2014 MSPT Grand Falls Casino Day 1b: Ihringer Leads as 20 Advance; Vang in Second
Day 1b of the Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls Casino Main Event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota attracted 103 runners, which combined with Day 1a’s 98 entrants brought the total field up to 201. After 14 levels of play, just 20 remained on Day 1b, with Ken Ihringer and his stack of 275,500 leading the way. While Ihringer was the big stack on Day 1b, he trailed Day 1a chip leader and MSPT Team Pro Blake Bohn, who bagged up 403,000, by a considerable margin.
Ihringer, who has no recorded live cashes, started his climb in Level 11 when he cracked Steve Senger's KxKx with 8♣6♣ making trips to score the elimination. A bit later, he was the one holding the K♦K♣ when he fired 10,000 on the turn against MSPT Running Aces champ Mark Sandness on a board of 5♠7♦Q♦K♥. Sandness called, then paid off 20,000 more on the A♦ river and Ihringer’s hand proved best.
Top Ten Day 1b Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ken Ihringer | 275,500 |
| 2nd | Kou Vang | 236,500 |
| 3rd | Ryan Skluzak | 235,000 |
| 4th | Ahmed Ouda | 150,000 |
| 5th | Jason Robertson | 142,000 |
| 6th | Marty Rahbusch | 105,000 |
| 7th | Jeff Bryan | 101,000 |
| 8th | Mark Weber | 97,000 |
| 9th | Milton Blasing | 95,500 |
| 10th | Robbie Thompson | 87,500 |
Aside from Ihringer, Kou Vang was able to thrive on Day 1b. Vang, who is trying to retake the lead in the MSPT Player of the Year race after Mike Deis caught him in the last event, finished the night with the second-biggest stack with 236,500.
Ryan Skluzak (235,000), Ahmed Ouda (150,000), Jason Robertson (142,000), Marty Rahbusch (105,000), Jeff Bryan (101,000), "Red Bull" Robbie Thompson (87,500) Adam Zych (86,000), Sandness (80,500), Lance Harris (53,500), and Renee Kessel (45,500) were also among those advancing after the 14 levels of play.
Thompson is a popular tournament director and announcer at the World Series of Poker who hails from South Dakota. He was able to cruise to the end of the day after doubling to more than 90,000 when he busted an opponent by getting all in with Ax4x, good for aces up on the turn against a player holding Ax7x on a board of Ax8x2x4x. The river didn't help Thompson's opponent and “Red Bull Robbie” chipped up considerably.
Among those failing to make it through the day were Dan Dykhouse, Mark Hodge, MSPT Meskwaki winner Jonathan Olson, Matt Alexander, Matt Kirby, Brian Soja, Everett Carlton, and John Morgan.
Soja took one of the more brutal beats of the day when he got all in against Sluzak on a flop of 2♦5♣2♣. Sluzak had 4♣3♣ for an open-ended straight flush draw, but he was crushed by Soja's A♣K♣. Sluzak hit a four on the river to pair up, enabling him to bag a massive stack while a dejected Soja wondered what might have been.
Day 2 will begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time, and the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to bring you all the action in our Live Reporting section.
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