Meskwaki Casino

Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour Iowa State Poker Championship proved to be a record-setting affair. Since the MSPT first visited Meskwaki Casino back in Season 3 – and in that time there have been 14 different events – the largest Day 1a flight was 181 entries. That changed today as 187 entrants took to the felt.

With a lot more players expected for Day 1b, the question is not if the $300,000 guarantee will be surpassed, it's by how much? That won't be answered until tomorrow, but in the meantime 29 players can sit back and relax as they survived the first flight's 14 levels of play.

Leading the pack is Nebraska farmer Phil Mader, who back in 2013 finished 43rd in the WSOP Main Event, which not only gave him $185,694 but also some TV time on ESPN. The man from Grand Island has been known to travel to MSPT stops within driving distance, and since Season 3 he's amassed 11 cashes and three final tables totaling $67,366.

Amazingly, six of those cashes have come right here at Meskwaki, with the best being third place for $27,501 back in Season 3. Clearly he's primed to make another deep run.

Others who bagged and tagged were Sun Hao (235,500), Todd "Odds" Haugen (214,000), Cory McCarthy (185,500), Mark "Loki" Abboud (166,500), Joe Barnard (146,500), Travis Burch (87,500), and the last woman standing, Kathy Hartwick (75,500).

Of course not everyone prospered on Day 1a. Among those to try and fail were former MSPT champs Jason Seitz, Keith Heine, and Erv Bjerga, just to name a few; MSPT Pro and commentator Matt Alexander; Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge; the husband-wife team of Tom and Sherry Hammers; 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon; and the Wisconsin State Poker Champ Andy Rubinberg.

All of those players and any newcomers will be able to take their shot on Day 1b, which will get underway at 4:00 p.m. local time. Before that, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a $220+$30+$10 Last Chance Satellite that will see 20% of the field win their way into the Main Event.

Until then, goodnight from Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa!

Congratulations to Phil Mader, bagging the Day 1a chip lead with 236,500 atMeskwaki Bingo Casino & Hotel
Iowa State Poker Championship
‪#‎canyoufeelit‬

Phil Mader - Grand Island, NE 236,500
Hao Sun - Iowa City, IA 235,500
Todd Haugen - Iowa City, IA 214,000
Tyler Newman - Ida Grove, IA 201,500
Randy Perkins - Davenport, IA 196,000
Cory McCarthy - Dubuque, IA 185,500
Albert Carpenter - Waterloo, IA 184,500
Victor Hoffman - Onslow, IA 179,500
Mickey Stuefen - Cedar Rapids, IA 172,000
Mark Abboud - Mendota Heights, MN 166,500
David Carey - Marion, IA 164,500
Michael Stewart - Knoxville, TN 161,500
Vincent Wolrab - Hiawatha, IA 150,000
Joseph Barnard - St. Paul, MN 146,500
Alexander Smith - Casper, WY 140,000
Stephen Wilbur - West Des Moines, IA 134,000
John Whitacre - Newton, IA 105,500
John Pierce - Rochester, MN 95,500
Travis Burch - Bonner Springs, KS 87,500
Zachary Graydon - Markesan, WI 79,000
Kathy Hartwick - Bloomfield, IA 75,500
Jaycin Cross - Whitten, IA 69,500
David Daughton - Corydon, IA 68,000
Walter Gardner - Topeka, KA 61,000
Kevin Venhaus - Des Moines, IA 59,500
Samuel Mummey - Montezuma, IA 44,500
Gene Bennett - Tama, IA 40,000
Glynn Marsden - West Point, IA 39,000
John Johnson - Des Moines, IA 27,500

In the penultimate hand of the night, Alex Smith limped only to have John Pierce raise all in for 44,200. Dale Berger then three-bet all in over the top from the cutoff for 51,800. The button, blinds and Smith all folded, which prompted the two active players to table their hands.

Berger:

Pierce:

It was a flip with Pierce needing to improve to stay alive. The flop was no help to Pierce, and neither was the turn. Pierce needed either an ace or queen on the river to stay alive, and he found it when the spiked to give him new life.

Meanwhile, a frustrated Berger was lft with less than 8,000 and got it in the very next hand, which was the final one of the night. Two other players engaged in side action, and when all was said and done, Joe Barnard wound up with the best hand to eliminate Berger.

