A player in early position pushed all in for 13,200, and Justin Truesdell made the call in the cutoff. The big blind shoved for less, and we were off to a three-way all in:
Early position:
Justin Truesdell:
Big blind:
A flop of meant Truesdell could lock it up with a club. He didn't do so, but he did snag a huge lead with the on the turn, and the river secured him the pot.
There are very few players as polarizing as Will "Monkey" Souther. The Southern pro from Biloxi is a "love-him-or-hate-him" sort of guy, but no matter your thoughts, there's no denying that he's a true poker character.
Souther began playing no limit hold’em in 2003, and since then he’s amassed $657,240 in live tournament earnings. His biggest score came at the 2009 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza III when he won a $550 event for $61,326. He’s also placed third in the 2010 Gulf Coast Poker $5,000 Championship for $59,129; runner-up in the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit New Orleans $1,000 NLHE for $48,484; sixth in the 2010 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond for $47,772; and 175th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event for $44,655.
“What was the factors leading up to the name? I am tall, have long arms...and am very spastic at times. Its funny, people who don’t know me think maybe its drugs! But its not, I just have a lot of nervous energy! I say NO to drugs! I have been running sports pools for 10 years (March Madness, NFL SURVIVOR, etc etc) and someone a few years back started calling me the Pool Monkey...kind of stuck. Sold wine for a while and assumed the moniker the Wine Monkey....so when I decided to play Poker for a living it was only natural that I become the Poker Monkey!”
Prior to making the drive from Biloxi, Souther joked with PokerNews’ Chad Holloway: “It was a tough call [to play the MSPT]. Walk out to my front yard, peel off 11 $100 bills and light each one on fire while laughing hysterically and saving the $200 on gas and 4.5 hours of driving or make the trip and watch one idiot after another beat hands like KK/QQ/JJ with hands like 3-9, 4-7 and K-2. Tough call, I know.”
Souther can be one of the most jovial players in the room when things are going his way, but he’s also been known to be a bit temperamental when things aren’t going his way. We’ll have to wait and see just what sort of “Monkey” business we get in his first-ever MSPT event.
According to a bystander, Tom Annonson just doubled up by jamming against the of Will Souther after a flop. Annonson made a full house on the river to clinch the hand.
On the first hand of Day 2, Lynn Morris shoved all in from the button for 33,900, and Austin Bursavich called in the big blind.
Bursavich:
Morris:
An flop offered little threat to Morris, but a turn gave Bursavich a backdoor flush draw. The filled that draw, and Morris got up and headed for the exit.
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Erica Sumner is nearly 50,000 clear of the field.
Erica Sumner holds a large lead with 232,600 in chips as get set for Day 2 of Mid-States Poker Tour Belle of Baton Rouge. Sumner's attempting to become the first female champion in the history of the MSPT (four-plus seasons).
Trailing her and rounding out the top 10 are Austin Bursavich (187,300), Michael Benton (145,300), WIll "Monkey" Souther (132,000), Kou Vang (117,200), Nicholas Graphia (95,700), David Holmes (89,700), Jeff Grimes (85,800), Allen Kessler (82,100), and Gene Dudek (81,900). With well-known players such as Souther, Vang, Kessler, Matt Kirby (69,300), and Justin Truesdell (50,200) in contention, we'll surely be seeing a high level of play here on Day 2.
Cards are scheduled to fly starting at 10:30 a.m. local time, and play will begin at Level 10 (1,000/2,000/200) and continue until a champion is crowned. According to the MSPT's official payout structure, that champion should receive about $33,000, along with an RF Moeller diamond bracelet.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all of the relevant updates.
meant Truesdell could lock it up with a club. He didn't do so, but he did snag a huge lead with the 
on the turn, and the 
river secured him the pot.
against the 
of Will Souther after a 
flop. Annonson made a full house on the river to clinch the hand.
flop offered little threat to Morris, but a 
turn gave Bursavich a backdoor flush draw. The 
