Day 1a of the 2016 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Michigan State Poker Championship set another record (something we’re becoming accustomed to here at FireKeepers Casino). The 195 entrants that took to the felt surpassed the 165 from May’s Day 1a flight. Remember, that tournament eventually garnered a MSPT Midwest record 820 entries, so there’s no telling how big this event could get as Days 1b and 1c are still to take place at Noon local time on Friday and Saturday respectively.

After 14 levels of play, the field was whittled down to 36 players with Michigan’s Casey Carroll and his stack of 287,000 leading the way. Back in May, Carroll topped a field of 541 runners to win the Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago Main Event for $174,469, which brought his lifetime earnings up to $240,578. Carroll is still seeking his first MSPT cash, and with that stack he’s primed to get it come Day 2 on Sunday.

Others who bagged and tagged were Daniel Conway (262,000) and Jimmy Ray (227,500), the only other players over 200K; Bruce Nosanchuk (128,000), who is playing in his first major poker tournament after dropping his daughter off at college earlier this week; inaugural MSPT FireKeepers champ Tom Midena (110,500); Michigan regular Adam Lamphere (77,500); and Ronald Kruk (53,500), who finished runner-up in our last event here back in May.

Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to fall in the opening flight were reigning Michigan State Poker Champ Michael Ferrarotti; two-time MSPT champ Jason Zarlenga; Minnesota poker pro Aaron Johnson; MSPT Season 4 Player of the Year Pat Steele; and Mark Johnson, who just completed a year-long weight loss bet that involved no shaving and quitting tobacco.

All of those players will have the opportunity to try again in the two subsequent flights. We’ll be back at Noon tomorrow for Day 1b action, so be sure to join us then for all the latest and greatest straight from the floor of the MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship!