$360 Regional Event
Day 1a Completed
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Golden Gates Regional
$360 Regional Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Golden Gates Regional
Buy-in
$360
Prize Pool
$326,100
Entries
1,087
Level
33
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
50,000
Entries
161
Players Left
17
Rosa Bags Big Chip Lead on Day 1a of 2020 MSPT Golden Gates $360 Regional Event
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Day 1a of the 2020 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Golden Gates $360 Regional Event saw a whopping 161 entries come up to the Golden Gates Casino and Poker Parlour on Wednesday. Those who entered came to play and the action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.
Fifteen full levels were played to their completion after 20 players remained when three hands were drawn to end the night across the two tables left in play, just one elimination from hitting a hard stop. Over those three hands, three more players were eliminated and 17 players punched their ticket to Sunday’s Day 2.
Luis Rosa (641,000) leads the pack by a wide margin after finishing the night with an exclamation mark, earning one of the three aforementioned knockouts on the penultimate hand of the evening. The top five is rounded out by four other players who finished the day north of 300,000: John Taitt (399,000), Greg Geller (390,000), Lyman Woodworth, and Behrouz Keshtavar (328,000).
The action hit a new gear on final level of the evening, which saw the remaining players in the field ultimately drop from 26 down to 17. Chips flew across the room and stacks fluctuated accordingtly. Geller’s evening peaked at around 485,000, while Taitt, Woodworth, and Keshtavar all were beneficiaries of the wild action that ensued during the last half hour of play. Others to advance included Nate Zoller (251,000), Alexander Gross (242,000), James Callanan (99,000), and Jeff Granowsky (87,000).
Many players were not as fortunate. Danny Gonzales, Pat Pineda, Greg Collins, and Sammy Aweida were just a few who took their shot at a bag on Day 1a only to come up short. All who have yet to advance will have three more starting flights for further attempts.
PokerNews will be on hand for the rest of the weekend to bring you all of the action, so be sure to come back for Thursday’s Day 1b at noon local time.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Play has finished and 17 players remain to finish the night after three eliminations occurred over the final two hands of play. Official chip counts have been provided and a recap of the day's action will soon follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
641,000 | 1,000 |
|
399,000 | -51,000 |
|
390,000 | 55,000 |
|
352,000 | 32,000 |
|
328,000 | 63,000 |
|
270,000 | 270,000 |
|
251,000 | 3,000 |
|
244,000 | 244,000 |
|
242,000 | -68,000 |
|
|
178,000 | -6,000 |
|
177,000 | 177,000 |
|
|
121,000 | 121,000 |
|
102,000 | |
|
99,000 | -21,000 |
|
99,000 | -67,000 |
|
87,000 | 23,000 |
|
|
44,000 | -34,000 |
Gioia Falls To Rosa
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Phillip Gioia went all in for the last of his chips from middle position and received action from Luis Rosa, who was in the cutoff.
Phillip Gioia: 
Luis Rosa: 
Gioia found himself in trouble and stayed behind the whole way as the board ran out 
to find himself eliminated from the tournament just before the end of the night. Meanwhile, Rosa's stack has vaulted to 640,000 to make him the chip leader with chips about to go into bags.
Furthermore, Slater Dean was eliminated from the same table on the following hand and was seen exiting the tournament area, bringing the number of players left down to 17 at the end of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
640,000 | 640,000 |
|
Busted |
Three More Hands
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Ten minutes remain on the night and the number three has been drawn to signify that three more hands will be played on each of the two remaining tables before play concludes for the evening. These three hands will be played regardless of whether or not a player is eliminated before the end of the night.
Keshtavar Doubles; Gonzales Dusted
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Behrouz Keshtavar saw action folded to him on the button and went all in for about 120,000. Alexander Gross announced a call from the small blind and Keshtavar voiced his displeasure for the moment.
Behrouz Keshtavar: 
Alexander Gross: 
Keshtavar then found out he was out in front and remained there the whole way as the board ran out 
.
Meanwhile, Danny Gonzales shoved all in on an adjacent table and received action from Lyman Woodworth.
Danny Gonzales: 
Lyman Woodworth: 
Gonzales saw the runout come 
and he was eliminated from the tournament at the end of a flurry of a few eliminations that has brought the field down to 20 players across two tables with 14 minutes remaining on the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
320,000 | 320,000 |
|
|
310,000 | -135,000 |
|
|
265,000 | 265,000 |
|
Busted |
McPeak Doubles Through Taitt; Nguyen Eliminated
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
John Taitt limped in under the gun and Hung Nguyen went all in for his last few chips from Taitt's direct left. John McPeak then went all in for about 30,000 from middle position and action made its way back to Taitt, who made the call. All three hands were then exposed.
Hung Nguyen: 
John McPeak: 
John Taitt: 
The board ran out 
, bringing two pair onboard to counterfeit Nguyen's threes and send him to the rail. McPeak's ace high remained best and he scored the double and a little more.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
450,000 | 204,000 |
|
|
78,000 | 78,000 |
|
Busted |
Dean Doubles to Find Life
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Slater Dean was down to his last 30,000 and went all in from middle position. He received a call from the hijack and all players behind folded.
Slater Dean: 
Hijack: 
Dean was in need of help to stay alive and found plenty on the flop 
. The turn and river left him with a full house and scored him the double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
73,000 | 40,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Zoller Nears a Quarter-Million
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Nate Zoller opened the action with a raise to 11,000 in early position and action folded around to the small blind, who three-bet all in for 60,000. Zoller thought for about 20 seconds and then made the call.
Small Blind: 
Nate Zoller: 
Zoller was poised for a knockout and had a small scare as the first card on the flop 
gave his opponent one of his necessary three outs. However, a jack came behind it and put Zoller even further out in front. He faded the two remaining sevens in the deck on both the turn and river and sent his opponent to the rail with around 10 minutes left in the penultimate level of the night, bringing his stack to 248,000 along the way, well above the average stack in the room with 26 players remaining.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
248,000 | 98,000 |