Running Aces Casino

Almost a full day of action occurred during Day 1b of the MSPT (Mid-States Poker Tour) $1,110 Minnesota State Poker Championship at Running Aces Casino with the hard stop being reached in Level 14 with 23:16 remaining.

The second of three flights drew 303 entries to bring the two-day total thus far to 475, closing in on the $500k guarantee with one flight remaining.

Of those 303 entries, 36 players remained when chips went into bags with MSPT champ Mark Jaroslawski bagging the top overall stack with 723,000.

Finishing in a close second was Dave Sorenson (pictured), who was looking good to bag the chip lead but lost a few late hands to drop to 694,000.

The top five are rounded out by two-time MSPT champ Mark Sandness (682,000), MSPT champ Rodger Johnsonj (648,000), and fellow champ Mo Nuwwarah (426,000).

Several other familiar players will also be joining the aforementioned including MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk (406,000), 2011 MSPT Player of the Year Nathan Fair (330,000), MSPT champ’s William Chao (297,000), Curtis Vierstraete (266,000), Jason Sell (212,000), & Derek McMaster (148,000), along with five-time MSPT champ Blake Bohn (110,000), who add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the 20 to have already advanced from Day 1a.

All players who haven't found a Day 2 birth will get one last chance to do so tomorrow for Day 1c starting Noon with late registration and re-entries remaining open through Level 12 (approximately 9:10 p.m.).

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

Season 15 MSPT Minnesota Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

Yesterday’s starting flight saw Matt Alexander bag a 556,000 stack leading the 20 players who advanced from a 172-entry field, and players who make it through today will join that group on Sunday, April 28th at 11:00 a.m. for Day 2.

Day 1A Chip Counts

For the eighth stop of its 15th season, the MSPT traveled back home to host the Minnesota State Poker Championship and players have been duking it out over the past week inside Running Aces Casino for its 16-trophy event series!

In Event #11: $200 No-Limit Hold'em Epic Stack, 150 epic players took to the felt and generated a $24,000 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Tyler "TK" Kolness (10th Place - $492), Peter Greese (11th Place - $492), MSPT champ Max Havlish (12th Place - $492), Kyler McKnight (13th Place - $408), Richard Larson (14th Place - $408), and David Kramber (15th Place - $408).

When the dust settled, it was Alan Berlin of Shoreview, MN who came out on top with the lion's share of the prize pool, along with the Sapdey trophy!

Final Table Results

* denotes chop

The player under the gun raised and then called Blake Bohn’s three-bet from the small blind.

Bohn’s last 1,000 chip got into the middle after the flop, and the two players tabled their hands.

Blake Bohn:
Opponent:

Bohn flopped the goods holding a flush and the turn secured him the pot after the meaningless completed the board on the river.

Blake Bohn - 80,000

Don’t look now, but Michigan is one of the country’s hottest spots for poker, a fact evidenced by massive tournament fields.

Case in point, recent stops of the MSPT, which will visit FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek for the first time in Season 15 May 16th - 19th.

A series of $70 and $265 qualifiers will take place in the weeks leading up to the $1,110 buy-in, $1,000,000 guarantee Main Event, which is once again expected to draw a massive field.

The Main Event, which requires players be 21 years of age to participate, will feature three starting flights beginning with Day 1a at Noon on Thursday, May 16th.

The next two starting flights, Days 1b and 1c will then be held at the same time on Friday, May 17th, and Saturday, May 18th respectively. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, May 19th at 10:00 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

Last May, a venue record of 2,473 entrants packed the poker room and, in the end, it was MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang who took home a career-best $314,145 for the win.

That event was followed up by the MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship in October which set a new bar with 2,883 entrants tallied and saw Travis Young walk away with a $297,977 first-place prize.

Some others who've notched wins at FireKeepers are Matthew Davis (October 2022 for $344,446), Dan Bekavac (May 2022 for $198,175), Bobby Noel (October 2019 for $262,145), and Chris Moon (May 2019 for $258,407).

For more information, visit firekeeperscasino.com.

For a full look at the MSPT FireKeepers schedule, click here.

For the eighth stop of its 15th season, the MSPT traveled back home to host the Minnesota State Poker Championship and players have been duking it out over the past week inside Running Aces Casino for its 16-trophy event series!

In Event #10: $300 No-Limit Hold'em Tag Team, 442 players took to the field and generated a $50,830 prize pool that was paid out to the top 24 teams.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Shawn Libersky & John Volgren (14th place - $762), James Reno & Kevin Hicks (17th place - $686), Thai Dinh & Yume Carr (20th place - $564), and Rory Linton & Kurtis Koenig (22nd place - $488).

Coming out the top team was David Ehlke & Brian Knoop who took home the top prize along with the MSPT Spadey trophies!

Final Table Results

* denotes chop

Players have returned from their final 10-minute break meaning, registration is now closed for Day 1b of the MSPT Season 15 Minnesota State Poker Championship $1,110 Main Event at Running Aces Casino.

A total of 303 entries were recorded in this flight and with the 172 entries from Day 1a, the total entries for the tournament are now up to 475.

There were 20 players who advance from yesterday’s starting flight and the tournament clock reads 63 hopefuls looking to join them as we head into the final three levels of play this evening.

The plan is to play through Level 15 unless the hard stop of 12% of the field (36 players) is reached first.