2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces Harness Park

Main Event
Day: 1b
Event Info

2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces Harness Park

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
kq
Prize
$87,698
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$338,000
Entries
338
Level Info
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000

Main Event

Day 1b Completed

Narrow Lead for Tucker on Day 1b

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Issac "Rungood" Tucker
Issac "Rungood" Tucker

Local player Issac "Rungood" Tucker bagged 222,500 to narrowly edge out Kenneth Johnson (213,000) and Blake Warner (210,500) and top the Day 1b chip counts at Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces Harness Park. The St. Paul native shot up the chip counts late to grab the lead during Level 13 and hang on.

A nice result on the final hand of the night boosted Johnson to the top tier of the counts. Three players saw fifth street, which made the board {2-Hearts}{q-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}{j-Clubs}{4-Spades}. There was already about 115,000 in the bloated pot, and a player shoved all in for 38,200. William Vincent folded after some thought, and Johnson cut out enough to call, seeming unsure of what to do. After about 30 seconds, he shoved the stack in.

"Two pair," the all-in player said.

Johnson waited for him to reveal, and the player put {4-Clubs}{2-Spades} down. Johnson tossed down {k-Spades}{4-Diamonds} for a better two pair with a loud clap, ending his night with a bang.

Vincent (169,500), Ben Marsh (162,500), Jim Lawrence (127,000), Tony Hartmann (123,500), Mike Wilmes (119,000), Adam Dahlin (97,500), Jeremy Dresch (85,500), John Morgan (76,500), Marc "Poker Joker" Powers (68,500), Matt Kirby (56,500), Jonathan Olson (49,000), and short stack Larry Ormson (24,500) were also among the 37 players punching tickets to Sunday's Day 2. A total of 182 entrants bought in on Day 1b, making a total field of 338.

Morgan, a famed Minnesota business magnate known for participating in some of the highest stakes tournaments on the planet, dragged an exciting late pot to secure his Day 2 berth. One player had moved all in for more than 40,000 on the {j-Diamonds}{9-Diamonds}{q-Diamonds} flop, and Morgan called off for about 25,000. A third player folded.

Morgan: {k-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}
Opponent: {k-}{10-}

"Same hand, except I've got this," Morgan said, pointing at his diamond.

An {a-Diamonds} gave him the freeroll win on the turn, and someone called for the straight flush.

The dealer burned and turned the {k-Diamonds}, giving Morgan a royal flush.

"Just like playing the Russian," someone said, referencing the famous hand from the first One Drop in which Morgan got an opponent to fold quads on a board where a straight flush was possible.

"Oh, the Russian didn't know s***," Morgan said as he stacked his chips. "All he had was quad eights."

Many didn't share the good fortune of Morgan, however. Lance Harris, Matt Alexander, Tyler Caspers, Nick Pupillo, Jason Sell, Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Jason Zarlenga, Molly Mossey, David Gonia, Brett Kuznia, Brandon Meyers, Aaron Johnson, and Ryan Hartmann all fell short of the finish line.

In Hartmann's case, a successful trap with aces turned against him when he flatted a late-position open and then saw former MSPT champion Mike Wilmes three-bet in the big blind. When the opener mucked, Hartmann shoved his stack in, only to have Wilmes flop a set with {j-}{j-}.

More beats will surely crop up during the course of Day 2 play on Sunday, and cards will be in the air at 10:30 a.m. local time here in Minnesota. Be sure to come back then for more coverage here on PokerNews as a winner is determined.

Tags: Issac TuckerJohn MorganKenneth Johnson

End of Day 1b Counts (full)

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Player Chips Progress
Issac Tucker
Issac Tucker
222,500 7,500
Kenneth Johnson us
Kenneth Johnson
213,000 3,000
Blake Warner
Blake Warner
210,500 210,500
William Vincent
William Vincent
169,500 49,500
Ben Marsh us
Ben Marsh
162,500 101,900
Paul Skjerseth
Paul Skjerseth
145,000 145,000
Bill Perpich us
Bill Perpich
143,500 23,500
Steve Vang us
Steve Vang
135,000 135,000
Jim Lawrence us
Jim Lawrence
127,000 -38,000
Tony Hartmann us
Tony Hartmann
123,500 123,500
Mike Wilmes us
Mike Wilmes
119,000 -11,000
Ken Pates us
Ken Pates
114,500 114,500
Meng Vang us
Meng Vang
114,500 114,500
Matt Williams us
Matt Williams
111,500 111,500
Arlie Brandvold us
Arlie Brandvold
105,000 21,900
Tom Walberer
Tom Walberer
103,000 6,000
Adam Dahlin us
Adam Dahlin
97,500 -23,500
John Wilhelmy
John Wilhelmy
97,500 97,500
Mike Lovelace us
Mike Lovelace
91,500 91,500
Mike Lang us
Mike Lang
87,500 8,900
Jeremy Dresch us
Jeremy Dresch
85,500 72,500
Rob Wazwaz us
Rob Wazwaz
WSOP 1X Winner
82,300 12,300
Quon Tran
Quon Tran
78,000 78,000
Derek Palmer us
Derek Palmer
77,000 16,000
John Morgan us
John Morgan
76,500 16,500

Read full

Final Hand Come Up for Johnson

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Kenneth Johnson
Kenneth Johnson

On the last hand at one of the tables, three players saw fifth street that made the board {2-Hearts}{q-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}{j-Clubs}{4-Spades}. There was already about 115,000 in the bloated pot, and a player shoved all in for 38,200. William Vincent folded after some thought, and Kenneth Johnson cut out enough to call, seeming unsure of what to do. After about 30 seconds, he shoved the stack in.

"Two pair," the all-in player said.

Johnson waited for him to reveal, and the player put {4-Clubs}{2-Spades} down. Johnson tossed down {k-Spades}{4-Diamonds} with a loud clap, ending his night with a bang.

Player Chips Progress
Kenneth Johnson us
Kenneth Johnson
210,000 60,000

Tags: Kenneth JohnsonWilliam Vincent

Lawrence Back to Heaps

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

Jim Lawrence's roller coaster run continues, as he just dragged a pot worth about 65,000. He called the all in of a player under the gun who had about 20,000, and the small blind called as well. On the {7-}{6-}{3-} flop, Lawrence bet a heap of orange T5,000 chips after the small blind checked, and that player folded.

Lawrence: {a-Hearts}{7-Clubs}
Under the gun: {a-Spades}{10-Clubs}

Fourth and fifth streets were {8-Diamonds} and {j-Spades} leaving Lawrence's sevens best.

Player Chips Progress
Jim Lawrence us
Jim Lawrence
165,000 78,000

Tags: Jim Lawrence

Two Straight KOs for Vincent

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Bill Criego
Bill Criego

We found Bill Criego all in for about 10 big blinds with {k-}{j-}, having been called by William Vincent in the big blind with {a-}{j-}. Criego didn't improve, and he rapped the table and left.

The next hand, a player opened to 6,500 in the cutoff, and the player on the button shoved all in for about 20,000. Vincent shoved on top of that, forcing the big blind and the cutoff out.

Vincent: {a-Spades}{k-Spades}
Button: {k-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}

The board ran out {6-Spades}{6-Clubs}{4-Clubs}{a-Clubs}{6-Hearts}, and Vincent is now sitting with a well above-average stack.

Player Chips Progress
William Vincent
William Vincent
120,000
BIll Criego us
BIll Criego
Busted

Tags: William Vincent

Level: 14

Blinds: 1,200/2,400

Ante: 400