2014 MSPT Meskwaki Day 1b: David Gonia Leads, Seeks Second MSPT Title
Day 1b of Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Meskwakiconcluded on Saturday after 14 levels of play. Minnesotan and former MSPT champ David Gonia went on a huge rush in the last few levels of the night to bag a monstrous 392,000, nearly 100,000 clear of Day 1a leader and fellow Minnesota native Brandon Meyers.
Gonia is no stranger to running deep in MSPT events as his breakthrough live cash came in February 2013 when he shipped the first event of the season at Running Aces Harness Park for $93,941.
Top Ten Day 1b Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Gonia | 392,000 |
| 2 | Chance Lautner | 289,000 |
| 3 | Brian Zupancich | 229,000 |
| 4 | Lance Harris | 208,500 |
| 5 | Frank Huschle | 199,000 |
| 6 | Joseph Barnard | 196,500 |
| 7 | Justin Thurlow | 158,000 |
| 8 | Stan Webb | 156,500 |
| 9 | Paul Ewen | 156,000 |
| 10 | Matt Alexander | 121,000 |
The field on Saturday was 204, and 35 players survived to brave the short turnaround to Sunday morning's Day 2. With the 36 players that advanced from Day 1a, a total of 71 will return for Day 2 action. Among other Day 1b survivors are Chance Lautner (289,000), Ben Keeline (261,500), Brian Zupancich (229,000), Lance Harris (208,500), Matt Alexander (121,000), Scott Mahin (85,500), Adam Zych, (65,000), Molly Mossey (36,500), and Ryan Hohenstein (36,000).
Harris is coming off of a strong 2014 World Series of Poker in which he added about $150,000 to his war chest via five cashes, including a fourth-place finish in Event #11 for nearly $120,000. Harris got things going early by busting Ryan Hartmann with top two pair, but he ran into a significant and strange roadblock late in the night.
Apparently, the flop had come KxQx5x and former MSPT Meskwaki champ Terry Ring had bet 20,000. Harris raised to 50,000, and Zupancich went all in for just over 70,000.
"Alright, let's do it," Ring apparently said as he dropped some chips into the pot. Harris called, flipping KxQx, but Zupancich had the lead with 5x5x for a set. Ring was in last with AxAx. Nobody improved on the last two streets, and Zupancich dragged the massive pot.
Harris collected what he presumed to be a side pot containing all of Ring's remaining chips, but Ring pointed out that he had never actually said all in. The floor was called, and the ruling was that since Ring never moved in, everyone had just called Zupancich's bet and Ring would retain his last 45,000. A disgusted Harris tossed the chips back into the middle, saying he thought Ring was all in and he was calling Ring's shove as well. Ultimately, Harris got his revenge by busting Ring a short time later.
In addition to Ring, Brett Kuznia, John Morgan, Allen Kessler, Josh Reichard, Matt Kirby, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Anderson, Brett Schwertley, and Chris Tryba all fell on Day 1b.
The remaining 71 players will be back at it at 10 a.m. local time for Day 2 action. Of course all the action will be captured in PokerNews' Live Blog, so be sure to check back then.
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