Chris Burmeister holds the overall chip lead heading to Day 2.
Chris Burmeister finished Day 1b with 360,000 to top a surviving field of 41 players here at Mid-States Poker Tour Ho-Chunk Gaming. A total of 235 runners registered today, and Nik Stone (326,000), Bryan Moon (313,000), Travis Lauson (262,500), and Steve Andersen (256,500) bagged top-five stacks as well.
The 235 Day 1b registrants brings the total to 383, marking a new record in the state of Wisconsin, shattering the old mark of 305 set at the last MSPT stop here in November of last year.
Burmeister must have built his stack like a ninja, because we only noted him in one hand in the crowded field, but he had a big one. With the board reading , the cutoff checked to Burmeister, who put his opponent all in for 51,500 into a pot of about 80,000. The player tanked for a couple of minutes, seeming genuinely pained as he brushed his cap back and counted his stack. Finally, he called.
Burmeister:
Cutoff:
Unfortunately for the cutoff, Burmeister had two of the outs he likely thought he had, and two pair would do him no good since it gave Burmeister a straight. A was a harmless river, and Burmeister pumped his fist.
One of the players eliminated today was Josh Reichard, who topped the record field mentioned above to take home $78,003 last year. He busted when he got all in preflop in a blind-versus-blind spot against Moon.
Moon:
Reichard:
Moon had his opponent dominated, and Reichard called for spades. Just one appeared on the flop, but Reichard now could chop if a deuce hit. A opened up still more chopping outs, but the river sent the pot to Moon. Reichard took the elimination in stride, shaking hands with his opponents and wishing them good luck.
Kirby had a particularly peculiar busto hand, as he put a small blind limper all in from the big, only to see the player call off with nine-high for about 14 big blinds and get there against ace-queen.
Notables who managed to advance to Day 2 included David Gonia (127,500), Marc "Poker Joker" Powers (125,500), Patrick Steele (113,500), Nick Jivkov (103,500), and Jason Sell (41,000). These players will join the 30 survivors from Day 1a for Day 2 action on Sunday at 10 a.m. They will play down to a winner, so be sure to come back then to find out who will walk away with the $97,539 first-place prize.
Bryan Moon and Josh Reichard got all in preflop from the blinds.
Moon:
Reichard:
Moon had his opponent dominated, and Reichard called for spades. Just one appeared on the flop, but Reichard now could chop if a deuce hit. A opened up still more chopping outs, but the river sent the pot to Moon, and we won't have a repeat champion here at MSPT Ho-Chunk Gaming.
Eddie Blumenthal couldn't get a stack built up today.
We found Eddie Blumenthal all in for his last 4,400, and action folded to Pat Kellogg, who called in the big blind.
Blumenthal:
Kellogg:
"I've never won a race at one of these MSPTs," Blumenthal said, throwing up his hands.
The dealer began spreading the flop, revealing first the then the , prompting an "ohhh" from the table. An even louder collective "ohhh" came when the third card was revealed: , giving Kellogg a set.
"See!" Blumenthal said, vindicated.
A hit the turn, giving Blumenthal trips to keep him drawing live.
"Now, don't do that," he told the dealer. "Because you know you're not going to do it."
"Quad him up!" one of the other players said.
The river was a though, and one of the most dangerous players in the field wished his tablemates good luck as he left.
Jun Kim just got it all in against Christian Pham with on a flop of . Unfortunately for Kim, Pham held for a higher set, and he had just one out. He spiked that out on the turn, making quads, and Pham could only exclaim about how awful he has run today. He's still sitting, shell-shocked, in a seat at a neighboring table, as if he can't believe he's really done on a one-outer.
A player opened for 1,800 in the hijack, and Nick Jivkov made it 4,200 from the button. The raiser called, and two took in a flop. Jivkov bet 5,800 when checked to, and his opponent pushed all in. Jivkov wasted no time calling.
Jivkov:
Hijack:
Jivkov's overpair was good for the moment, but his opponent had considerable outage with an open-ender, a backdoor flush draw, and a pair. The turn was a brick, and the board pairing with on the river did the hijack no good either.
Jivkov, who has nearly $600,000 in career cashes, including World Series of Poker win in Pot-Limit Hold'em in 2012, will be a player to watch going forward if he can maintain his stack.
Dan Almerli fired 2,200 into a multi-way pot on an flop. Only the hijack called, and a hit the turn. Almerli put his opponent all in for about 16,000, and she called it off after about 30 seconds of thought.
Almerli:
Hijack:
The player in the hijack had made the right read, but she wasn't rewarded when the hit the river, completing Almerli's flush draw and giving him the nuts.
After a flop of , action checked to Pavlin Karakikov in the cutoff, who bet 2,150. The button shipped all in for about 6,000, and Lance Harris popped it to 14,500 from the hijack. Karakikov shoved as well for about 18,000, and Harris called.
Karakikov:
Harris:
Button:
Everyone had flopped a monster, with Karakikov leading with a set while Harris had considerable outs with a combo draw. The button needed an ace to make an overfull to triple up. Running and gave Harris a worthless two pair, and Karakikov took the pot with his set.
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.
For more on the MSPT's upcoming stop at Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells, visit MSPTpoker.com. Also, don’t forget PokerNews will be live reporting the event, which you can follow in our Live Reporting section.
Dan McCabe bet 2,600 from the hijack on a final board of . John Hayes shoved all in for 14,375, and McCabe tanked for a couple of minutes before announcing a call. Hayes silently flicked his cards to the muck, and McCabe showed for top pair.
, the cutoff checked to Burmeister, who put his opponent all in for 51,500 into a pot of about 80,000. The player tanked for a couple of minutes, seeming genuinely pained as he brushed his cap back and counted his stack. Finally, he called.
was a harmless river, and Burmeister pumped his fist.
flop, but Reichard now could chop if a deuce hit. A 
opened up still more chopping outs, but the 
river sent the pot to Moon. Reichard took the elimination in stride, shaking hands with his opponents and wishing them good luck.
provided no help.
then the 
, giving Kellogg a set.
though, and one of the most dangerous players in the field wished his tablemates good luck as he left.
. Unfortunately for Kim, Pham held 
hit the turn. Almerli put his opponent all in for about 16,000, and she called it off after about 30 seconds of thought.
