There was heads up action with a 
board showing. Action was on Tim Waters who checked his option from middle position and his opponent tossed out a 7,000 bet from the cutoff.
Waters raised all in for 23,000 sending his opponent deep into the tank. After some careful though, the cutoff player mucked their hand and Waters scooped the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
36,500 |
Level: 5
Blinds: 300/500
Ante: 500
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.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
102,400
44,800
|
44,800 |
|
84,700
64,500
|
64,500 |
|
77,900
3,500
|
3,500 |
|
62,600
22,500
|
22,500 |
|
37,800
17,300
|
17,300 |
|
32,400
11,600
|
11,600 |
|
|
31,000
5,500
|
5,500 |
|
30,500
7,100
|
7,100 |
|
30,100
23,300
|
23,300 |
|
29,500
9,400
|
9,400 |
|
||
|
|
29,400
1,800
|
1,800 |
|
|
28,700
8,600
|
8,600 |
|
27,600 | |
|
25,400
1,300
|
1,300 |
|
25,000 | |
|
21,300
900
|
900 |
|
21,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
|
19,300
6,500
|
6,500 |
|
18,700
7,300
|
7,300 |
|
18,600
700
|
700 |
|
16,200
24,000
|
24,000 |
|
|
11,000
10,200
|
10,200 |
Level: 6
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
There were four players that saw a 
flop and action was checked to the under-the-gun player who fired out 10,000.
Chan Pelton raised all in for 21,100 from middle position, both the small blind and big blind players mucked their hand while the player under the gun called.
Chan Pelton: 
Opponent: 
Pelton was ahead after flopping a set of jacks and neither the 
turn nor the 
river changed a thing and ghe collected his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
45,300 |
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 | 40 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 33 |
| 3 | Richard Alsup | New Hope, Minnesota | 31 |
| 4 | DJ Buckley | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 31 |
| 5 | Mark Hodge | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 26 |
| 6 | Patrick Steele | Chelsea, Michigan | 26 |
| 7 | Jason Seitz | Shakopee, Minnesota | 25 |
| 8 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 25 |
| 9 | Phil Mader | Grand Island, Nebraska | 25 |
| 10 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 24 |
Justin Saathoff opened with a raise from early position and was called by the player on the button.
The flop came 
and Saathoff continued for 3,000. The button player called bringing the 
turn. Saathoff fired out 3,500 and his opponent raised to 14,000.
Saathoff three-bet all in, his opponent called off their 25,000 stack and the two players tabled their hands.
Justin Saathoff: 
Opponent: 
Saathoff was ahead needing to fade the river as his opponent could win with any nine, eight or five.
Luckily for Saathoff, the 
completed the board on the river securing him the pot while sending his opponent to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
65,600
65,600
|
65,600 |
After a player from late position limped in, Jovan Sudar raised to 1,200 from the button and Scott Konze three-bet to 2,100 from the small blind.
Action was on the big blind player who called, the initial limper folded and Sudar came along bringing the 
flop.
Konze continued with an all in bet of 19,500 and only Sudar called.
Scott Konze:
Jovan Sudar: 
Sudar flopped top-pair but was still trailing Konze's pocket kings and the turn didn't change a thing.
Konze just needed to fade the river and did as it fell the 
securing his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
45,600 | |
|
|
38,700
8,200
|
8,200 |
