Running Aces Casino

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Minnesota Poker State Championship at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack has come to a close after seeing 167 entrants kick things off.

Almost a full day of action was played to completion with the hard stop of 19 players being reached with 24:45 remaining in Level 14 (3,000/5,000/5,000).

The final level was full of eliminations, which saw chip leader Paul Carney’s 300k stack balloon to 567,000 to end the night, edging out Loki Abboud (549,000) for the top stack.

Steve W was able to hold onto his steam throughout the day, bagging a respectable 447,000 to put in his bag at the end of the night, while Event #11 winner Leo Pinamonti (397,000) and Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long (396,000), as they round out the top five stacks of the flight.

Season 14 Minnesota Poker State Champion runner-up Rory Linton collected 323,000 to end the night with, while two-time MSPT Champ Jeremy Dresch (242,000), Dennis Stevermer (241,000), MSPT Champ Dan Goepel, and MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup (82,000) all found a Day 2 berth.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Yume Carr, MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz, Dalton Jones, Peter Her, John Mcnee, and Ashish Gandhi, 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, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at noon 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 Running Aces Casino & Racetrack!

MSPT Season 17 Minnesota Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

Photo: Matt Fox

David “Digger” Vig opened under the gun for 20,000 and then called Matt Fox’s 34,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Matt Fox:
David “Digger” Vig:

Fox rolled over a dominated hand, but the flop paired his king to give him the lead, while also giving Vig a flush draw.

The dealer then turned the , keeping Fox in the lead, but then followed with the on the river, ending his night on the bubble.

David “Digger” Vig - 120,000
Matt Fox - 0

After the elimination of five-time MSPT Champ Blake, Bohn, just 20 players remain, meaning the hand-for-hand process has now started, as only 19 of them will be advancing to Day 2.

With his 8^th place Main Event finish at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort - for the first time in 10 years - we have a new Josh Reichard

Full List: https://msptpoker.com/statistics/goatpoy.aspx

Photo: Ariel Pressman

There was all-in action preflop between Ali Nabizadehgangaraj from the hijack and Ariel Pressman from the button, with Nabizadehgangaraj holding 32,000 effective.

Ali Nabizadehgangaraj:
Ariel Pressman:

Nabizadehgangaraj rolled over a dominating suited hand, and the runout secured his double-up.

Ariel Pressman - 110,000
Ali Nabizadehgangaraj - 70,000

Level 13 has started, meaning registration for Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Minnesota Poker State Championship is officially closed, with 167 entries tallied for the first flight.

The plan is to play until 11% of the field rounded up (19 players) is reached, with the tournament clock showing 35 players remaining.

MSPT FESTIVAL

: Potawatomi Casino Hotel - Milwaukee, WI

: April 28 - May 3, 2026

: $1,000,000 GTD Main Event
: $3,500 MSPT Championship Seat ADDED to Main Event 1st Place

: 11 Gold Card Events

: https://msptpoker.com/.../book-today-for-the-upcoming...

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=494msptpoker.co