John Pierce - 95,000

Dale Berger - Busted

Action has been paused and the remaining players will play three more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chip counts along with a full recap of the Day 1a action.

Steve Wilbur opened with a raise from early position and John Reading, who topped a field 1,436 in the 2015 World Series of Poker Event #6: $1,000 Hyper Hold’em for $252,068, defended his big blind to see a flop. Reading check, Wilbur bet, and Reading check-raised all in. Wilbur made the call and the cards were turned up.

Reading:

Wilbur:

Reading flopped top pair, but he was still behind the pocket rockets of Wilbur. That changed when the turn gave Reading two pair, but much to his dismay his lead was short lived as the spiked on the river to give Wilbur a flush.

Steve Wilbur - 90,000

John Reading - Busted

1 - Cory McCarthy - 200,000

2 - Stephen Jewell - 37,000

3 - Calvon Musil - 45,000

4 - Kathy Hartwick - 50,000

5 - Mark “Loki” Abboud - 125,000

6 - Samuel Mummey - 55,000

7 - David Carey - 210,000

8 - Jaycin Cross - 33,000

9 - Kenneth Johnson - 30,000

10 - Zachary Graydon - 40,000

1 - Todd “Odds” Haugen - 204,000

2 - Gene Bennett - 125,000

3 - David Daughton - 30,000

4 - Dale Berger - 65,000

5 - Travis Burch - 160,000

6 - Kevin Venhaus - 35,000

7 - Joe Barnard - 40,000

8 - Alex Smith - 100,000

9 - Randy Perkins - 180,000

10 - John Pierce - 40,000

From August 13-21, the Mid-States Poker Tour heads to Tropicana Evansville for the Indiana State Poker Championship, a $1,100 buy-in, $250,000 guaranteed Main Event. The stop will feature a series of qualifiers all feeding into the Main Event, which will take place Friday, August 19 through Sunday, August 21.

The Main Event will be held over three days beginning with Day 1A on Friday at 4 p.m. Day 1A will play 14 levels, and Saturday's Day 1B, which will kick off at the same time, will play the same amount of levels. Players who advance from any Main Event flight will return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday and play until a champion is crowned.

The Main Event final table will be broadcast LIVE (15-minute delay) worldwide on msptpoker.com using RFID technology allowing all viewers to see the hole cards. In addition, the entirety of the Main Event will be live reported right here in the MSPT's live blog.

To view the entire MSPT Indiana State Poker Championship schedule, click here.

"This marks the third time the MSPT is visiting Tropicana Evansville for a Main Event, and we expect this to be the biggest and best yet," said MSPT owner and operator Bryan Mileski. "Thus far Season 7 has been setting records, and there's a good chance we set another in our first visit of the year to Indiana."

The first time the MSPT visited the venue for a Main Event was back in August 2014 when Charlie Dawson topped a field of 225 entrants to take home a $60,527 first-place prize. Then, in last year's inaugural Indiana State Poker Championship, Michael O'Neill outlasted 250 other entrants to win for $67,746. Amazingly, Illinois' Alexander Yen finished runner-up in both those events!

Located near Indiana's border with Illinois and Kentucky, the Tropicana Evansville Casino is accessible to four major poker bases -- St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville – all of which are within a three-hour drive of the property. The casino is located on an 841,848 square foot area at Riverfront Park on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. The $110 million entertainment facility includes a 250-room hotel and a 96-room boutique hotel, an executive conference center, retail shops, restaurants and lounge area.

Players are now on their last 10-minute break of the night. When they return, they will play two more levels before bagging and tagging.

Cory McCarthy - 230,000

Mickey Stuefen -170,000

Tyler Newman - 160,000

Mark Stewart - 155,000

Dave Carey - 145,000

Alex Smith - 140,000

Phil Mader - 140,000

Todd “Odds” Haugen - 131,500

Randy Perkins - 130,000

Gene Bennett - 125,000

Travis Burch - 100,000

Mark Lick -65,000

Mark “Loki” Abboud - 52,000

Kevin Berthelsen - 50,000

Ira Hartwick - 40,000

John Reading - 35,000

Joe Barnard - 30,000

Michael Kamenjarin - 15,000

Travis Lauson - Busted

Reg Powell - Busted

Aaron Johnson - Busted