Majestic Star Casino

A stunning flash of five eliminations brought Day 1A to an early end and former MSPT Main Event winner Ken Baime of Glenview, IL survived the mayhem to finish with the top stack at Majestic Star Casino.

Baime put away 312,000 chips to edge out former MSPT Main Event winner Brian Hou who bagged a healthy 307,000. Jordan Jayne finished with 278,000 followed by Ting Luo at 239,000. Alan Cutler rounded out the top five with 212,000. Other notables who advanced included DJ Buckley (188,000), Nicholas Pupillo (164,000) and HPT’s Jeremy Smith (53,000).

Other notables who missed out today include MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson and past MSPT Main Event Champions Daniel Bekavac, TJ Ryan, Aaron Massey, Benjamin Wiora, Mike Shin and John Sun. Also coming up short in their efforts today were WSOP Circuit Ring winner Cody Brinn, Yanni Orfanos, Ralph Massey, Ravi Raghavan, Lynn “LT” Rainey and John Schroeder.

16 players advanced from Day 1A of 139 entries. There is one more starting flight on Saturday beginning at 3 P.M. Everyone who advances to Day 2 will return to action at 11 A.M. Sunday.

Congratulations to everyone who advanced to Day 2 and we’ll see you all back here tomorrow for coverage of Day 1B!

As we head into the final 40-minute level of the evening, it is appearing more and more likely that we will reach the magic 12% cut-off (16 players for our 139 total entries) for the end of Day 1A than the alternative. The event is down to 18 players, two 9-handed tables, and after the players found their new seats the tournament’s two biggest stacks find themselves staring across the felt at one another.

Brian Hou currently edges out Alan Cutler by an up-to-the-moment count of 265,000 to 252,000. No other competitor presently has greater than 180,000, meaning that should these two decide to tango it will be quite the sight to behold.

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Brian Hou	265,000	265,000
Alan Cutler	252,000	250,000

The MSPT is returning to FireKeepers Casino October 10-13 for the 2019 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship. The stop, which requires players be 21 or older to play, is looking to generate a seven-figure prize pool for the sixth time in a row.

A series of $65 and $250 satellites begin August 16^th and will run consistently leading up to the $1,100 buy-in, $1,000,000 guarantee Main Event.

The Main Event will feature three starting flights – all with a noon start time - beginning with Day 1A on Thursday, October 10. Days 1B and 1C will then be on Friday, October 11 and Saturday, October 12 respectively. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, October 13 at 11:00 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

View Complete Event Schedule

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.

Matt Stammen

Last October, the 2018 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship attracted a then-record 1,271 entries. Matt Stammen, the elder brother of well-known poker pro Keven Stammen, emerged victorious to capture his first major title and $218,565 in prize money.

The 2017 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship drew 1,067 entries and was won by Chris Meyers, who not only won $191,196 but went on to claim the Kimo Sabe Mezcal MSPT Season 8 Player of the Year title.

Other past MSPT Michigan State Poker champions include Brett Blackwood (2016 for $188,314), Michael Ferraroti (2015 for $134,642), Ryan Dykhouse (2014 for $124,500), and Jordan Townsend (2013 for $76,975).

Most recently, the MSPT was at FireKeepers back in May, and that Main Event set the record for largest ever poker tournament in Michigan history with 1,592 entries! Chris Moon, who days prior topped a field of 570 to take down the $1,650 HPT Ameristar East Chicago for $183,899, took down his second mid-major title of the week by shipping MSPT FireKeepers for a whopping $258,407!

FireKeepers Casino Hotel opened in August of 2009. The venue features a 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.

FireKeepers Casino Hotel is 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 as 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.

Visit msptpoker.com for more information and hotel rates.

Among the 20 survivors of Day 1A late in the running is Kenneth Baime, who is no stranger to success on the MSPT. In fact, the Glenview, Illinois native won right here at the Majestic Star Casino in 2014, collecting $77,681 and the big spade trophy for his effort.

He’s collected 8 total Main Event cashes, among which are 3 final table appearances including that win at 2014 MSPT Majestic Star, collecting a career $124,814 in his MSPT career. His MSPT winnings are a good portion of his $421,096 lifetime earnings in live poker, and his win in 2014 is his topmost single event cash.

As the blinds are about to rise for the final time this evening and the clock ticks over to 1:00am local time, Baime is nearing the top of the leader board with around 180,000 in tournament checks.

We’re down to our final 3 tables on Day 1A, and with 21 players remaining the leaders are Alan Cutler, Brian Hou and Saulius Kuklier.

Alan Cutler is a cut above the rest, well over 250,000 and comfortably in the lead at Table 3.

Over on Table 4, Brian Hou is in the catbird seat currently commanding around 210,000.

And finally at the back of the room closest to the stem of the riverboat proper is Saulius Kuklier, who after being moved from his just recently broken table has a new home at Table 5 with around 215,000 in tournament chips.

All three competitors have more than 70 big blinds, and with only one-and-a-half levels left to play look to be in a good spot to make a run on Day 2. Play will conclude for the evening when the tournament reaches the end of Level 15 or if and when the playing field is whittled down to its final 12% rounded down, which here on Day 1A that would mean 16 of the initial 139 players.

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Alan Cutler	250,000	80,000
Saulius Kuklier	215,000	150,500
Brian Hou	210,000	209,000

Jordan Jayne has collected the last of Michael Sabbia’s chips, sending the Orland Park, Illinois native to the rail.

Jayne raised to 6,000, receiving nothing but folds from the rest of the table until Sabbia pushed his final 10,500 into the pot which Jayne called.

Jayne:
Sabbia:

The run-out was intriguing to be sure. A Flop gave both players two paid, and the Turn put Sabbia in the lead. But the River brought the best hand back on top, and Jayne collects the pot.

Jayne, who has had an up-and-down day thus far, is on the upswing, currently sitting on more than 140,000 in tournament chips late in the running of MSPT 154 at the Majestic Star Casino in Chicago.

DJ Buckley got here with about ten minutes before the end of Level 12. It looks like that’s the time he needed to start doing serious damage.

Buckley had already gotten up to 32,500 chips and had quickly put it all-in. Fred Adams called and turned over against Buckley’s . Adams got through the but Buckley hit the on the turn to take the lead. The came on the river and just like that Buckley was up to 65,000 chips (26 bb) in the blink of an eye.

32 players remain with just over two levels to go here in Day 1A.

Registration is now closed for Day 1A of the $200,000 Guaranteed Main Event at Majestic Star Casino. 139 entries were recorded for the flight and 36 players are still alive as we begin the final three levels of the evening. It promises to be an exciting finish to play this evening here in the Chicago area as the chase for an MSPT title rolls on!