSPT Season 3 Ho-Chunk final table.
Place
Player
Prize
1
Joe Illingworth
$65,742
2
Tim Treffert
$35,219
3
Mike Murray
$22,305
4
Reggie Mims
$16,435
5
Lester Ray
$14,088
6
Sunshine Williams
$10,566
7
Chris Wallace
$8,922
8
Derek Harvey
$7,983
9
John Orr
$6,574
10
Erik Burton
$5,400
Season 4
The PokerNews Mid-States Poker Tour returned to Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells from March 16-24, 2013 for the first of two stops in Season 4. The tournament attracted 300 entrants and created a prize pool of $299,800, which was a new state record.
Extra tables and dealers were set up to accommodate the huge field of 179 players on Day 1b after 121 players came out for Day 1a. The Main Event was run in a separate space from the poker room, leaving the poker room open for a horde of cash-game players who were also in town for the event.
"This location is so much fun, and the action is incredible,” said MSPT founder Bryan Mileski. “I'm really looking forward to Ho-Chunk becoming a staple on the tour and seeing these players multiple times a year for the foreseeable future. The staff is great, and after two events, they really know how to run an MSPT event and create a great environment for the players. Wisconsin has so many great players that they really deserve some big events like the MSPT, and Ho-Chunk is a great place for it."
Interestingly, Jeremy Dresch earned his fifth MSPT cash and fourth MSPT final table. Dresch already had one bracelet and two runner-up finishes on his résumé before placing fourth at Ho-Chunk for $18,805 — giving him $126,834 in career MSPT earnings.
Patrick Steele of Chelsea, Michigan played his first-ever MSPT event at FireKeepers just two weeks before the stop at Ho-Chunk and placed fourth for $18,364. In Wisconsin, Steele finished in third for $27,772. As you know, both scores helped propel him to the MSPT Season 4 Player of the Year title.
It’s also worth noting that two local players – Larry Ormson and John Orr – were at the final table. Ormson is a familiar face on the World Poker Tour, while Orr, a local businessman, made back-to-back final tables at the MSPT Ho-Chunk. Orr ultimately finished in seventh place for $10,126 while Ormson took fifth for $14,465.
Daniel Bekavac from Chicago, Illinois, was the eventual winner and he earned $76,668 for the win along with the RF Moeller Diamond championship bracelet. Bekavac beat Minnesota pro Ryan Hartmann in a tough heads-up battle, with Hartmann earning $41,949 for his runner-up finish.
Eight months later, the MSPT was back at Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells from November 2-10. Once again the field increased – 305 entrants created a $305,000 prize pool – and of course that set a new state record.
MSPT Player of the Year contender Brett Kuznia headlined a tough final table. However, it was 22-year old Josh Reichard of Janesville, Wisconsin who walked away with the $78,003 first-place prize and the RF Moeller diamond championship bracelet. The win marked Reichard’s second MSPT cash — he placed 15th in the very first stop at Ho-Chunk in September of 2012.
Reichard, who survived the Day 1b starting flight in the middle of the pack, began final table as the chip leader with 300,000 more than his next closest opponent. The sizable chip lead helped him overcome some stiff competition to notch the biggest score of his career.
The cutoff raised to 16,000 preflop and was called by Jason Sell in the small blind. After the flop, the two got all in after a bet and a few raises.
Sell:
Cutoff:
The cutoff had flopped a huge hand with top two, but Sell's bottom set was best. The didn't help the cutoff, and neither did the . Sell had him barely covered with 170,000 to 160,000, and he collected the cutoff's stack.
According to a bystander, Kou Vang's quest for a fourth straight Mid-States Poker final table ended when he got all in preflop with and lost to when his opponent turned a heart flush.
Will Liebergen bet 48,000 after two checks on a flop, and Bryan Moon shipped all in after the first checker had folded.
Moon:
Liebergen:
The two had the same hand, but Moon had a tiny freeroll if backdoor hearts came. That's exactly what happened when the followed the out of the dealer's hand.
Chris Burmeister shoved from the small blind when action folded to him and was called by Jason Seefeld in the big. Seefeld's held against Burmeister's , and the chip leader coming into the day had to content himself with a small score.
flop, and a 
turn closed out some of Moon's outs by giving Wolf a flush draw. The 
river gave him a royal flush, securing his double in style.
board. Johnson put out about 60,000, and Powers shoved all in and was snap-called.
.
, Ryan Jefferson bet 15,000 and got raised to 30,000 by Ernest Garrett. Patrick Steele made it 60,000, and Jefferson shoved. Garrett did the same, and Steele folded 
face up. Jefferson tabled 
. The 
and 
finished out the board, and Jefferson's over 300,000 now.
was ahead of Tim Treffert’s 
. The board ran out 
when his opponent turned a heart flush.
.
followed the 
out of the dealer's hand.
held against Burmeister's 
, and the chip leader coming into the day had to content himself with a small score.