Hollywood Casino St. Louis

Day 1a of The Mid-States Poker Tour $1,110 Main Event at Hollywood Casino has come to a close after seeing 114 entrants kick things off.

Almost a full day of action was played to completion with the hard stop of 12 players being reached with 14:00 remaining in Level 15.

The final level was slow moving leading up to the final two eliminations of the evening when Cliff ”Flounder” Maloney bluffed his stack into Ryan Ramsdell’s top set, as Ramsdell was able to claim the top spot and end the night with 484,000.

Ramsdell was able to edge out Travis Burch for the chip lead after Burch ended the night with an elimination of his own after he flopped a king-high flush against Maddie Robinson’s open-ended straight flush draw and ended the flight with 481,000.

Rounding out the top five stacks were Lance Brendel (421,000), Carlos Loving (374,000), and Paul Fehlig (307,000), with MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson (289,000) also found a Day 2 berth.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Brandon Butler, Anthony Sedlak, Lily Kiletto, and Bill Haner, just to name a few.

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action. Day 1b will kick off at 3:00 p.m. local time Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor at Hollywood Casino!

MSPT Hollywood Casino Remaining Schedule

Cliff “Flounder” Maloney opened under the gun for 18,000 and was called by Paul Fehlig from the hijack before Ryan Ramsdell three-bet to 53,000 from the button.

Only Maloney called, and the dealer dropped a flop. Maloney wasted no time moving out his 110,000 stack and Ramsdell snap-called.

Cliff “Flounder” Maloney:
Ryan Ramsdell:

Maloney was way behind needing a jack after seeing Ramsdell flopped top set.

Neither the turn nor the river improved his hand, and he was eliminated for the tournament as the heard stop was reached with 14:00 remaining in the final level.

Ryan Ramsdell - 484,000
Cliff “Flounder” Maloney - 0

There was heads-up action between Carlos Loving from late position and Brandon Butler from the small blind, with a completed board showing.

With 60,000 already in the middle, Butler checked his option to Loving who put him all-in.

After some careful time in the tank, Butler called off his stack and the two players tabled their hands.

Butler showed for the queen-high flush but it was no good as Loving tabled for a flopped full house to win the pot and ended Butler's night.

Carlos Loving - 350,000
Brandon Butler - 0

Action on the table quickly folded to Maziar Keshavarzi who raised all in from the small blind and Maddie Robinson called off her 80,000 stack from the big blind.

Maddie Robinson:
Maziar Keshavarzi:

Robinson was ahead and the runout secured her double-up.

Maziar Keshavarzi - 180,000
Maddie Robinson - 160,000

Lance Brendel opened under the gun for 15,000 and then called a 35,000 three-bet from Cliff “Flounder” Maloney.

Once the flop hit the felt, Brendel checked to Maloney who continued for 40,000. Brendel tilted his head in disgust and tossed into the muck.

Lance Brendel - 341,000
Cliff “Flounder” Maloney - 300,000

For the first time, the Mid States Poker Tour (MSPT) is headed to the Ameristar Casino Hotel in East Chicago, Illinois from August 8th - 13th!

A $400 NLH Tag Team Championship will kick things off, with a series of $70, $135, and $265 satellites will feed into the $1,110 buy-in MSPT229 Main Event, which requires players be 21+ to play.

The tournament, which holds a $300K GTD, will offer three starting flights with Day 1a beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 10th.

Day 1b will take place at the same time on Friday, August 11th with Day 1c following suit Saturday, August 12th.

The surviving players from all starting flights will then return at 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 13th to play down to a winner.

Also, on that Sunday there will be a $250 NLH Last Chance Showdown Event beginning at Noon.

There was heads-up action between Maddie Robinson from the button and Brandon Butler from the big blind with a board showing.

Butler check-called a 20,000 bet from Robinson and the paired the board on the river. Butler checked his option once again only to snap-off his 35,000 stack after Robinson put him all in.

Robinson quickly rolled over for the flush but it was no good as Butler tabled for a full house to double-up.

Brandon Butler - 142,000
Maddie Robindson - 140,000

Alexander Hoff opened under the gun for 9,000 and Brett Hagopian three-bet to 21,000 from the button.

Action folded back to Hoff who four-bet all in for 90,000 and Hagopian called.

Alexander Hoff:
Brett Hagopian:

It was a flip with Hoff calling the wrong side as the runout paired Hagopian’s king and ended his night.

Brett Hagopian - 260,000
Alexander Hoff - 0