2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces Harness Park
The MSPT Running Aces continued to grow in Season 4. From Feb. 15-17, 2013, 367 players made their way to Forest Lake for the $1,100 Main Event, which ended up with a $367,000 prize pool. David Gonia, a local player in the Twin Cities area, kicked off the season with a win for $93,940 after running over the final table, including a brief ten-minute heads-up match against Peixin Liu, a regular at Running Aces.
The stop also featured a live-streamed table throughout the main event that broadcast on a fifteen-minute delay with hole cards. It proved to be a big hit for online railbirds, and that was due in no small part to notable players at the feature table including two-time MSPT champ Matt Kirby; millionaire John Morgan; former Running Aces champ Rodger Johnson; and 2011 MSPT Player of the Year Nate Fair.
Here’s a look at the Season 4 MSPT Running Aces final table:

| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Gonia | $93,940 |
| 2 | Peixin Liu | $51,401 |
| 3 | Matt Alexander | $34,031 |
| 4 | Dylan Eggen | $23,042 |
| 5 | Pham Christian | $17,725 |
| 6 | Nate Franklin | $14,180 |
| 7 | Bob Van Syckle | $12,407 |
| 8 | Bill Romer | $10,635 |
| 9 | Terry Eisenman | $8,862 |
For more on the MSPT's upcoming stop at Running Aces, visit either runningacesharness.com or MSPTpoker.com.
Written by Chad Holloway
Level: 7
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
The players have left the tournament area to take a 10-minute break.
Steve Lillehaug, on the button, three-bet to about 7,600 after a raise to 2,100 and a call from middle position and the cutoff, respectively. The original raiser shoved for just a few hundred more, and both of his opponents called, though Lillehaug attempted to shove but wasn't allowed.
After the ![]()
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flop, Lillehaug put his opponent all in after the player checked, and he folded.
Lillehaug: ![]()
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Opponent: ![]()
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Lillehaug was in good shape with his jacks, and the dealer burned and turned the
. The player who folded the flop expressed disgust, saying he folded eights, and the
river shipped Lillehaug the pot.
We found Michael Pankow contemplating an all-in wager for his stack against Jeff Fielder against a short stack who had already shoved for about 5,800. With the board reading ![]()
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, Pankow made the call for his last 10,000 or so.
Pankow: ![]()
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Fielder: ![]()
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Short stack: ![]()
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Pankow was in good shape against two draws, and the
and
completed neither.
Matt Alexander was among the recent eliminations.
Tim Votava just won a pot with ![]()
against an opponent who held ![]()
on a board of ![]()
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. Votava doubled up to about 50,000.
Ken Payne pushed all in for 9,050 after a player checked to him on a final board of ![]()
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. Payne's opponent made the call into the large pot, and Payne shrugged.
"I've only got the jack," Payne said, showing ![]()
. His opponent could only shake his head, showing ![]()
before mucking.
Level: 6
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 75