Hancock Surges Late; Reichard And Bekavac Still Battling For POY
A total of 114 entrants found their way into Day 1a of the $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour Main Event at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort. Play ended with 10:10 left in level 14 and a total of 13 survivors bagging at the end of the day. Each will return on Sunday October 30th at 11 am to play for the trophy.
Leading the way was Michael Hancock who bagged up 460,000 at the end of the day, over 100,000 more than the next closest competitor. The chips all came to his stack in the last hand of the day, when he moved all in with top pair and was called by trips. A running flush ended up pushing the chips in his direction and halting play with the 13 remaining. The Maryland native takes a health sum of well over 100 big blinds into Day 2.
Top Ten Chip Counts Day 1a
| Rank | Name | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Hancock | 460,000 |
| 2 | Victor Gayheart | 290,000 |
| 3 | Josh Reichard | 282,000 |
| 4 | Jason Prochaska | 279,000 |
| 5 | Taylor Howard | 277,000 |
| 6 | Dustin Cooley | 267,000 |
| 7 | Mike Estes | 265,000 |
| 8 | Angelo Tsilibiris | 176,000 |
| 9 | Daniel Weber | 146,000 |
| 10 | Jerry Burmeister | 132,000 |
Victor “Vegas Vic” Gayheart bagged up second in chips with 290,000. Gayheart found himself doubling early in the day when he rivered a full house against WSOP bracelet winner Ron Mcmillen to double and he continued to accumulate after that. Gayheart has one MSPT final table on his resume, and he looks to tee himself for another chance at one.
Others who found their way to bags at the end of the night included Taylor Howard (277,000), Mike Estes (265,000), Angelo Tsibiliris (176,000), and Angela Jordison (99,000). Many other were unable to find a bag and the likes of CJ Peake, Marquez Davis, Aaron Johnson, and Ron Mcmillen. All will have their chances to play the other flights, the next of which begins at 3 pm tomorrow afternoon.
As far as the POY race goes, Wisconsin native Josh Reichard bagged the third biggest stack of 282,000 and Chicago native Dan Bekavac bagged 92,000. Both players were seated at the same table for most of the day and found themselves involved in a whole host of pots. Bekavac knocked out Reichard twice during the day, once with quads. Bekavac bagged looking to gain some traction to take back the lead, Reichard bagged looking to pad the lead. Other top five players who are likely to hop into one of the other flights include John Dennehey and Miles Barnum. CJ Peake played this flight, but he will look to other flights to bag going into Day 2.
With 10:10 left on the clock, the survivors will return on Day 2 in level 14, joining with the survivors of the other flights. Levels at 2,000/4,000 and a 4,000 big blind ante. Tomorrow at 3 pm will begin Day 1b, where players will have their second chance to play for this $300,000 guarantee.
Who will bag big? How will the MSPT Player of The Year Race shake out? Stay tuned to PokerNews for all updates regarding these questions.