Level: 9
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 1,200
MSPT Grand Falls $360 Regional Event
MSPT Grand Falls $360 Regional Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
MSPT Grand Falls $360 Regional Event
Buy-in
$360
Prize Pool
$231,054
Entries
794
Level
35
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
50,000
Entries
188
Players Left
23
Break Time
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Players are on their second 10-minute break of the evening.
More Updated Chip Counts
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
120,300 | 120,300 |
|
108,900 | 108,900 |
|
|
103,400 | 2,900 |
|
100,900 | 100,900 |
|
|
100,400 | 100,400 |
|
97,800 | 97,800 |
|
91,200 | 91,200 |
|
|
91,000 | 91,000 |
|
90,800 | 15,200 |
|
82,700 | -6,000 |
|
|
80,900 | -4,600 |
|
|
60,200 | 29,000 |
|
60,000 | 9,100 |
|
37,200 | -17,800 |
|
20,800 | -6,600 |
|
10,100 | -20,300 |
A Round of Updated Chip Counts
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
87,600 | 27,400 |
|
83,200 | 16,700 |
|
80,100 | -8,600 |
|
72,400 | |
|
58,700 | 13,600 |
|
57,600 | -4,800 |
|
|
19,200 | -23,100 |
|
|
17,400 | -7,600 |
|
11,500 | -13,500 |
|
7,300 | -25,400 |
Industry Insiders: Grand Falls Poker Room Manager Renee Thomas
Level 8
: 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort was granted an operator's license for a casino in May of 2010, which followed the passage of a referendum approving a gaming structure by the citizens of Lyon County, Iowa in September of 2008. Since then, the property has won a number of awards including Midwest Gaming and Destination Magazine 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards for “Best Amenities,” “Best Golf Course,” and “Best Casino Personnel.”
It also ranked as the second-best overall property in Iowa, second-best for amenities in the entire Midwest, and having the best golf course in the entire Midwest! As far as poker at Grand Falls is concerned, Renee Thomas, a mother of three and grandmother of two (not to mention her 3 lbs. Chihuahua that she claims runs the show at her house), is the woman spearheading the team that makes the action happen.
“I’ve been in the casino industry for 26 years in three states,” Thomas tells MSPT Magazine. “I started out dealing
blackjack in South Dakota for a year before transferring to poker as a dealer. I became a supervisor there and then managed the room for three and a half years. After 10 years, I moved to Colorado and followed the same path of dealing, supervising and then managing the Lady Luck poker room for six years.”
After Lady Luck, a sister property to Golden Gates Poker Renee Thomas Parlour (another MSPT stop) just down the street, Thomas set her sights on returning to the Midwest.
“As much as I loved Colorado, I knew that I would eventually want to move back closer to my family,” Thomas explains. “A friend had told me about a casino possibly being built in Larchwood, Iowa so I started paying attention when the state was doing impact studies. When Grand Falls was hiring I came on board before the casino opened as a supervisor and assisted the poker manager in training poker dealers. I was promoted to poker room manager three and a half years ago.”
Once in the driver’s seat, Thomas helped bring one of the country’s premier poker tours to the property.
“Our players look forward to the $1,100 MSPT every year,” she says excitedly. “It’s a great way for our local players to have the opportunity to satellite into a large tournament without having to travel. Because of our location we bring in players from multiple states and because of our amenities, many of them treat it like a mini vacation with their spouse.”
Of course there’s a lot of poker action to be had even when the MSPT isn’t in town.
“Along with running the MSPT every August, our poker room runs three different tournament events each year as
well as low limit weekly tournaments,” says Thomas. “We have the Fall Poker Series in November, our Poker Championship in March and our Summer Poker Challenge in June. I know every manager says that their poker room is friendly but ours truly is! We have such a great staff of supervisors, duals and dealers here at Grand Falls and we do our very best to take care of our player’s needs from getting you a Resort Club card to calling the Big Drop to order your dinner.”
While a strong player base from nearby Sioux Falls and experienced staff help make poker at Grand Falls a success, Thomas is also quick to credit the resort itself.
“Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort has so much to offer our guests and it’s a great destination for a mini vacation,” she says. “You can relax at the spa or pool, play golf, shop in our boutique and then have dinner at Ruthie’s, Robert’s Buffet or the Big Drop.”
*This post originally appeared in MSPT Magazine and is republished here with permission from the MSPT.
Level: 8
Blinds: 500/1,000
Ante: 1,000
Eggen Puts Opponent to the Test
Level 7
: 400/800, 800 ante
Action on the table folded around to Aaron Eggen who raised to 2,100 from the hijack and only the big blind player defended bringing the 
flop.
The small blind player led out and Eggen called to see the 
drop on the turn. Action was checked to Eggen who moved all in, sending the small blind player deep into the tank.
After careful consideration, the small blind player folded and Eggen raked in the chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
88,700 |
Fink Eliminated by Venners
Level 7
: 400/800, 800 ante
Justin Venners opened for 2,100 from the cutoff and was called by Mike Fouts from the small blind before Mark Fink three-bet jammed for 9,200 from the big blind.
Action was back on Venners who came over the top and Fouts quickly folded his hand.
Mark Fink: 
Justin Venners: 
Fink was behind needing some help but didn't find any from the 
runout as he was sent to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,300 | 11,100 |
|
34,500 | 10,200 |
|
Busted |
Level: 7
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 800
Lardy Gets Big Blind Special
Level 6
: 300/600, 600 ante
Action on the table folded around to the hijack player who raised to 1,400 and found three callers which included Chase Lardy from the big blind.
The 
flop was checked to the initial raiser who continued for 3,200 and only Chase called to see the turn.
This time, Chase led out for 6,000 and his opponent said to him with a puzzled look on his face, "you have ace-eight don't you," before they mucked their hand.
Chase decided to show his hand and rolled over 
before collecting his chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
31,200 | 31,200 |