Riverside Casino

: Bally's Black Hawk Casino - Black Hawk, CO

: July 22 - August 2, 2026

: Colorado Poker State Championship

: $1,110 Main Event / $500K GTD

$3,500 MSPT CHAMPIONSHIP SEAT ADDED TO MAIN EVENT 1ST PLACE

: 17 Gold Card Tournaments

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=516

Photo: Tim Kelly

A series of preflop raises led to three players taking to a flop.

With over 20,000 already in the middle, Tim Kelly checked his action from the big blind, and Mike Hancock fired out a 12,000 bet from the hijack.

Action was then on Daniel Schmidt, who raised all-in from the button, and both Kelly and Hancock called off their shorter stack.

Tim Kelly:
Mike Hancock:
Daniel Schmidt:

Kelly was ahead holding top two-pair, but the turn kept things sweaty as it paired Hancock.

Fortunately for Kelly, the dealer dropped the on the river, securing him the triple-up, while Hancock was left with just 400 in chips after the hand and was eliminated shortly after.

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 Iowa Poker State Championship at Riverside Casino is officially underway with unlimited re-entry and registration remaining open through the break after Level 12 (approximately 10:40 p.m.).

After back-to-back events in Sin City, Season 17 of the MSPT is back in full swing with another stop in the great state of Iowa for the 2026 Iowa Poker State Championship at Riverside Casino, just 10 minutes south of Iowa City.

This will mark the second time the MSPT has traveled to Riverside this season, and while it was Wes Cannon walking away with his first MSPT title just a few months ago, it’s Iowa’s own Mike Estes who is the defending Iowa Poker State Champion after he defeated a field of 815 entries last July.

MSPT Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship Final Table Results

Starting Flight Outlook

With action slated for a 2:00 p.m. local start time, plenty of MSPT regulars are expected to make their way to Riverside from throughout the country in hopes of adding the Season 17 Iowa Poker State Championship to their name.

Day 1a will be the first of three starting flights, and players will sit down with a 30,000 starting stack with blinds beginning at 100/200/200.

Levels will increase every 40 minutes throughout each starting flight, and players will receive a 10-minute break after the completion of every three levels (two hours of play).

Late registration and unlimited reentry will remain open until the start of Level 13, which is expected to be around 10:40 p.m. local time.

All Day 1 flights will play until 11% of the field (rounded up) remains, meaning all players who advance to Day 2 will be in the money.

This is a best-stack forward event: If a player qualifies for Day 2 more than once, they may only play the higher chip stack; any lower stack(s) will be removed from play at the start of Day 2 and receive the lowest Day 2 payout.

Player of the Year points will only be awarded for the higher stack. Players will only receive credit for a single MSPT Main Event cash finish.

Those unable to find a bag at the end of today will have opportunities to re-enter on Days 1b and 1c, being held on Friday, July 24^th, and Saturday, July 25^th, with both flights starting at 2:00 p.m.

The survivors of all three flights will combine for Day 2 on Sunday, July 26^th, at 11:00 a.m. local time and will play until a winner is crowned.

A new addition to this season is that each Main Event winner will be awarded a $3,500 seat into the ROCK ‘N’ ROLL POKER OPEN MSPT Championship at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL, while the top 64 World Ranked MSPT Players as of December 2, 2026 will compete in a HEADS UP FREEROLL tournament at the 2026 MSPT Winter Poker Classic at Running Aces Poker Tournaments for $20,000!

Race for Player of the Year

The midway point of Season 17 is here, and the race for Player of the Year is currently a nail-biter. Sitting atop the tight leaderboard is WSOP bracelet winner Mike Wilklow, who had two back-to-back final table appearances to start the season and added his fifth and sixth cash of the year last week at the Venetian to climb atop the leaderboard with 5,669 points.

Sitting closely behind Wilklow is defending Iowa Poker State Champion Mike Estes, who, has seven cashes on the season, with the bulk of his points after claiming his second State Championship earlier this year in Missouri, as his second-place spot sits in front of fellow two-time MSPT Champ Lee Rzentkowski, Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long, and MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang, who are just a final table appearance away from claiming the top spot for themselves.

MSPT Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

The MSPT live reporting crew will be providing live updates throughout the entire tournament, so make sure to tune in!