$1,100 Main Event ($150K GTD)
Day 1b Started
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
Welcome to Day 1b of the MSPT Grand Falls Main Event!
At the beginning of the year, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) was primed for Season 11 and even hosted three stops before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted things, just like it did for so many other tours and venues.
This weekend, the MSPT Season 11 continues, at least for one stop, with the $1,100 buy-in, $150,000 GTD Main Event at Grand Falls Casino, just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The event, which requires players to be 21+ and will be live reported by PokerNews, marks the first mid-major tournament in the United States in nearly six months.
The $1,100 Main Event, which will require players to wear masks, features two starting flights and Friday's Day 1a drew 226 entries. After a hard stop 10 minutes into Level 15, just 27 players bagged and tagged with Kevin Berthelsen and his stack of 541,000 leading the way. Rounding out the top five big stacks were William Chao (427,000), Stephen Cleghorn (357,000), Tim Garles (310,000), and Curtis Vierstraete (296,000).
Others to punch their tickets to Day 2 were Donnie Phan (248,000), Steve Federspiel (227,000), Kyna England (207,000), Jason Seitz (191,000), Tyler Kolness (141,000), and Ryan Phan (95,000).
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night. Among those to fire and fall in Friday’s flight were two-time South Dakota State Poker Championship winner Ryan Skluzak, WSOP Circuit studs Blake Whittington and Nick Pupillo, Howard Hankin’s BFF Cody Brinn, “Bemidji” Eric Anderson, and MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup. There's a good chance we see most of them give it another go today in the second flight.
Day 1B will get underway shortly. The surviving players from both flights will then return at 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 30 to play down to a winner.
The MSPT last visited Grand Falls Casino for a Main Event back in September when Jesse Rockowitz topped a 175-entry field to win the tournament for $45,425. The time before that, Ryan Skluzak bested a 226-entry field to win it for $54,427.
The last MSPT stop in general, which took place March 4-8, was actually at Grand Falls Casino, though it was a $350 buy-in Regional Event. Swadeep Mishra took down that tournament for $23,467
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 100
Download the PokerNews MyStack App and Update Your Chip Count
Level 1
: 100/100, 100 ante
PokerNews has activated the My Stack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live-action that you're involved in.
Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.
Familiar Faces in the Field
Level 1
: 100/100, 100 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
A Couple of Day 1b Tweets
Level 1
: 100/100, 100 ante
Trying again for day 1B of @msptpoker #lfg https://t.co/mSrCcusiS1
— Taylor Howard (@TheRealTayHow)
Starting Day 1B MSPT at Grand Falls Casino. Huge turnout. https://t.co/TmPMx1l6gi
— Kyle Wagner (@kyleWwagner)
More Faces in the Crowd
Level 1
: 100/100, 100 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
Listen to the MSPT Grand Falls Preview on the Latest Episode of the PN Podcast; Guest Alyssa MacDonald
Level 2
: 100/200, 200 ante
In the latest edition of the PokerNews Podcast, Sarah Herring, Chad Holloway and Jeff Platt recap the latest 2020 World Series of Poker online bracelet event series from GGPoker.
They then welcome guest Alyssa MacDonald, who talks about her deep run in the $10K Heads-Up Championship.
They also discuss Patrick Leonard's idea of doing away with nine-handed poker, break down the World Poker Tour WOC Mix-Max Championship, examine the new high-stakes scene (which includes new record-breaking NLH hands) and the MSPT Grand Falls, which is the first mid-major live poker tournament in the USA in nearly six months.
Most MSPT Main Event Cashes in History
Level 2
: 100/200, 200 ante
Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 years on they have one of the best player databases in the industry.
On their "Leaderboards" page, the MSPT tracks such things as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Final Tables, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, and much more. Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.
Here's a look at the top ten MSPT Main Event cashers:
| Place | Player | Hometown | Main Event Cashes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Johnson | Red Wing, Minnesota | 39 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 32 |
| 3 | Richard Alsup | New Hope, Minnesota | 30 |
| 4 | DJ Buckley | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 27 |
| 5 | Pat Steele | Chelsea, Michigan | 26 |
| 6 | Mark Hodge | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 25 |
| 7 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 25 |
| 8 | Jason Seitz | Shakopee, Minnesota | 24 |
| 9 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 22 |
| 10 | Matt Kirby | Bemidji, Minnesota | 22 |