Riverside Casino

Day 1a of the MSPT Riverside $1,110 Main Event is officially in the books with 114 total entries tallied by night's end.

Plenty of players made their way to Riverside Casino, creating a room full of MSPT Champs and Hall of Famers.

With chips flying and players dropping like rapid fire throughout the day, 11% of the field was reached with 21:51 remaining in Level 14 (3,000/5,000/5,000).

Once the hard stop was reached, it was Michael Cassiday-Maloney (553,000) who secured the final elimination of the night to edge out Jason Peterson (420,000) for the top stack after the first flight to lead the 13 advancing players.

Cassiday-Maloney and Peterson were the only two players to clip the 400k mark, while Jesse Green (324,000), Dalton Jones (290,000), and MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard (271,000) rounded out the top stacks of the flight.

Others who punched their ticket into Sunday’s Day 2 included three-time MSPT Champ Aaron Johnson (263,000), Ramon Ziadeh (250,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk (219,000), Greg Sessler (219,000), and WSOP bracelet winner Mike Wilklow (113,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Immanuel Hoppe, Adam Vucic, Joe Hindman, Tim Garles, and Chris Steines, 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 2:00 p.m. local time on Friday, March 20^th, while Day 1c will take place at the same time on Saturday, March 21^st.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 22^nd to play down to a winner.

MSPT Season 17 Riverside Remaining Schedule

Make sure to stay tuned here to find out who makes it through to Sunday’s Day 2!

Photo: Michael Cassiday-Maloney

After an initial 10,000 raise, the button three-bet jammed for 71,000, and only Michael Cassiday-Maloney called from the big blind.

Opponent:
Michael Cassiday-Maloney:

It was a classic race, with the flop giving Cassiday-Maloney a commanding lead with top set.

The turn did bring a seat, but the river secured Cassiday-Maloney the knockout, ending play for the evening.

Michael Cassiday-Maloney - 553,000

Photo: Kole Peterson

Kole Peterson tossed out his last 14,000 from the small blind, and Ramon Ziadeh gave him isolation from the big blind.

Kole Peterson:
Ramon Ziadeh:

Peterson jammed into Ziadeh’s pair of aces, and the runout ended his night.

Ramon Ziadeh - 310,000
Kole Peterson - 0

Photo: Dalton Jones

There was all-in action after a flop between Ken Coy from under the gun and Dalton Jones from middle position, with Jones holding 111,000 effective.

Dalton Jones:
Ken Coy:

Jones was ahead holding the superior made hand, and the turn secured him the pot before the completed the boar don the river.

Dalton Jones - 303,000
Ken Coy - 75,000

Level 13 has started, meaning registration for Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Main Event at Riverside Casino is officially closed.

The first starting flight tallied 114 runners, and the plan is to play until 11% of the field (rounded up to 13 players) is reached, with the tournament clock showing 23 players remaining.

Photo: Kelly Mahana

There was all-in action after a flop between Kelly Mahana from the hijack and Jason Peterson from the small blind, with Mahana’s stack at risk.

Kelly Mahana:
Jason Peterson:

Peterson pulled ahead after flopping top set, and the turn, followed by river secured him the knockout.

Jason Peterson - 285,000
Kelly Mahana - 30,000

: Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago - East Chicago

: April 21-26, 2026

: $1,110 / $300K GTD Main Event

: $3,500 MSPT Championship Seat ADDED to Main Event 1st Place

: 11 Gold Card Events

: https://msptpoker.com/.../reserve-today-for-the-mspt...

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=647msptpoker.com