$1,100 Main Event ($150K GTD)
Day 1b Completed
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls
$1,100 Main Event ($150K GTD)
Day: 1b
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1b
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$500,960
Entries
518
Level
31
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
30,000
Entries
292
Players Left
40
Ryan Dodson Leads 40 Surviving Day 1b Players
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
To say the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Grand Falls Casino $1,100 buy-in, $150K GTD Main Event crushed it would be an understatement. The first live mid-major poker tournament in the United States in nearly six months attracted 518 entries (226 from Day 1a; 292 from 1b), which not only surpassed the venue’s previous best field of 238 entries in 2015, but also became the largest major ($1,000+ buy-in) in Iowa history.
While Grand Falls Casino is situated just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it is technically located just across the border in Larchwood, Iowa. Despite being a bit remote, players flocked from the Midwest as well as Colorado, Florida, and Vegas. The turnout was evidence that, despite the current pandemic, there is a big demand for live tournament poker.
After a hard stop 10 minutes into Level 15, just 40 players bagged and tagged with Ryan Dodson and his stack of 617,000 leading the way. That was a bit ahead of Day 1a chip leader Kevin Berthelsen, who bagged 541,000.
Others to punch their tickets to Day 2 were Leo Fussy (544,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Pat Steele (377,000), three-time MSPT champ Matt Kirby (220,000), and MSPT Golden Gates champ Steve Wilkie (217,000).
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night. Among those to fire and fall in Saturday’s flight were Minnesota sports radio personality Cory Cove, Colorado poker pro Nick Pupillo, former MSPT champs Ahmed Taleb, Taylor Howard, and Jonathan Kim, just to name a few.
Day 2 will get underway at 11 a.m. local time and play to a winner. The top 54 finishers will get paid with the eventual winner walking away with a $107,706 first-place prize. PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action, so be sure to join us then.
End-of-Day 1b Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
617,000 | |
|
544,000 | 254,000 |
|
414,000 | |
|
377,000 | 227,000 |
|
348,000 | |
|
314,000 | |
|
308,000 | |
|
277,000 | |
|
241,000 | |
|
233,000 | 38,000 |
|
231,000 | |
|
227,000 | 37,000 |
|
220,000 | 80,000 |
|
217,000 | |
|
213,000 | |
|
186,000 | 86,000 |
|
164,000 | 124,000 |
|
156,000 | |
|
|
141,000 | |
|
123,000 | 58,000 |
|
117,000 | |
|
|
117,000 | |
|
|
117,000 | |
|
100,000 | -40,000 |
|
99,000 | -21,000 |
Three More Hands
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play three more hands before bagging and tagging on Day 1b. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chip counts, a short recap of the day's action, and the Day 2 seat draw.
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Nuss No More
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Tara Nuss had been nursing a short stack for awhile looking for a spot, and she finally found it when she got her last 8,000 all in preflop against Mark Collins.
Tara Nuss: 
Mark Collins: 
Nuss was looking for some help, most notable an ace, but she was left wanting as the board ran out a dry 
to send her out in the penultimate level of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
195,000 | |
|
|
Busted |
Linde Goes from Worst to First in Big Three-Way Pot
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Heated preflop action resulted in a three-way all-in pot with Thomas Linde in for 66,000, another player for 94,000, and Mark Fink had them both covered, albeit by only 5,000.
Mark Fink: 
Thomas Linde: 
Opponent: 
The 
flop was gin for Linde, who flopped a set. The 
turn gave Fink an up-and-down straight draw but he missed when the 
bricked on the river.
Linde tripled in the hand, the aces claimed the side pot, while Fink was left with crumbs. The five-time WSOPC ring winner went bust a short time later.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
190,000 | |
|
Busted |
Wilkie Dispatches Ajayi
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
We missed the action play out but we do know that Dapo Ajayi got the last of his short stack all in on the turn against Steve Wilkie with the board reading 
.
Steve Wilkie: 
Dapo Ajayi: 
Ajayi had an overpaid but it was behind Wilkie's bottom two pair. The river was of no consequence and that was all she wrote for Ajayi.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
402,000 | |
|
Busted |
Level: 14
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
A New Iowa State Record
Level 13
: 2,000/3,000, 3,000 ante
MSPT @GFCasino attracts 292 on Day 1B for a state record total of 518 runners building a $107,806 1st place prize,… https://t.co/K0g2dMQiRn
— MSPT (@msptpoker)