Day 1a of the MSPT $3,000,000 Guaranteed Mid-Season Championship at the Venetian proved to be a massive affair, as 603 entrants made their way to the felt in search of a bag for Day 2. Of those hopefuls, only 68 would find a bag, with Minnesota’s Reg Powell cracking the half-million marker with a stack of 532,000 to take to Friday’s Day 2. Other notables to score a bag include Chris O’Hara (446,500), Mike Del Vecchio (398,000), John Dibella (265,000), former MSPT Regional champ Craig Trost (237,000), 11-time WSOPC ring winner Josh Reichard (219,000), Joe Serock (184,500), Colorado’s David Warga (91,000), former WSOP Millionaire Maker champ Adrian Buckley (81,500), and Melanie Weisner (67,000). A full list of chip counts will be posted by the beginning of Day 1b’s flight.

Not everyone was fortunate enough to navigate today’s field. Some of those who failed to survive the day include MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson, Mark Dube, Erick Lindgren, two-time MSPT champ Andy Rubinberg, popular poker vlogger Matt Vaughan, defending champ David Levine and runner-up Felipe Devila, Wendy Freedman, Lexy Gavin, former WSOP November Niner Bryan Piccioli, and former MSPT champ Mike Itoafa.

Tomorrow’s Day 1b flight will kick off at 12:10 p.m. local time, and all players who have registered for the tournament will have their chips in play at the start of the day. Two more flights are available on Wednesday and Thursday at the same time, and players who bagged may play subsequent flights, as The Venetian utilizes “best stack forward” for players who bag multiple flights. Registration for remaining flights will open just after the previous flight’s registration closes, which is after the break after Level 9 (approximately 7 p.m. local time).

Be sure to stay tuned right here to the MSPT Live Reporting blog to follow all the exciting action right here from The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada!