$360 MSPT ($150K GTD) Day 1b | MSPT Black Hawk

08-06-2021 03:08 UTC

Morrell Leads Day 1b Field at MSPT Black Hawk $360 Regional

HillKerby

Level 15 : 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

It wasn't easy, but Jerry Morrell has finished Day 1b of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Black Hawk $360 Regional with the chip lead with a stack of 488,000. A total of 234 entries came to Bally's Black Hawk Thursday for the second of four starting flights and 32 players advanced, with Morrell narrowly leading Barb Visher (477,000) atop the counts.

In the final hands of the evening, Morrell and Visher wound up getting stacks in with Morrell holding ace-king of diamonds and losing to Visher's aces. Visher appeared to vault into pole position for the chip lead as tables balanced and Morrell moved on the very next hand.

Morrell's new table quickly put the ace-king of diamonds back in front of his face, where he wound up playing for stacks once more and winning a coin flip against pocket tens to get right back to where he was before. He then won a small pot at the end of the night, one that proved to be the difference in him being the leader when chips went into bags.

Jeff Heiberg (355,000), Kobie Keir (297,000), and Zach Gutierrez (277,000) rounded out the top five in counts, barely edging out three more players behind that finished the day above a quarter-million. Others to advance included Renato Spahiu (212,000), Noomis Jones (185,000), Randy Needens (126,000), Vincent Moscati (97,000), and Jason Vanstrom (74,000).

Of course, the vast majority of entrants did not advance, with Greg Collins, Tan Hoang, Nate Zoller, Brian Leitch, and Phil Gioia among those who fell short of finding a bag.

Two more starting flights remain for all looking to punch their ticket onto Sunday's Day 2 roster. Fifty-four have already advanced, and all players firing future flights are advised to arrive early as the house will certainly be full for each of the next two days. Registration for Friday's Day 1c opens at 10 a.m. local time, with play beginning at noon once more. As usual, PokerNews will be bringing you updates every step of the way.

Tags: Barb Visher Brian Leitch Greg Collins Jason Vanstrom Jeff Heiberg Jerry Morrell Kobie Keir Nate Zoller Noomis Jones Phil Gioia Randy Needens Renato Spahiu Tan Hoang Vincent Moscati Zach Gutierrez

08-06-2021 02:21 UTC

Big Stacks Cede Doubles

HillKerby

Level 15 : 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

Hand #1: Noomis Jones saw action fold to him on the button and opened to 19,000. Billy Gallegos defended his big blind and action checked through the flop . Gallegos fired out 35,000 on the turn and Jones called again, bringing the river . Gallegos shoved to put Jones all in for his last 80,000 or so, and Jones went deep into the tank before finding a call.

"Nice call," said Gallegos, sending his cards straight to the muck pile from the one-seat upon seeing Jones table .

Hand #2: On an adjacent table at the same time, a preflop raising war between Barb Visher and Jerry Morrell saw Visher's stack of more than 200K go into the middle preflop.

Barb Visher:
Jerry Morrell:

Visher's aces held through the runout to earn the double, and in doing so appears to have taken the chip lead just before the end of the night.

Player	Chips	Progress
Barb Visher	465,000 465,000	465,000
Billy Gallegos	280,000 -135,000	-135,000
Noomis Jones	260,000 115,000	115,000
Jerry Morrell	240,000 -130,000	-130,000

Tags: Barb Visher Jerry Morrell Noomis Jones

08-06-2021 01:16 UTC

MSPT United States Poker Championship Comes to Sycuan Casino September 16-26

HillKerby

Level 13 : 2,000/3,000, 3,000 ante

The Mid-States Poker Tour will play host to the United States Poker Championship September 16-26 at Sycuan Casino in San Diego, California.

A total of 11 trophy events will take place including a $360 Regional $100K Guarantee during the opening weekend (September 16-19) and the $1,110 Main Event running from Thursday, September 23 through Sunday, September 26, which will feature a $300K Guarantee for its three starting flights.

Sycuan's first MSPT stop came back in March and also culminated with a $300K Guarantee Main Event. That time, Alesandro Jauregui claimed victory and the accompanying $140,665 first-place prize after topping a field of 676, which more than doubled the tournament's guaranteed prize pool.

PokerNews will be returning to Sycuan alongside MSPT to bring you live updates of both the $360 Regional and $1,110 Main Events.

Click here for more details including hotel rates.

08-05-2021 23:39 UTC

Kings Good To Keir

HillKerby

Level 11 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

A pile of chips was in the middle on a board reading with heads-up action between Kobie Keir in the hijack and an opponent in the big blind. The big blind check-raised Keir's bet of 10,000 up to 35,000 and Keir called.

The river came and the big blind fired out enough chips to put Keir all in, with Keir quickly dropping a chip onto the felt to call.

Big Blind:
Kobie Keir:

Keir called correctly with top set on the wet board and earned the double as a result. His remaining stack was pushed forward to total 35,800, bringing him up above 170,000 just past the midway point of Level 11.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kobie Keir	170,500 170,500	170,500

Tags: Kobie Keir

08-05-2021 22:47 UTC

Roy Toasted

HillKerby

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

David Blankenship opened to 7,300 in middle position and Patrick Roy re-jammed for 14,500 in the hijack. Chad Bjorkman cold-called on the button and Blankenship called as well, taking future side-pot action to a flop of . First to act, Blankenship jammed for his remaining 28,500 and Bjorkman folded, giving Roy a shot at a triple.

