JACK Cleveland Casino

A non-stop day of action here at the JACK Cleveland Casino saw some brutal eliminations, classic battles and Ohio’s finest constantly put to the test.

The first starting flight attracted 219 entries, putting it on par with the record-breaking Day 1a field from this past February.

With chips flying and players dropping throughout the day, play tightened up in the later levels as only 12% of the field was finding a Day 2 berth.

Once players put their chips into the bags, it was Ron Kaleal claiming the Day 1a chip lead with a whopping 701,000, leading the 26 advancing players by a wide margin.

Kaleal was able to position himself in front of DJ Swartz (552,000), Jason Odom (466,000), Sean Troha (435,000), and Gabriel Jarrous (428,000), who rounded out the top five stacks after the first flight.

Others able to find a Day 2 berth included Patrick Coughlin (418,000), WSOP bracelet winner Billy Kopp (349,000), Scott Sisler (203,000), 2023 JACK Cleveland champ Jon Lewis (169,000), and defending two-time champ Bobby Noel (121,000).

Among those to try and fall on 1a included MSPT Hall of Famer Pat Steele, MSPT champ Mike O’Neill, Penelope Banhidy, MSPT champ Richard Bai, and Ray Ezzie.

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back in the action. Day 1b will kick off at 12:15 p.m. local time on Friday, August 16^th, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday, August 17^th.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:15 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 of the JACK Cleveland Casino!

MSPT Season 15 JACK Cleveland Remaining Schedule

Jason Odom raised from middle position and then called Chase Skonieczny’s 23,000 three-bet jam from the big blind.

Chase Skonieczny:
Jason Odom:

Skonieczny was behind holding a suited ace but didn’t get any help from the runout as he became the final elimination on this flight.

Jason Odom - 360,000
Chase Skonieczny - 0

For the third time this season, the MSPT returns to Sycuan Casino in San Diego, California, for the Showdown Series, September 12th - 22nd!

A total of 15 trophy events will take place during the two-week span, which includes a $360 NLH Mystery Bounty ($100K GTD) during the opening weekend (September 12th - 15th).

The series will run into the headlined $1,110 Main Event running from Thursday, September 19th through Sunday, September 22nd, and will feature a $300K guarantee for its three starting flights.

The start of the New Year saw the MSPT crown Savo Mandarapa the first champ of Season 15 after he outlasted 451 runners to take home a $93,771 score while Noel Eicher became the defending champ after he ran through 313 runners in May enroute to a $61,693 payday.

Who will be next to add their name to the Season 15 winner list? The MSPT live reporting crew will be on hand to provide live updates as the answer to that question is determined.

Gabriel Jarrous raised from early position and then called David Harsley’s 40,000 three-bet jam from late position.

David Harsley:
Gabriel Jarrous:

Harsley woke-up with aces at the perfect time as the runout gave him top set to stay alive.

Gabriel Jarrous - 360,000
David Harsley - 80,000

MSPT Jon Lewis raised the hijack and then called John Rasch’s 165,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

John Rasch:
Jon Lewis:

Rasch was ahead holding the better made hand and the runout kept his Main Event hopes alive.

John Rasch - 345,000
Jon Lewis - 185,000

MSPT champ Jon Lewis was all in preflop for 171,000 from the cutoff and John Rasch looked him up from the small blind.

Jon Lewis:
John Rasch:

Lewis was racing for his tournament life and the runout paired his ace to secure his late-night double.

AT another table, Derek Connors was eliminated, starting the hand-for-hand process with 27 players remaining.

Jon Lewis - 350,000
John Rasch - 165,000

Mark Morrison was all in from the big blind and was called by WSOP bracelet winner Billy Kopp from the small blind.

Mark Morrison:
Billy Kopp:

Morrison was ahead holding an ace and the flop didn’t change a thing.

However, the turn brought a sweat as it gave Kopp more outs with a gut shot straight draw and the that fell on the river was one of those outs as it paired Kopp eliminating Morrison from the Day 1a field.

Billy Kopp - 273,000
Mark Morrison - 0

John Rasch raised from the cutoff and then called Darren Gensler’s three-bet jam from the button.

Darren Gensler:
John Rasch:

It was a classic race with an ace appearing in the window on the flop giving Rasch top pair.

The turn left Gensler needing a ten on the river to stay alive, but the paired the board and ended his night.

John Rasch - 370,000
Darren Gensler - 0