MSPT Black Hawk

$1,110 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day: 1c
Event Info

MSPT Black Hawk

Event Info
Buy-in
$1,110
Prize Pool
$631,470
Entries
651
Players Left
3
Average Chip Stack
5,425,000
Total Chips
16,275,000
Level Info
Level
27
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000
Players Info - Day 1c
Entries
302
Players Left
43

Welcome To Day 1c of the MSPT Black Hawk $1,110 Main Event

Bally's Black Hawk
Bally's Black Hawk

Registration has already begun for Day 1c of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Black Hawk $1,110 Main Event, the third and final starting flight of the tournament; and as is the norm on Saturdays for tour stops here, Bally's Black Hawk is expected to be completely full by the time cards go in the air at noon local time and stay that way throughout most of the afternoon.

A total of 349 entries have already been recorded throughout the first two starting flights, just 50 shy of the three-day total from the last MSPT Main Event that was held here in November 2019. The tournament's $200K Guarantee has also already been surpassed by a long shot, and another full turnout makes a field of greater than 600 almost certain.

Just 40 have advanced so far after each flight has hit 12% of the field prior to the originally scheduled 15 levels set to be played on Day 1 to result in a hard stop and create a new ending for the following flights. Most recently, Friday's flight finished with 33:30 remaining in Level 15 (3,000/5,000/5,000) with Canada's Michael Wyporowich (556,000) taking the overall chip lead. Wyporowich surpassed Day 1a's top finisher Michael Kinzer (488,000) as well as Dapo Ajayi (475,000), who is currently third in the counts.

Because of Friday's hard stop, Day 1c will play until 3:30 remains in Level 14 (2,000/4,000/4,000) and then pause the clock to play a certain number of hands to finish the night. However, a ton of poker will be played prior to that time, with Level 1 beginning at 100/100/100 and players starting with 25,000.

Levels will last 40 minutes throughout the day with 10-minute breaks after every three levels and a 40-minute dinner break at the completion of Level 9 (600/1,200/1,200). Registration for the final flight will remain open through the final break of the night, closing at the beginning of Level 13 at approximately 9:10 p.m. local time. At that time, registration will also be closed for the tournament, with official prize pool details to come by the end of the night.

Plenty of talented poker players such as Scott Stewart, Vincent Moscati, Derek McMaster, Danny Gonzales, and defending champion Steve Wilkie have been among those yet to advance, and most if not all will likely be among the masses taking their final shots at finding a bag.

All who advance will return on Sunday at 11 a.m. local time for Day 2 to join the 45 already on that roster and play down to a winner. PokerNews will be on the floor throughout the rest of the tournament to provide updates on all the chips certain to fly in Black Hawk's thin mountain air. Keep it here to catch all the action.

Tags: Danny GonzalesDapo AjayiDerek McMasterMichael kinzerMichael WyporowichScott StewartSteve WilkieVincent Moscati

Update Your Own Chip Count Using the PokerNews MyStack App!

Level 1 : 100/100, 100 ante
MSPT MyStack
MSPT MyStack

PokerNews has activated the MyStack 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.

Upstairs Action

Level 2 : 100/200, 200 ante
Yohannes Ambaye on Day 1a
Yohannes Ambaye on Day 1a

A last-minute effort from everybody involved has brought about the opening of the upstairs overflow area inside Bally's Black Hawk, where three tables are currently in action.

On one table, Kurt MacDonald opened to 700 in middle position and Scott Stewart called in the cutoff. Action went heads up to the flop {a-Spades}{a-Clubs}{j-Diamonds} and MacDonald continuation-bet 1,000. Stewart called.

The turn came {8-Spades} and MacDonald fired a second barrel of 2,500, prompting Stewart to shoot his cards to the center of the table.

Moments later, Mike Vanier was seen vacating his seat at an adjacent table as his stack was pushed to Yohannes Ambaye. Vanier had shoved on the end of a board {5-}{7-}{q-}{2-}{3-} with {5-}{4-} for a pair of fives, only to run it into Ambaye's straight with {6-}{4-}.

Player Chips Progress
Yohannes Ambaye us
Yohannes Ambaye
54,500
29,500
29,500
Kurt MacDonald us
Kurt MacDonald
22,400
22,400
22,400
Scott Stewart us
Scott Stewart
21,200
-3,800
-3,800
Mike Vanier us
Mike Vanier
Busted

Tags: Kurt MacdonaldMike VanierScott StewartYohannes Ambaye

Brown Sends One Home

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante
Tomas Brown
Tomas Brown

A player raised to 1,400 under the gun and received five calls behind, four of which were Jonathan Kim, Anthony Martinez, Tomas Brown, and Kane Lai from the cutoff through the big blind, respectively.

