Main Event Day 1b | 2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls

08-16-2015 03:26 UTC-5

Costanzo Leads 31 Survivors of Day 1b

mnuwwarah

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

The Mid-States Poker Tour drew 128 players on Day 1b of MSPT Grand Falls, pushing the total to 238, well above last year's total of 201. When the day's 14 levels ended, Chuck Costanzo stood atop the heap with 191,000. In all, 31 players made it through, joining Day 1a's 23 survivors to make a Day 2 field of 54.

Costanzo already had a big stack late in the night during Level 13 (1,000/2,000/300) when he solidified his lead. Mike Lang opened for 4,500 under the gun and got one call in middle position before Costanzo made it 13,000 from the small blind. Both Lang and the third player called, leading to a flop of . Costanzo quickly tossed in 25,000, and Lang folded. The middle player said he was all in, and Costanzo snap-called.

Costanzo:
Middle position:

The run out went Costanzo's way as the turn was followed by a river.

"DQ" Dan Hendrickson, who won MSPT Canterbury Park earlier this year, also made it through with a nice stack, 128,500. Sam De Silva (121,000), Matt Kirby (118,500), Aaron Johnson (86,500), Josh Reichard (69,000), and Lance Harris (66,500) also punched Day 2 tickets.

Kirby, a sponsored MSPT Team Pro, grinded a short stack the majority of the day. Things finally broke his way in the final level, first when he doubled with against after getting in on a flop. Then, Kirby overbet all in on a king-high straight board and took down about a 60,000 pot when his opponent mucked. Kirby already has two MSPT titles and seeks an unprecedented third.

Players falling during Day 1b included the aforementioned Lang, Mark Fink, Jeff Bryan, Duane Gerleman, Joseph Stiers, John Hayes, Ervin Bjerga, and Mike Ross.

Day 2 commences at 10:30 a.m. local time and will play down to a champion who will pocket more than $60,000. Be sure to return to PokerNews to see who that will be.

Tags: Chuck Costanzo Matt Kirby

08-16-2015 01:29 UTC-5

Costanzo Still Crushing

mnuwwarah

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

Mike Lang opened for 4,500 under the gun and got one call in middle position before Chuck Costanzo made it 13,000 from the small blind. Both Lang and the third player called, leading to a flop of . Costanzo quickly tossed in 25,000, and Lang folded. The middle player said he was all in, and Costanzo snap-called.

Costanzo:
Middle position:

"I guess we'll gamble for a big stack," Costanzo's opponent said.

"I have a blocker," Costanzo said optimistically.

The gamble went Costanzo's way as the turn was followed by a river. Costanzo looks like the clear favorite to end the day as chip leader.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chuck Costanzo	220,000	81,000

Tags: Chuck Costanzo Mike Lang

08-16-2015 00:02 UTC-5

Stiers Eliminated

mnuwwarah

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

Jon Maras opened for 2,700 under the gun, and Joseph Stiers made it 5,600 in the hijack. Maras called, and the two saw a flop. Maras checked, Stiers put in 7,000, and Maras shoved for 17,800 total after looking perplexed. Stiers asked for a count and called.

Stiers:
Maras:

Stiers had just two outs and he missed as an hit followed by the .

A few hands later, Stiers said he busted out when he jammed his last 15,000 or so with jacks and failed to win a race against ace-queen.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jon Maras	50,000
Joseph Stiers	Busted

Tags: Joseph Stiers Jon Maras

08-15-2015 23:39 UTC-5

De Silva Fades It

mnuwwarah

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

A player opened to 4,200 in middle position, and Sam De Silva made it about 15,000 to go in the small blind. The big blind called off around 13,000, and the middle player called, leaving a small side pot for he and De Silva to play. The flop came , and De Silva shoved 20,400 and got snapped.

De Silva:
Middle position:
Big blind:

De Silva needed to fade spades, kings, and nines, and he did so as it came .

At other tables, Joseph Stiers doubled up and Chuck Costanzo appears to have amassed the biggest stack in the room with nearly 140,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chuck Costanzo	139,000
Sam De Silva	94,000	30,700
Joseph Stiers	43,000	26,000

Tags: Joseph Stiers Sam De Silva Chuck Costanzo

08-15-2015 23:28 UTC-5

Mid-States Poker Tour to Visit Tropicana Evansville for $250K GTD from August 15-23

mnuwwarah

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 200 ante

It's never too soon to look ahead to the next stop – MSPT Tropicana Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. The stop will run from August 15-23 and culminate with the Indiana State Poker Championship, an $1,100 buy-in $250,000 Guaranteed Main Event, from Friday, August 21 through Sunday, August 23.

"Tropicana Evansville was added to the MSPT schedule last year, and it proved to be a huge success," boasted MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. "We're thrilled to be heading back in Season 6, and even though we've upped last year's $100K guarantee up to $150K, we're confident we'll crush it for the second year in a row."

Indeed, last year's event more than doubled the guarantee as 225 entrants took to the felt to compete for a $60,527 first-place prize. In the end, Kentucky native Charlie Dawson defeated Alex Yen in heads-up play to capture the title.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team was on hand to capture action from that event, and we're happy to announce that we'll once again return to the Hoosier State for the Indiana State Poker Championship. That means players will have the opportunity to use the My Stack app to update their hands and chip counts straight into the live blog.

To download the My Stack app absolutely free on either Apple or Android, click here.

"The response from our core poker players has been extremely positive," Mike Miller, Director of Table Games for Tropicana Evansville, previously told PokerNews. "They are very excited and are looking forward to matching wits with some of the best poker players in the world."

