On Friday, the 2nd Annual Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Wisconsin State Championship kicked off at Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells, and it did so in a huge way by setting a new record!
The flight attracted 208 entries, which set a new MSPT Day 1a record for the Ho-Chunk Gaming stop, which has been on the schedule since 2012. The massive turnout, which surpassed the previous record of 197 entries, ensured the $200,000 guarantee was met, and with Day 1b still to go it's a matter of how big the prize pool will get. Expectations are high that it will surpass the $463,000 created when 463 entrants turned out for the inaugural Wisconsin State Poker Championship last year.
Speaking of that event, Thomas Peebles nearly won it, ultimately finishing as runner-up to Ben Wiora, who has since relocated to Las Vegas and will not make a title defense. While Wiora is MIA, Peebles was not. He returned for Day 1a with one thing on his mind – redemption!
Peebles lingered with an average stack for the early part of the day, but towards the end caught fire to climb the counts. He bagged a healthy 229,500 and will return for Day 2 on Sunday with the idea of finishing one spot better than he did last year.
Some players better positioned to make a deep run are Nick Pupillo, who bagged the Day 1a chip lead with 260,500 in chips, as well as MSPT Pro Matt Alexander (229,500), Leonard Lewandowski (208,000), and Jason Reno (189,500), who round out the top five. Some others who made it through the flight, albeit with fewer chips were MSPT Potawatomi champ Dan Goepel (168,000), Monty Schmidt (137,000), Adam Lamphere (133,000), Jeff Fielder (117,000), Nick Jivkov (111,000), Kou Vang (73,500), John Reading (59,000), and Jason Seitz (43,500).
Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to come and go on Day 1a were MSPT Pros Blake Bohn and Matt Kirby; former MSPT Ho-Chunk champ Josh Reichard and his father, Brett; online poker legends Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon and Tony " D1rtyR1v3r" Nardi; and local players Marvin "Bear" Havill, Rick Syverud, and Rob Trettin. All of those players will have the chance to try again on Day 1b if they so choose.
Join us at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday as we bring you all the Day 1b action straight from the tournament floor. Until then good night from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells!