FireKeepers Casino

Day 1C of the MSPT FireKeepers $1,000,000 Guaranteed Main Event proved to be a third straight record setting flight, as the 676 entrants from today’s flight combined with the 334 from Day 1A and 582 from Day 1B to give us a total field of 1,692 entrants, smashing the record for the biggest MSPT Main Event outside of The Venetian! The former record was held by this event last year, when 1,287 players entered.

The 676 entries were whittled down to just 91 by the end of the night, and Jeff Mackey held the chip lead when all was said and done, bagging 593,000, ahead of Day 1B chip leader Irbrahim Shoubah’s 526,000 stack and Day 1A chip leader George Janssen’s 462,500 stack. Two years ago, Mackey bagged the overall chip lead in the Season 8 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship, parlaying that big stack into a 20th place finish. The rest of the top five include David Austin (452,500), Brek Schutten (412,000), Rodney Greene (359,000), and CJ Hubble (335,000).

Others to make it through to the final day include Kevin Berthelsen (308,500), Alan Cutler (215,000), Royce Matheson (199,500), Season 8 MSPT Potawatomi Regional champ Craig Trost (174,000), Jeff Fielder (162,500), Jordan Miller (149,500), Season 9 MSPT Michigan State Poker champ Matthew Stammen (141,500), Season 9 MSPT Iowa State Poker champ Brian Soja (127,000), Season 9 MSPT POY Aaron Johnson (114,000), Season 7 MSPT FireKeepers champ Aaron Massey (106,000), Jeff Minnerly (109,500), Ralph Massey (98,000), MSPT Poker Bowl III champ Brian Wilson (77,000), and Season 8 MSPT Indiana State Poker champ Satish Thakur (67,000).

Not everyone could make it through, however, and some of those unfortunate enough to fall short of bagging and tagging include former MSPT FireKeepers champs Brett Blackwood, Mike Shanahan, Tom Midena, Michael Ferrarotti, and Ryan Dykhouse, 2009 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada, three-time MSPT champ Matt Kirby, two-time MSPT champs Andy Rubinberg, Jeremy Dresch and Dan Bekavac, Season 8 MSPT POY Chris Meyers, Season 6 POY Mark Hodge, poker pro Keven Stammen, and former MSPT champs Mike Shin, TJ Ryan, Tim Burden, Hao “John” Sun, Rodger Johnson, and Steve Federspiel.

Tomorrow, the remaining 202 players (39 from Day 1A, 72 from Day 1B, 91 from Day 1C) will combine at 11 AM local time to play down to a winner. You can follow all the action right here from the blog, and the final table of ten will be broadcast on a fifteen-minute delay here at MSPTpoker.com as well as on Twitch.tv/MSPTpoker. We’ll see you tomorrow with all the highlights and action from the biggest MSPT Main Event in Michigan history!

Jeff Mackey is running good! With two all-ins ahead of him pre-flop, he called off with to go three ways on the last hand of the night.

Opponent 1:
Opponent 2:

The flop came out giving Mackey a gut shot straight draw with an opponent holding one of his outs.

The turn paired the board when the fell, leaving Mackey with only 3 outs, and a 7.1% chance to win the hand.

Defying the odds, a down and dirty peeled off on the river to complete his gutshot, sending two players home and increasing Mackey’s chip lead.

Mackey - Chip Leader Day 3 - 593,000 (148 BB)

The remaining field will play three more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day’s action.

Action started as Edzevit Alitovski raised on the hijack to 8,000. His opponent called in the big blind to see the flop come .

BB checked to Alitovski, who made a continuation bet of 10,500. The rival took some time to think before making the call, going to the turn for the .

The opponent, checks again. Alitovski pursued to bet 15,000. The opponent tanked, asking to check Alitovski’s stack, eventually pushing all in for 200,000. With an insta-call, Alitozski was all in for 45,000 and cards were tabled.

Alitovski:

Opponent:

The river bricked for the opponent with a and the aces hold up for Alitovski.

Edzevit Alitovski- 140,000 (35 BB)

Season 9 MSPT Iowa State Poker champ Brian Soja jammed for 68,500 from UTG, and a player three-bet shoved for 130,000 in middle position, chasing out the field.

Soja:
Opponent:

Soja survived the flop, but got a sweat on the turn, which gave his opponent a flush draw. The river was safe for Soja, and he doubled up.

Brian Soja - 150,000 (37.5 bb)

Two-time MSPT Main Event Champion Jeremy Dresch raised it up from the cut off to 8,000 while casually ordering a round of drinks for the table.

Action folded to a player known locally as D who snap shoved one of the biggest stacks in the room all in from the big blind.

Dresch told the table he was gonna need a minute and counted down his stack while trying to get a read on his opponent. Jeremy said a few times to the table “I’m pretty sure im calling I just don’t want to be dead here.” Dresh decided to go with his read and made the call with his remaining 100,000 flipping over .

His read proved spot on as D tabled the and was the one essentially drawing dead to three outs.

Essentially being the key word as the flop would give D the nut straight and a hammer lock on the hand.

The turn and river ran out providing no justice for the champion and “D” took down the big pot.

Jeremy Dresch- Busted

Scotter Clark moved all in and was called by Jim Duda who was just part of a Clark triple up.

Clark:
Duda:

The board ran out and this time, Duda won the pot and the truck Clark uses as a chip protector, while Clark headed to the ring games.

Duda - 240,000 (80 BB)

Action starts UTG+1, who raises to 9,000. Scotter Clark makes his move as he shoves all in for 14,000 and a toy pickup. Jim Duda re-raises to 25,000. With a raise option opened, UTG+1 went all in over the top with 65,000. Duda wasn’t backing down and made the call.

Clark:
Duda:
UTG+1:

Duda hit his hand when the board came and only got better when the turn divulged the

Clark got a miraculous river, to save the day, with the

Duda wins a large side pot, while Clark got pushed his triple up pot and pickup as someone announces “I guess no one wins the truck.”

Jim Duda - 200,000 (66 BB)
Scotter Clark - 48,000 (16BB)