Here's a look at the upcoming MSPT Tropicana Evansville schedule:

Date	Event	Buy-in	Time (ET)
Saturday, August 15	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	2:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 16	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 18	Multi-Table Super Satellite	$65	6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 19	Multi-Table Super Satellite	$65	12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 19	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	6:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 20	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	12:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 20	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	6:30 p.m.
Friday, August 21	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	10:30 a.m.
Friday, August 21	MSPT Main Event Day 1a	$250	4:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 22	MSPT Main Event Qualifier (20% advance)	$250	10:30 a.m.
Saturday, August 22	MSPT Main Event Day 1b	$250	4:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 23	MSPT Main Event Day 2	-	10:30 a.m.

The Main Event will be held over three days beginning Friday with Day 1a at 4 p.m. Day 1a will play 14 levels. Saturday's Day 1b will also start at 4 p.m. and also play 14 levels. Players who advance from Day 1a are not eligible to play in Day 1b. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

Located at the bottom tip of Indiana near the border of Illinois and Kentucky, the Tropicana Evansville Casino is surrounded by four major cities (St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville) all within a three-hour drive. The casino is located on an 841,848 square foot area at Riverfront Park on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. The $110 million entertainment facility includes a 250-room hotel and a 96-room boutique hotel, an executive conference center, retail shops, restaurants and lounge area.

Finally, if you're looking for things to do off the felt while in Evansville, check out PokerNews' five recommendations here.

Here's a look at those who've capture titles in Season 6 thus far:

Dates	Event	Entrants	Winner	Prize
Jan. 15-25, 2015	MSPT bestbet Jacksonville	421	Brian Arbaugh	$102,806
Jan. 30 – Feb. 8, 2015	MSPT Running Aces	354	Erv Bjerga	$91,941
Feb. 14-22, 2015	MSPT Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells	463	Ben Wiora	$114,512
March 5-15	MSPT Golden Gates	409	Kane Lai	$101,365
March 21-29	MSPT Meskwaki	371	Chad Willett	$96,760
April 4-12	MSPT Potawatomi	635	Jason Mirza	$147,529
April 6-19	MSPT Maryland Live! Casino	270	Greg Himmelbrand	$72,910
April 17-26	MSPT Canterbury Park	430	Dan Hendrickson	$106,182
May 9-17	MSPT FireKeepers Casino	614	Harry Tisdale	$142,637
June 1-5	MSPT Venetian	1,964	Angelina Rich	$215,815
July 24-26	MSPT Meskwaki	410	Blake Bohn	$101,229

For more information, head on over to msptpoker.com or follow them on Twitter @msptpoker.

08-15-2015 21:04 UTC-5

Bjerga Has the Cooler

mnuwwarah

Level 7 : 250/500, 50 ante

Ervin Bjerga bet 1,300 from the small blind and called the shove of the big blind, who had about 8,800. The board read , and Bjerga had flopped a wheel with . The big blind had and didn't improve to a full house or quads.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ervin Bjerga	86,500	52,700

Tags: Ervin Bjerga

08-15-2015 19:19 UTC-5

Two Heavy Hitters Enter

mnuwwarah

Level 5 : 150/300, 25 ante

Joseph Stiers, pictured at Borgata Winter Poker Open 2014.

Lance Harris and Joseph Stiers have recently joined the field and both are already chipping up.

Harris is a regular on the Mid-States Poker Tour and is coming off of a deep run in the 2015 Main Event, where he ultimately busted 128th for about $46,000.

Stiers is an East Coast player who has made most of his bacon at Borgata. He won a $560 reentry there at the 2013 Winter Poker Open for more than $300,000 and then came second the next year in the $1,500 heads-up tournament for $18,624.

Player	Chips	Progress
Lance Harris	31,500
Joseph Stiers	26,200

Tags: Joseph Stiers Lance Harris

08-15-2015 17:48 UTC-5

Heilman Holds Despite Dead Cards

mnuwwarah

Level 3 : 100/200, 0 ante

Justin Heilman, pictured at this event last year.

A player in middle position made it 700 to go, and one player called from the button. Justin Heilman three-bet to 3,700 in the small blind, and the first player announced a call with his T5,000 chip already in the middle. He had his hands on his remaining chips, and the player on the button mistakenly thought he was all in and folded face-up. The two active players saw a flop, and Heilman put his opponent all in for the remaining 1,600 or so and the player shrugged and called.

Heilman:
Opponent:

Amazingly, Heilman held the other two nines, but he would be stone dead if his opponent turned a pair. That didn't happen thought as the turn was followed by an river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Heilman	24,300	24,300

Tags: Justin Heilman

08-15-2015 15:57 UTC-5

Welcome to Day 1b of Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls Casino

mnuwwarah

Aaron Johnson is among those expected to turn up for Day 1b after busting Day 1a.

With 14 levels and one day in the books, it's time for Day 1b of Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls Casino to get underway here just outside of Sioux Falls, S.D. Action kicks off at 4 p.m. under the Allen Kessler-approved structure that allots each player 20,000 starting chips and one reentry apiece until the beginning of Level 10. Players will play three 40-minute levels in a row followed by a 10 minute break until 14 levels have been completed or 15 percent of the field remains.

Day 1a saw 110 runners, a step up from last year's turnout of less than 100, and 80 players are already registered for Day 1b. Alan Curl booked the chip lead when the dust settled, bagging more than 240,000, and Mark Hodge trailed in a distant second with 145,000. He's trying to catch Blake Bohn on the player of the year leaderboard.

The final satellite winners are grabbing their seating assignments and action should begin shortly.

Tags: Mark Hodge Blake Bohn Allen Kessler