Meskwaki Casino

Day 1A of the 2018 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship at Meskwaki Casino drew 176 entries, but after 16 levels of play just 24 remained with Travis Sweet and his stack of 382,500 leading the way.

Sweet is on a bit of a heater after finishing runner-up in the MSPT Potawatomi Regional Event two weeks ago for $50,901.

Others to bag big stacks were four-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Mark Fink (282,500), current Kimo Sabe Mezcal MSPT Season 9 POY leader Aaron Johnson (260,500), Zach Campbell (259,500), and WSOP bracelet winner John Reading (245,500).

Joining them at the end of the night were Kevin Berthelesen (220,500), Peyton Smith (215,000), DJ Buckley (117,500), Scotter Clark (81,000), Mike Shin (67,500), Mike Rieck (67,000), and Mike Lang (12,500).

Among those players to hit the rail on Friday were World Series of Poker bracelet winner Chris Tryba, 2018 WSOP Main Event 11^th-place finisher Ryan Phan, and MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year Rich Alsup.

Likewise, former MSPT champs Ahmed Taleb, Blake Bohn, Ken Komberec, Jeremy Dresch, Dan “DQ” Hendrickson, Jason Seitz, and 2016 MSPT Iowa State Poker Champ John Sun all fell by the wayside.

All of those players and any newcomers will have the opportunity to fire Day 1B at 2 p.m. local time on Saturday. There will also be a $250 buy-in Turbo satellite at 10 a.m. for those looking to get in on the cheap.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for more updates straight from the tournament floor. Until then, good night from Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa!

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play two more hands before bagging and tagging on Day 1A. Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day’s action.

Jeff Grimes raised to 10,000 from under the gun and Mark Fink called from the big blind.

The flop came and Fink checked to Grimes who fired a continuation bet of 16,000. Fink called.

Both players checked the on the turn.

The came on the river and Fink shoved his stack all in. Grimes made the call with and saw the bad news as Fink tabled for a flush ending Grimes’ night a few hands before the end of Day 1A.

Mark Fink - 282,000
Jeff Grimes - Busted

Josh Meyers got his stack of 74,000 all in preflop and was in dire straits against Ron McMillen.

McMillen:
Meyers:

When the flop failed to help Meyers he got up out of his seat and began to collect his things. That is when the dealer burned and turned the . Meyers took the lead and shipped a double when the was run out on the river.

Josh Meyers - 150,000 (38 bb)
Ron McMillen - 40,000 (10 bb)

Josh Meyer raised to 10,000 from UTG+1 and Larry Barbetta three-bet shoved to 63,500 from middle position. Meyer thought for a moment then flicked a chip in the pot to call.

Meyer:
Barbetta:

Meyer found no love on the board and he shipped about half of his stack to Barbetta.

Larry Barbetta - 138,000 (34.5 bb)
Josh Meyer - 70,000 (17.5 bb)

Scott Moses raised to 9,000 from early position and Travis Sweet called from the small blind.

Sweet checked the flop of to Moses who continued the aggression by betting 15,000. Again, Sweet called.

Both players checked the turn.

Sweet took a different line, electing to shove his massive stack when the came on the river. Moses called and Sweet tabled for a turned flush. Moses stated that he thought Sweet was just using his chip lead to put pressure on the smaller stacks as he flipped over .

Travis Sweet - 370,000 (123 bb)
Scott Moses - Busted

Scott Moses raised to 7,000 from the hijack, and was called by Jon Midler in the big blind.

The flop saw Moses get his last 40,000 in the middle and Midler looked him up.

Moses:
Midler:

Moses needed an ace or five to catch up against the queens-up of Midler. The turn gave Moses additional outs to win, but it was the river that got Moses to rise out of his chair to celebrate the double.

“Damn, I thought I was stackin’!” Midler said.

“Yeah, I thought you were too.” Moses replied.

Jon Midler - 135,000 (45 bb)
Scott Moses - 100,000 (33 bb)

Zach Campbell raised to 7,000 from the cutoff and Kevin Berthelsen three-bet to 20,000 from the small blind. Campbell called and then called a bet of 11,000 on the flop.

When the dealer burned and turned the , Berthelsen moved all in for 32,000 and Campbell called.

Campbell:
Berthelsen:

Berthelsen had a set of tens but Campbell was drawing live to both straight and flush draws. However, it was the on the river that improved Berthelsen to quads for the double.

Kevin Berthelsen - 130,000 (43 bb)
Zach Campbell - 64,000 (21 bb)

John Reading shoved his remaining 68,000 from under the gun and Ryan Tepen called from the button.

Reading’s was ahead of Tepen’s .

The flop put Reading at risk, but he was able to spike a set when the hit the turn. The on the river made no difference and Reading doubled. Tepen busted a short time later.

John Reading - 145,000 (48 bb)
Ryan Tepen - Busted