Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Tropicana Evansville
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Tropicana Evansville
Buy-in
$1,000
Entries
225
Level
27
Blinds
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
5,000
Hahn Bags Huge Day 1a Lead
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Michael Hahn emerged as the clear leader at the end of Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour Tropicana Evansville, as his 299,000 is more than double that of second-place finisher Jim Will, who finished with 126,000. Hahn, who hails from nearby Carmel, Indiana, is an experienced player with more than $384,000 in live cashes.
George Lusby (120,500), Matt Duffy (117,000), Steve Galey (102,000), David Brown (92,000), newly-minted tour pro Kou Vang (67,500), Eric Crain (64,500), JT Turner (54,000), and Adam Friedman (32,000) were also among the 26 who made it through the 14 levels of play.
A total of 105 runners took a shot in the first starting flight.
Brown spent much of the day as the chip leader before sliding late, and some of his losses coming at the hands of Hahn. In one pot, Hahn took some chips from his fellow top stack when Brown bet into a trio of opponents on a board of 
. Joe Leisure called from the cutoff, as did Hahn on the button. The river card was the 
, and Brown bet 12,000. Leisure folded, and Hahn silently dropped 33,800 into the middle. Brown couldn't call and slid the dealer his cards after about 30 seconds. Hahn just seemed to steadily climb in similar pots without showing down, as he was in the top five counts for much of the day.
Vang currently leads the MSPT Player of the Year standings, and it looked like he was going to roll to a big day after he got off to a nice start. On one hand, he opened for a raise in middle position and saw an opponent make it 1,050 to go. The big blind cold-called, and Vang elected to call to see the 
flop. Everyone checked, and the 
arrived on the turn. The big blind checked, and Vang fired out 1,425. The preflop aggressor pushed his stack of 6,000 or so into the middle, and the big blind folded.
"Call," Vang said, forcefully slapping the 
on the board for a flopped full house. His opponent was dead with the 
.
Despite the fast start, opponents put Vang in some tough spots late, coming at him with aggressive three-barrels and putting the squeeze on his continuation-bets. He also lost a late race when John McMillan caught a pair of kings on the river with 
against Vang's 
.
Friedman, a World Series of Poker bracelet winner, has the shortest stack of the bunch, but he still seems pleased as he joked late in the night that he was saving himself $2,200 in Day 1b buy-ins if he advanced from Day 1a.
Some players will have no choice but to pony up the one or two buy-ins on Saturday if they want another chance for glory. Those falling today included Charlie Dawson, Aaron Gamino, Jeff Grimes, and Nicholas Pupillo, who made a deep run in the WSOP's Monster Stack tournament this summer and cashed for nearly $100,000 in 12th place.
Day 1b begins Saturday at 4 p.m. local time, so be sure to come back to PokerNews for more coverage.
End of Day 1a Counts (full)
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
299,000 | 57,000 |
|
126,000 | 46,000 |
|
120,500 | |
|
|
117,000 | |
|
102,000 | 4,000 |
|
|
97,000 | |
|
94,000 | |
|
92,500 | |
|
92,000 | -53,000 |
|
84,000 | 500 |
|
|
84,000 | |
|
69,000 | -42,000 |
|
67,500 | -8,500 |
|
|
65,000 | |
|
64,500 | 13,500 |
|
|
61,500 | -8,500 |
|
|
60,500 | |
|
59,500 | |
|
59,500 | |
|
54,500 | 500 |
|
54,000 | |
|
|
44,500 | -4,200 |
|
38,500 | |
|
37,000 | |
|
37,000 | -1,800 |
Four More
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Each table will play four more hands.
Hahn Pushes Brown Out, Has Chip Lead
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
A late surge has Michael Hahn in the chip lead late on Day 1a. Recently, he took some chips from fellow top stack David Brown when Brown bet into a trio of opponents on a board of . Joe Leisure called from the cutoff, as did Hahn on the button. The river card was the , and Brown bet 12,000. Hahn silently dropped 33,800 into the middle, and Brown slid the dealer his cards after about 30 seconds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
242,000 | 136,000 |
|
|
145,000 | 4,000 |
McMillan Doubles Through Vang
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
We found the dealer counting down John McMillan's stack of 33,200. Kou Vang tossed him the requisite double up chips, as McMillan had spiked a king on the river with against the of Vang.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
76,000 | -12,500 |
|
|
70,000 | 17,000 |
Friedman Trying to Preserve
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
"Twenty-four minutes and I get to save $2,200," Adam Friedman joked excitedly as he looked at the ticking clock, referring to the possibility of losing two buy ins on Day 1b if he goes bust. Friedman has been grinding a short stack for a bit, and he has less than 20 big blinds at the moment.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
37,000 | -4,600 |
Wilson's Trap Won't Spring
Level 14
: 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Michael Hahn opened for 5,000 in the cutoff and was called by David Brown on the button and Greg Wilson in the big blind. The flop came monotone with 
, and Brown and Wilson both called 7,000 from Hahn. Everyone checked as bricks fell on the turn and river, and Wilson tossed 
into the middle for the nut flush.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
141,000 | -22,500 |
|
|
106,000 | -14,000 |
|
|
88,000 | -5,000 |
Level: 14
Blinds: 1,200/2,400
Ante: 400
Lu Tank-Folds
Level 13
: 1,000/2,000, 300 ante
Steve Galey bet 18,000 on a 
flop from the big blind. Grace Lu, on the button, was his lone opponent, and she called. on the turn, Galey pushed all in for 26,100. Lu tanked for a few minutes before letting her hand go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
98,000 | -7,000 |
|
|
48,700 | -58,300 |