We found Neil Patel all in before the flop for his last 5,550, having been call in two spots. The dealer put down a board of as the two active players quickly checked down.
"I can't catch anything besides my f****** breath," one of the players said, tossing into the middle.
"You have a pair?" Patel asked the third player, who shook his head. "Ace-king."
Patel's unpaired hand had somehow held up, and he is back near the starting stack.
Faced with a bet of 500 from the small blind, Henry Tran made a huge raise to 3,500 on the board. The small blind called, then checked the river. Tran switched gears with a tiny bet of 1,500, and the small blind chuckled as he called. Tran turned over for a full house.
On our second walk through the room we noticed a player who stands in the field as one of the most accomplished players here: Jacob Bazeley, an Ohio native with more than $1.6 million in live cashes. Bazeley snagged the biggest cash of his career this spring with $371,931 for a fourth-place finish at the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown in Hollywood, Fla. He's looking to add to that here just a few short hours from his hometown in Cincinnati.
At the conclusion of Day 1a of Mid-States Poker Tour Tropicana Evansville, local grinder Michael Hahn bagged a hefty chip lead with 299,000. Today, a matching 14-level structure will be played for Day 1b, which is set to begin at 4 p.m. local time here in Evansville, Ind.
Each level will last 40 minutes. Players are allowed to reenter once should they go bust, and each player will begin with 20,000 chips, with blinds beginning at 50/100 under the Allen Kessler-approved structure. Breaks will be given every three levels, and reentries will close at the conclusion of the break after Level 9.
A total of 105 runners entered yesterday's flight, and many will surely be back for more, likely including Charlie Dawson, Aaron Gamino, Jeff Grimes, and Nicholas Pupillo. We'll be on the lookout for all of the big hands and top stacks as Day 1b progresses, so stay tuned to PokerNews.
as the two active players quickly checked down.
into the middle.
board. The small blind called, then checked the 
river. Tran switched gears with a tiny bet of 1,500, and the small blind chuckled as he called. Tran turned over 
for a full house.
