Ameristar East Chicago

The final flight of the MSPT $1,100 has concluded and a giant field of 327 entrants occupied the room today and the 327 from this flight, brough the size of the field up to 861. The $500,000 guarantee has been crushed, ensuring that a total of 93 players will be guaranteed a minimum of $1,800 tomorrow and battling it out for the $161,513 as well as the MSPT title.

Leading the way of the flight and the tournament overall is Jake Baumgartner, who ended their day with 757,000. Baumgartner has been a regular on the poker circuit for many years with a career best score coming when he won his HPT title back in 2018 here at East Chicago Ameristar for $206,114. Since then he has played regularly on the MSPT circuit, amassing nine cashes prior to this one and he looks to use his massive stack to make his first MSPT final table.

End of Day Chip Counts

Rounding out the podium are John Reading (503,000) and Eric Maccaro (490,000), each looking for their first MSPT. Former champions Daniel Goepel (390,000), Ari Engel (246,000), and Craig Trost (134,000) all found their way to Day 2, looking to conquer their second title. Fellow champions Umut Ozturk (265,000), Chris Audrain (186,000), and Sean Hinton (100,000) also will be looking for their second title and a leg up in the ever competitive player of the year race.

Not all found fortune today. Ralph Massey, Aaron Massey, Joe Batterman, Aaron Johnson, Michael Berk, and Asa Snyder all found their title hopes falling short. Allen “Kessler” Chainsaw ended up getting unplugged and Howard Hankin joined him on his way out the door. They will have to look towards the future MSPT stops to claim a title.

Play ended with 36:16 left on the clock in Level 15 with blinds at 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante in Day 1A. The other flights all ended later than this, so the 93 players will return to Level 15 on Monday, September 2nd at 11 AM. Play will continue until a winner is crowned so stay tuned to MSPTPoker.com for all updates on Day 2 and the eventual winner.

Jake Baumgartner raised to 30,000 in the hijack and on the button, Marius Toderici moved all in for 81,000 which saw action fold back around to Baumgartner who called to put Toderici at risk.

Marius Toderici:
Jake Baumgartner:

The board ran out and the kings were cracked on the turn and river as Toderici shook his head walking out of the tournament. Baumgartner took down the pot, solidifying his chip lead and the remaining 36 players bagged up for the night.

Stay tuned for full chip counts and a recap.

Jake Baumgartner - 757,000 (75 bb)

Brad Sailor raised to 16,000 on the button and the button moved all in for 51,000 which Sailor called.

Opponent:
Brad Sailor:

The board ran out and the king on the flop ensured the pot for Sailor as the field shrunk.

Another player was eliminated shortly after, bringing the field to the hand for hand portion of the tournament.

Brad Sailor - 333,000 (41 bb)

Sultan Ahmed raised to 18,000 in early position and another player on the button three-bet to 50,000 which saw action fold back to Ahmed who moved all in for 257,000 and his opponent called.

Sultan Ahmed:
Opponent:

The board ran out and the tens held up for Ahmed to take down a monster pot and go into the chip lead.

Sultan Ahmed - 534,000 (66 bb)

Jake Baumgartner raised to 12,000 on the button and in the small blind, DJ Buckley moved all in for 83,000 which saw the big blind fold and Baumgartner went into the tank. He tossed and toiled, shifting from side to side before pulling out one chip and almost putting it down onto the felt before last minute moving back to his stack. He had a change of heart a second time as he outstretched his hand to fold but decided to pull it back and call.

“After that I’ve got no shot,” Buckley said as he turned over his cards.

DJ Buckley:
Jake Baumgartner:

The board ran out and the wheel was no good for the MSPT legend as Baumgartner had made a king-high flush to eliminate Buckley from the tournament.

Jake Baumgartner - 380,000 (63 bb)
DJ Buckley - Eliminated