Bohn Rolls Day 1a Field, Bags Nearly Double Second Place

Day 1a is in the books here at Mid-States Poker Tour Grand Falls Casino, and 16 players advanced to Day 2 out of 98 total runners. Fifteen of them are looking way, way up at Blake Bohn, who bagged a whopping 403,000, nearly double the 215,000 stack of second-place Justin Heilman.

Many chip leaders can point to one or two critical pots that enabled them to vastly increase their stacks. Bohn said that wasn't the case for him - he feasted on a steady diet of opponents' mucked cards.

"I don't even think I've had a showdown," Bohn said after he shot from 86,000 to 341,000 in two hours.

The Minnesotan has had plenty of success on the MSPT, garnering a sponsorship from the tour and booking two second-place finishes, but he's still seeking the elusive first victory to add to his collection of tournament wins.

In addition to Bohn and Heilman, Vlad Revniaga (157,000), Dustin Kern (144,500), Max Bergquist (135,000), Phil Mader (133,000), Herb Laney (131,500), Jonathan Kulkay (90,000), Jim Boone (76,500), and Steve Belland (70,500) punched tickets to Sunday's Day 2. Meanwhile, "Wild" Bill Romer, Scott Mahin, Kou Vang, Lance Harris, Dan Dykhouse, Mark Sandness, Matt Alexander, and Matt Kirby busted out during the 14 levels of play, and they'll have to wait for Saturday's Day 1b for another shot.

Kirby appeared well on his way to bagging a comfortable stack, as he was among the leaders in the middle stages of the tournament after winning a key pot thanks to pocket aces. He pushed all in for about 18,000 on a final board of . One player was already all in, and Kirby's bet was into an already-sizable side pot. His opponent thought for about a minute before announcing a call, and Kirby tabled . The other active player tossed into the middle, while the all-in player revealed a big pair as well: . However, a late slide ended with Kirby's falling to the of Laney all in before the flop.

Fellow former champion Sandness also rolled up a nice early stack but eventually busted when his failed to overtake the of Bergquist as the board ran out . A coin flip also cost Vang the last of his chips when he hit nothing with against Heilman's .