2014 MSPT Golden Gates Casino Day 1a: Team Pro Blake Bohn Leads; Seeks 2nd Title
Day 1a of Mid-States Poker Tour Golden Gates tallied 126 entrants, and exactly 100 of them hit the rail after 15 levels. By the end of the night, Blake Bohn led the surviving 26 players with 511,500, a monster lead over second-place Alex Greenblatt, who finished with 347,000.
Bohn, a Minneosta-based pro, arrived in Colorado coming off of a torrid run that's seen him score nearly $700,000 in live cashes since the beginning of the World Series of Poker this summer. One of those scores was a $54,607 win at MSPT Grand Falls, his first victory on the tour after numerous final table finishes. His MSPT Golden Gates Day 1a run was reminiscent of his Day 1a in Grand Falls where he bagged 403,000 after 14 levels, nearly double the next stack, on his way to the win. Could a second title be in store for the MSPT Team Pro?
| Rank | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blake Bohn, | 511,500 |
| 2 | Alex Greenblatt | 347,000 |
| 3 | Robert Brubaker | 331,500 |
| 4 | Sardor Gaziev | 242,500 |
| 5 | John Hayes | 221,000 |
| 6 | Ralph Massey | 152,500 |
| 7 | Steve Abramowitz | 151,000 |
| 8 | Aaron Frei | 139,000 |
| 9 | Matt Kirby | 138,500 |
| 10 | Steen Ronlov | 137,000 |
Meanwhile, Greenblatt is a skilled California-based player with just under $400,000 in live cashes, and he had players at his tables commenting on how consistently he was sweeping up chips. Both he and Bohn actually bagged up well below their peak stacks, as Bohn was nearing 600,000 at one point while Greenblatt held nearly 500,000.
Other players to survive the day included Robert Brubaker (331,500), Sardor Gaziev (242,500), John "JohnnyGstaks" Hayes (221,000), Ralph Massey (152,500), and Bohn's fellow sponsored pros Matt Kirby (138,500) and Kou Vang (109,500).
Bohn made a few monster hands at key times, such as when he flopped queens up with Q♥4♦ after calling a three-bet from Phanora Prom preflop during Level 12 (800/1,600/200). Prom led out and got raised to 25,000 by Bohn, and he responded by shipping for close to 100,000. Bohn called on the Q♦4♥8♣ board and held against A♦Q♠. In another pot, K♣5♠Q♣ flopped in a pot Bohn min-raised under the gun. He checked, an opponent bet 6,000 and another player called. Bohn raised and got it in with 5x5x against 10♣8♣ and held.
He also wasn't afraid to mix it up with mediocre holdings, such as when Matt Grisham bet about 18,000 and was called by Bohn on a 6♥4♥5♠8♠ board.
"I sure hope you check the river," Bohn said.
The K♦ hit the river, and Grisham bet 20,000. Bohn raised to 100,000 and Grisham mucked his hand.
"I paired my four," Bohn said, tabling 4x2x.
Chris Tryba, Mike Ross, Allen Kessler, Brady Bullard, Josh Reichard, John Holley, and Ben Keeline were among the Day 1a casulaties. They'll surely be back to fire more bullets, and they'll have plenty of chances as two more Day 1 flights remain. The next one will be Day 1b, kicking off on Friday at noon, and PokerNews will again be on hand for the live coverage.
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