"Do you have a pair?" asked Blankenship. Roy said he did. "You're ahead," Blankenship added.

Patrick Roy:
David Blankenship:

The turn then fell to do Roy in, as he was unable to re-spike the two outer on the river to hit the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
David Blankenship	74,000 4,000	4,000
Patrick Roy	Busted

Tags: Chad Bjorkman David Blankenship Patrick Roy

08-05-2021 21:57 UTC

Jones Sends One to the Showers

HillKerby

Level 8 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Noomis Jones raised to 1,000 under the gun and action folded around to the player on the button, who re-jammed for 13,900. Jones deliberated for a few moments and then found a call.

All-In Player:
Noomis Jones:

Jones asked for a jack going to the flop and instead received a ten as rolled onto the felt. The all-in player then found himself with 12 outs and two chances to hit them, neither of which connected as the turn and river completed the runout to earn Jones the pot and the knockout.

Player	Chips	Progress
Noomis Jones	71,600 71,600	71,600

Tags: Noomis Jones

08-05-2021 21:09 UTC

Bjorkman Earns a Knockout

HillKerby

Level 6 : 300/600, 600 ante

The under-the-gun player limped in and saw the player on his direct left limp behind before action folded around to January 2021 MSPT Grand Falls Champion Chad Bjorkman, who was on the button and limped in as well. James Eubanks then raised to 2,500 in the small blind and received calls from all three limpers.

Eubanks continued for 4,000 on the flop and only the under-the-gun player folded, taking action three ways to the turn . Eubanks checked and the early-position player went all in for 10,800, with both Bjorkman and Eubanks each taking time before reluctantly calling. The two then checked the river to take the hand to showdown.

All-In Player:
James Eubanks:
Chad Bjorkman:

Of the three hands tabled, Bjorkman's two pair proved to be best and the pot was shipped his way as a result.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chad Bjorkman	64,500 64,500	64,500
James Eubanks	33,800 -10,900	-10,900

Tags: Chad Bjorkman James Eubanks

08-05-2021 19:59 UTC

Blankenship Wins a Big One Before Break

HillKerby

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

Action folded to the hijack, who open-limped. David Blankenship raised to 1,600 in the cutoff and received calls from all three players behind as well as the hijack, taking postflop action five ways.

The flop came and the small blind checked. The big blind shoved for 5,600 and the hijack called after some deliberation.

"I'm all in," said Blankenship, putting out 5,600 and then announcing he had 19,600 more. The player on the button folded and then the small blind re-jammed as well, covering the hijack and forcing him out of the pot to bring about a three-way all-in situation.

Big Blind:
David Blankenship:
Small Blind:

Blankenship's top pair needed to fade straight and flush draws to scoop both pots and did so with ease as the turn and river came to complete the runout.

Player	Chips	Progress
David Blankenship	70,000 45,000	45,000

Tags: David Blankenship

08-05-2021 19:08 UTC

"A Lot of Aces At This Table"

HillKerby

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

Phil Gioia opened in middle position and called a three-bet to 2,000 from Bruce Carter in the small blind, taking action heads up to a flop of . Carter made a continuation-bet of 5,000 and Gioia raised all in, with Carter instantly calling.

Phil Gioia:
Bruce Carter:

The dealer announced both hands as they were turned up, Gioia's first, followed by Carter's two aces.

"A lot of aces at this table," said Gioia as the runout completed before making his way from the table and back to the registration desk to fire again.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bruce Carter	69,000 69,000	69,000
Phil Gioia	25,000

Tags: Bruce Carter Phil Gioia

08-05-2021 16:26 UTC

Welcome To Day 1b of the MSPT Black Hawk $360 Regional

HillKerby

Registration has already begun as of 10 a.m. local time for Thursday's Day 1b of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Black Hawk $360 Regional, and an inspired turnout of players is expected to make its way to Bally's Black Hawk to add their totals to the 151 entries that were recorded in Wednesday's initial flight. In doing so, the tournament will also continue to near closer to reaching its $150K guaranteed prize pool that will surely be surpassed by the time registration closes on Saturday's fourth and final flight.

Cards are in the air at noon for Day 1b, the same as all other starting flights. Players receive starting stacks of 25,000 with blinds beginning at 100/100 and a big-blind ante in play all tournament long. Ten-minute breaks will take place at the completion of Levels 4 and 8 (two hours of play apiece) with a 40-minute dinner break after Level 12. Play will then conclude at the completion of Level 15 unless 12% of the field remains prior to that, which would bring about a hard stop for the flight.

Late registration with unlimited re-entries is open through the dinner break until the beginning of Level 13, closing at approximately 7 p.m. local time. Any players who make it through to the end of the day and wish to take another shot must forfeit their stack prior to bagging, as this is not a best-stack-forward event.

Day 1a chip leader James Rodriguez (675,000) set a high mark for all others to shoot for, though another full day's worth of poker will be needed to determine whether anybody can catch him. PokerNews will be on the floor all day long bringing you updates along the way.

Tags: James Rodriguez