Potawatomi Casino

Day 1A of the MSPT Potawatomi $1,100 Main Event in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin easily surpassed the advertised $200,000 guarantee as 233 entrants took to the felt in the first of two starting flights. After 14 levels of play, just 43 remained with World Series of Poker bracelet winner John Reading and his stack of 298,000 leading the way.

Reading, who hails from Minnesota, topped a field 1,436 in the 2015 WSOP Event #6: $1,000 Hyper Hold’em to win $252,068 and a gold bracelet. As for the MSPT, he has nine cashes for $97,685, which includes three final table appearances. His best finish to date was third in the MSPT Season 5 Canterbury Park for $37,509.

Others who bagged big stacks were Dan Crawford (219,00), MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year Rich Alsup (208,500), two-time champ Jeremy Dresch (191,000), Andrija Solovjev (188,500), and Cero Zuccarello (182,000).

Joining them, albeit with smaller stacks, were Gary Herstein (145,000), Randy Perkins (115,000), Aaron Johnson (100,000), 2016 MSPT Iowa State Poker Champ John Sun (71,000), and Cory Cove (34,500).

Of course, not everyone was so lucky. Among those to try and fall on Day 1A were former MSPT champs Ken Baime, Jason Mirza, Dan Goepel, Keith Heine, Travis Lauson, Vinh Tran, and Dan “DQ” Hendrickson. They were joined on the rail by MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge, 2016 Aussie Millions champ and eight-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Ari Engel, and everyone’s favorite curmudgeon Howard Hankins.

Day 1B, which will kick off at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, will the last opportunity for players to get into action. Late registration and a single re-entry option will remain open until the start of Level 10, which is approximately 10:30 p.m.

Join us tomorrow as we bring you all the action straight from the MSPT Potawatomi tournament floor.

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play five more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chip counts as well as a recap of the Day 1A action.

A short-stacked Brian Thomas moved all in for 13,100 from middle position and action folded all the way around to Greg Baird, who called from the big blind.

Thomas:
Baird:

Thomas was in a bad spot, but he got lucky to pair his kicker on the flop. Unfortunately for him, his lead didn’t last long as Baird took it back on the turn.

The river improved both to two pair, but of course Baird’s was best to sed Thomas to the rail.

Greg Baird - 70,000
Brian Thomas - Busted

WSOP bracelet winner John Reading raised to 5,000 only to have Alex Ziskin three-bet jam for 25,200. Action folded back to Reading and he made a quick call.

Reading:
Ziskin:

Ziskin had a kicker problem and it didn’t get resolved as the board ran out a lackluster .

John Reading - 230,000
Alex Ziskin - Busted

Rich Alsup - 215,000
Jeremy Dresch - 200,000
John Reading - 200,000
Brian Ganos - 185,000
Daniel Sepiol - 175,000
Bradley Jansen - 160,000
Cero Zuccarello - 160,000
Dan Crawford - 150,000
Gary Herstein - 140,000
Aaron Johnson - 90,000
Cory Cove - 65,000
John Sun - 42,000
Garry Perez - 40,000
Carter Myers - 40,000
Marius Toderici - 38,000
Jason Reno - Busted

Don’t look now, but Michigan is one of the country’s hottest spots for poker, a fact evidenced by massive tournament fields. Case in point, recent stops of the MSPT, which will visit FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek for the first time in Season 8 May 13-21.

A series of $65 and $250 qualifiers will take place in the weeks leading up to the $1,100 buy-in, $300,000 guarantee Main Event, which is once again expected to draw a massive field.

“FireKeepers recently expanded their poker room, which is great considering the fields keep getting bigger and bigger,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “Not only that, they’re in the process of making changes around the casino to make it even more player friendly. If you haven’t visited FireKeepers Casino, you’re truly missing out on one of the Midwest’s premiere gaming destinations.”

The Main Event, which requires players be 21 years of age to participate, will feature three starting flights beginning with Day 1A at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 18. Days 1B and 1C will then be held at Noon local time on Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20 respectively. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, May 21 at 11:00 a.m. 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 in the MSPT's live blog.

Last May, the largest event in MSPT history outside Las Vegas took place back as 820 entrants packed the poker room. In the end, it was poker pro Aaron Massey who took home $174,658 for the win. That event was followed up by the MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship in October. That tournament became the largest poker tournament in state history with 884 entrants and saw Brett Blackwood walk away with an $188,314 first-place prize.

Some others who've notched wins at FireKeepers are Harry Tisdale (May 2015 for $142,637), Jason Zarlenga (May 2014 for $101,482), Jordan Townsend (August 2013 for $76,975), and Thomas Midena (March 2013 for $73,456).

FireKeepers Casino Hotel opened in August of 2009. The venue features an 111,700-square foot gaming floor with 2,900 slot machines, 70 table games, multiple restaurants and lounges, a live poker room and bingo room.

According to their website, FireKeepers Casino Hotel, located just off Interstate 94 at Exit 104, has been named Best Casino by audiences in Western Michigan and Northern Indiana, plus earned nine first-place awards in the Casino Player Magazine Best of Gaming 2015 Native Midwest category, including Best Overall Gaming Resort.

FireKeepers was also selected one of the Best Casinos to Work for by Casino Player Magazine. Their signature restaurant, Nibi, is a multiple recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

FireKeepers offers a AAA-rated Four Diamond resort-style hotel with 243 rooms, a functional multi-purpose event center, six distinctive dining destinations, and multiple lounges. FireKeepers is the title sponsor of the FireKeepers Casino 400, a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, and host of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship a Symetra Tour-Road to the LPGA golf event.

For more information, visit firekeeperscasino.com.

For a full look at the MSPT FireKeepers schedule, click here.

Players are now on their last 10-minute break of the night. When they return, they’ll play two more levels before bagging and tagging on Day 1A.

Cero Zuccarello of Madison, Wisconsin, recounted what may have been the cooler of the night.

As he told it, Zuccarello opened preflop from UTG+2 for 3,500 and was called by a player in middle position. Keith Heine then called from the small blind, and the player in the big blind came along.

The flop came and all players checked.

The hit the turn and Zuccarello checked to the middle-position player, who bet 6,000. All players called.

The river brought the and Heine led for 16,000. Zuccarello shoved all in for 37,500 and action folded to Heine, who called.

Zuccarello tabled for flopped quads and a stunned Heine showed for a flopped full house.

Cero Zuccarello - 128,000
Keith Heine - 14,100