You might not know it, but Minnesota has its very own Poker Hall of Fame devoted to players with a strong connection – either born or currently living – to the 'Land of 10,000 Lakes.'

1. Poker Hall Of Fame Members
2. 2018 Poker Hall Of Fame

On Friday, the Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame, which was established back in 2013, announced that they have selected Blake Bohn and 'Minneapolis' Jim Meehan as the Class of 2015.

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Bohn, who hails from Savage, Minnesota, has been one of the most recognizable players on the American circuit in recent years, which includes two Mid-States Poker Tour titles — he's also a MSPT Pro — and making a deep run in the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event, ultimately finishing in 23rd place for more than $260,000.

'I'm very excited, very happy,' Bohn told PokerNews at the MSPT Canterbury Park, which is happening now. 'It's nice to get some validation for all my very hard work. This is something they can never take away from me, so I'm very honored and I appreciate it.'

Poker Hall Of Fame Members

Bohn has been a success as a cash-game player since the 1990s, and it wasn't until 2005 that he discovered tournaments, which included cashing in two events at Canterbury Park’s Fall Poker Classic. Bohn notched some small cashes in the years that followed, but it wasn't until 2013 that he broke through by topping a field of 392 to win the Chicago Poker Classic Main Event, winning $288,171. He went on to amass $800,000 that year including a second-place finish in a $1,500 WSOP no-limit hold'em event, 15th in the $111,111 WSOP One Drop High Roller Event, and winning the Ante Up $1,100 event at Running Aces Casino.

A year later, Bohn won $50,000 for second place in the MSPT event at Running Aces, made another WSOP final table, and notched two big final-table paydays including a Borgata World Poker Tour event and a seventh-place finish in the $5,300 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.

As if things couldn't get any better, Bohn finds himself very much in contention for the MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year with the season-ending event at Canterbury Park this weekend. You can follow live updates from that event right here.

'Since 2010, Blake's name has been commonplace in the Minnesota poker scene. There is no denying the poker skill he has, and his results prove it,' said Tristan Wilberg, Casino Shift Manager/Casino Marketing Advisor for Running Aces Casino.

Michael Hochman, Vice President of Casino Operations for Canterbury Park, echoed those sentiments: 'Blake played his first live poker at Canterbury Park back in 2000. It’s always very exciting to see our local heroes have success nationally or internationally. Blake’s dedication to the game is very apparent and his success is well-deserved.'

Meanwhile, Meehan is a legend of the game who has been playing poker since the 1960s. According to a press release, he attended law school in St. Paul before working for 20 years as a lawyer. He then went into “semi-retirement” as a professional poker player, hitting the poker tournament scene in the early 1990s and scoring big in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas, including a second-place finish in a 1997 WSOP $3,000 hold'em event, cashing for $115,800.

Then, in the 2003 WSOP $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, Meehan navigated a tough final table of that included Antonio Esfandiari, Mike Sexton, and Kathy Liebert to win a gold bracelet and a $280,000 first-place prize. A year later, he managed two fifth-place finishes at the WSOP, followed by 17 cashes in 2005. Meehan had total tournament winnings to more than $1.4 million.

'Minneapolis Jim has cashed an astonishing 21 times in WSOP events since 1997,' said Hochman. 'He’s an absolute character at the table. He’s not afraid to chat a little, and typically keeps the table in stitches.'

Wilberg also gave his two cents: 'When the poker world thinks of Minnesota, they think of Minneapolis Jim. Numerous times, while traveling, I have been asked if I know him, and I'm happy to say that I do. His entertaining personality and the skill he displays make him unforgettable at the table.'

Bohn and Meehan join Lyle Berman, the first inductee in 2013, and Mike Schneider who was inducted last year, as members of the Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame, which is governed by a board consisting of Minnesotan poker industry professionals, poker players, and poker media. Inductees must meet the following criteria:

• The nominee must have a strong Minnesota connection, either by birth or residence.
• The nominee must have played consistently amongst acknowledged competition.
• The nominee must have withstood the test of time.
• The nominee must have played at a high level, consistently well, gaining the respect of peers.
• Or the nominee must have significantly contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker in Minnesota.

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(Photo Credit: MSPT)This week, the Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame committee and inducted Lakeville’s Bryan Mileski as the newest member. Mileski founded both the Minnesota Poker Magazine and the Minnesota State Poker Tour in 2009 – he nurtured both businesses quite well and since then, the Minnesota State Poker Tour has grown to become one […]

2018 Poker Hall Of Fame

This week, the Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame committee and inducted Lakeville’s Bryan Mileski as the newest member. Mileski founded both the Minnesota Poker Magazine and the Minnesota State Poker Tour in 2009 – he nurtured both businesses quite well and since then, the Minnesota State Poker Tour has grown to become one the most revered poker tours in the United States.

“I am extremely humbled and honored to be inducted into the Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame, but I couldn’t have done it without the help of a great team including Eric Anderson and Brandon Temple,” said Mileski. “Helping to grow poker in Minnesota has been a longtime passion, and I can still recall the early days trying to report tournaments at Canterbury and Running Aces, and put together a magazine without much more than a laptop. Thanks to tremendous support from players and venues, the MSPT has grown into something we can all be proud of.”

“Likewise, I wouldn’t be here without the support of several awesome people, including Matt Alexander, Blake Bohn, and Matt Kirby. I also want to give a big thank you to Canterbury Park and Running Aces Casino for believing in a random dude like me,” he added.

The Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame which was set up in 2013 is governed by a board constituting of outstanding poker industry professionals, poker players as well as poker media from the state. The rules are pretty strict and getting in is rather difficult – players need to have a strong connection to Minnesota either by residence or preferably by birth before even being considered for the next stage which involves evaluation based on some very stringent criteria. As for the industry professionals, to get into the Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame board “the nominee must have significantly contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker in Minnesota.”

Since the launch of his companies in 2009, Bryan Mileski and company have managed to host up to 35 major $1,100 buy-in poker tournaments in the state – these include fourteen tournaments at Canterbury Park, another eleven at Running Aces Harness Park, Four at Northern Lights Casino, three at Grand Casino Mille Lacs, one at the Jackpot Junctions, one at Grand Casino Hinckley and lastly, one at Treasure Island Resorts & Casino.

Mileski also doubles up as an excellent poker player with live tournament earnings of up to $101,629 and other six figure winnings from playing online before 2011. After having hosted 11 events in Minnesota, MSPT in 2011 breached the Iowan market for the first time and morphed into the Mid-State Poker Tour – this was where Mileski refocused his efforts on. However, his love for poker has always been the motivation behind everything he does:

“I’ve always loved poker; I recall my first ever cash came in a $330 limit hold’em event back in 2004 during the Fall Poker Classic. With the amount of tour travel we do now I haven’t played much the last few years, so I definitely miss that, but it’s been worth it. I truly believe some the world’s best players are right here in Minnesota,” Mileski said. “Not only that, the cardrooms here offer some of the best action not only in the Midwest but in the entire country. You’d be hard pressed to find better limit Hold’em games anywhere else. Minnesota is serious about poker, and because of that, the poker world takes Minnesota players seriously.”

As a member of the prestigious Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame, he joins Blake Bohn, Lyle Berman, Tony Hartmann, Mike Schneider and Jim Meehan.

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