Three tales from the lands of live tournament poker including Blake Bohn equalling the record number of wins in the Mid-States Poker Tour Main Event, Sam Weiss taking down the Commerce Poker Series Main Event in LA, and a look ahead at the live tours set to close out a quieter September period.
September is online poker month.
Hands down.
But as poker players from Vauxhall to Vancouver compete for over $180 million in online prizes in PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and partypoker’s POWERFEST online series, a few old-school ilks are still squeezing felt underneath fingernails that smell of sweaty feet.
People like Blake Bohn.
Blake Bohn Wins His Third Mid-States Poker Tour Title
Bohn is to the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) what spam is to Koreans. The man is MSPT mustard, and this weekend he equalled the record of MSPT Main Event victories with a win in the $1,100 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event at Canterbury Park, Shakopee, Minnesota.
Bohn’s victory – his third, tied with Carl Carodenuto – was sweet as he finished runner-up to Rajee Wazwaz in the same event back in April.
It was the 17th time the MSPT had held the Main Event in this venue, and the Minnesota Poker Hall of Famer had to beat a final table that included former MSPT Main Event Champions Richard Alsup, Mark Sandness, and Kou Vang, and the former World Poker Tour (WPT) Shooting Star Main Event finisher Dennis Stevermer.
Vang, who has won this event before, began with a big chip lead, but Bohn won three huge flips to turn it around and secure the victory. It was Bohn’s ninth MSPT Final Table, and the 19th time he has cashed in an MSPT Main Event.
It’s safe to say he’s a reg.
Bohn has now won $2.9m in live tournament earnings.
It was his 13th career title.
His largest score to date came in 2013 when he defeated 392 entrants to win the $288,171 first prize in the $3,200 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the Chicago Poker Classic.
His previous two wins on the MSPT came in 2014 when he beat 201 entrants to win the MSPT Sioux Falls Main Event for $54,607, and then a year later he won the MSPT Iowa Main Event beating 410 entrants to bank $101,229.
The MSPT is currently raising heartbeats in the Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, New York.
Final Table Results
1. Blake Bohn – $94,776
2. Kou Vang – $58,238
3. Rich Alsup – $41,966
4. Ian Matakis – $31,739
5. Jesse Allen – $23,804
6. Dennis Stevermer – $18,074
7. Dedric Henderson – $14,106
8. Tyree Johnson – $11,021
9. Mark Sandness – $8,376
10. Bill Criego – $6,612
Sam Weiss Wins The Commerce Poker Series Main Event
The other big winner in the live tournament realm called the United States of America, came in Los Angeles where Sam Weiss defeated a field of 748 entrants to take down the $108,360 first prize and a $10k WPT LAPC package.
The $1,100 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em breezed past it’s $500,000 Guaranteed with $748,000 heading into the coffers.
According to Hendon Mob, Weiss only began racking up live tournament wins in March 2017. This victory is his second; the first came in June when he beat 589 entrants to take the $40,000 first prize in a $550 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event at the Wynn Summer Classic.
The final table included seasoned veteran Duey Dong, World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) Main Event winner, Jesse Yaginuma, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Mel Wiener.
Here are the final table results:
Final Table Results
1. Sam Weiss – $108,360 (and a $10k LAPC package)
2. Aung Thu – $95,000
3. Duey Duong – $80,000
4. Chris Nash – $47,990
5. Melvin Wiener – $36,160
6. Roy Park – $27,570
7. Cris Ferrari – $21,270
8. Jesse Yaginuma – $16,610
9. Arno Shahnazarian – $13,130
Other notables that went deeper than an undercover PETA worker in a slaughterhouse were Barry Greenstein (14th), Peter Hengsakul (19th), and Jeff Madsen (40th).
The Commerce Poker Series ran from 31 August till 16 September and contained 16 events.
What’s Coming Up?
With the online hysteria dying down this week, here’s where you can expect the legends of the online realm to pop up next.
WSOPC Rozvadov
From Thursday 20 Sep through to Monday 8 October the WSOPC returns to the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.
12 gold rings on tap.
Here are the events that will garner more media attention than a Kim Kardashian butt shot.
– €1,650 buy-in, €1m GTD Main Event
– €5,000 buy-in, €200k GTD High Roller
– €250 buy-in, €400k GTD Oktoberfest
– €550 buy-in €300k GTD Monster Stack
– €299 buy-in €300k GTD Opening Event
PokerStars European Poker Tour Sochi Open
Looking through the roster, it seems like a watered down version of a typical EPT schedule.
Here are the two best singers in the choir.
– R 132,000 (USD 2,000) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event
– R 258,000 (USD 3,800) buy-in High Roller
partypoker MILLIONS UK
Finally, the partypoker MILLIONS brand returns to Dusk till Dawn (DTD) in Nottingham Saturday 29 September till Sunday 7 October.
You can expect this to be huge.
Here are the pieces of steak amongst the tins of luncheon meat.
– £1,100 buy-in, €1m GTD MILLIONS UK Open
– £5,300 buy-in, €5m GTD MILLIONS UK Main Event
– £25,500 buy-in, £1m GTD MILLIONS UK High Super Roller
– £10,300 buy-in, £1m GTD MILLIONS UK High Roller