The flop came {j-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{4-Spades} and action checked to the original raiser, who threw his last 5,000 into the middle. Only Brown called.

All-In Player: {q-Spades}{10-Spades}
Tomas Brown: {q-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}

The turn {8-Diamonds} and river {5-Diamonds} brought about some reaction from the table as Brown hit a backdoor flush to top the all-in player's queens and eliminate him from the tournament.

Player Chips Progress
Tomas Brown us
Tomas Brown
67,000
67,000
67,000

Tags: Tomas Brown

Rotholz Felted

Level 5 : 300/500, 500 ante
Hal Rotholz
Hal Rotholz

"Aces-versus-kings, second hand," said Hal Rotholz on his way out of the tournament area just moments after having previously been eliminated once prior. The back-to-back eliminations on his end spelled the end of his MSPT Black Hawk bid, and he made his way to the elevator to head out as a result.

"I'll be in Cherokee next," he added

Player Chips Progress
Hal Rotholz us
Hal Rotholz
Busted

Tags: Hal Rotholz

MSPT Grand Falls August 20-22

Level 6 : 300/600, 600 ante
MSPT Grand Falls
MSPT Grand Falls

After wrapping up in Black Hawk, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) will be heading to Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Iowa for another $1,100, $200K Guaranteed Main Event from August 20-22.

A week's worth of $70 and $260 satellites will lead up to the Main Event, which will have two starting flights on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21, each at 3 p.m. local time before the field returns on Sunday, August 22 to play down to a winner.

Grand Falls has long been a staple on the MSPT schedule since its first stop there in 2012, and has recently seen record-setting turnouts of 488 and 518 during its last two stops in January 2021 and August 2020, the latter of which awarded a top prize of $107,709 to Mark Collins for his victory.

PokerNews will be offering live updates at the upcoming MSPT Grand Falls.

Click here for more details including hotel rates.

Jesse Doubles With Aces

Level 7 : 400/800, 800 ante
Jay Jesse
Jay Jesse

Three players went to a flop of {10-Spades}{6-Diamonds}{9-Clubs} with 6,600 in the middle from preflop action and Stacey Jones checked in the big blind, first to act. The cutoff also checked, and then Jay Jesse went all in for 10,700.

"Is he all in?" asked Jones, and the dealer confirmed. Jones then called and the cutoff folded.

Jay Jesse: {a-Diamonds}{a-Spades}
Stacey Jones: {10-Hearts}{2-Hearts}

Jesse's aces were ahead of Jones' top pair, and the turn {7-Clubs} did little more than bring four chop outs into the equation. None of it mattered, however, as the river {k-Spades} left Jesse's aces best and scored him the dub.

Player Chips Progress
Stacey Jones us
Stacey Jones
30,500
-7,700
-7,700
Jay Jesse us
Jay Jesse
18,000
7,600
7,600

Tags: Jay JesseStacey Jones

Heiberg Tramples an Opponent

Level 9 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Jeff Heiberg
Jeff Heiberg

Jeff Heiberg opened the action with a raise to 2,800 in the cutoff and the player on the button called. The small blind then squeezed, three-bet shoving for around 30,000. Heiberg re-jammed for 32,900, and the small blind folded after some serious deliberation.

All-In Player: {j-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}
Jeff Heiberg: {k-Spades}{k-Clubs}

Heiberg's cowboys remained best through a runout of {q-Spades}{8-Hearts}{6-Spades}{5-Hearts}{10-Hearts} and the pot was shipped his way as a result.

Player Chips Progress
Jeff Heiberg us
Jeff Heiberg
68,400
39,000
39,000

Tags: Jeff Heiberg

The Ladies Love Barry Faecher

Level 10 : 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Barry Faecher
Barry Faecher

A pile of chips was already in the middle on a board reading {10-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}{8-Spades}{a-Spades} and three players had cards in front of themselves. Barry Faecher bet 9,000 under the gun and was called by a player in middle position. The hijack then raised to 35,000 and Faecher jammed for 39,500. The middle-position player went into the tank, eventually announcing a fold, and then the hijack confirmed the remainder to call before doing so.

"If you've got the straight, you've got me beat," said Faecher.

"I don't," said his opponent, tabling {a-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}.

Faecher turned over {q-Spades}{q-Hearts} for a set of queens and needed only to fade the two remaining aces in the deck. The river {7-Spades} fell cleanly in his favor and he scored the sizeable pot for more than a double.

Player Chips Progress
Barry Faecher us
Barry Faecher
123,500
87,000
87,000

Tags: Barry Faecher

Field Breaks 300

Level 12 : 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante
Bally's Black Hawk
Bally's Black Hawk

The tournament clock has just ticked up to 300 total entries for the day, bringing the three-day total up to 649. Registration will remain open for a little more than 30 more minutes, closing at 9:11 p.m. local time.