The final day of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Main Event at Riverside Casino comes to its conclusion today, with cards set to be in the air at 11:00 a.m. local time.
The three starting flights combined to form a 406-entry field, which blasted the 300k guarantee and generated a $392,320 prize pool.
A total of 45 players found a bag during the three starting flights, and those lucky enough to do so will be returning today for Day 2.
Brett “Pops” Reichard
Starting the day with the overall chip lead is Brett “Pops” Reichard, who found the heater he had been looking for in Friday’s starting flight to bag the top stack, and he will look to maneuver it into a first MSPT title on his resume.
MSPT Champ Chris Audrain
Sitting behind Reichard are two former champs Chris Audrain & John 'Farmboy' Kurfman, as both will be looking to get back into the winner’s circle and take home their second career titles.
John 'Farmboy' Kurfman
Top Stacks After Day 1 Flights
| Rank |
Player |
Main Event Titles |
Chip Count |
| 1 |
Brett Reichard |
0 |
984,000 |
| 2 |
Chris Audrain |
1 |
705,000 |
| 3 |
John 'Farmboy' Kurfman |
1 |
586,000 |
| 4 |
Kanat Ozturk |
0 |
540,000 |
| 5 |
Bill Romer |
0 |
518,000 |
| 6 |
Steven Dill |
0 |
493,000 |
| 7 |
Jacob Tourville |
0 |
459,000 |
| 8 |
Tom Estes |
0 |
424,000 |
| 9 |
Mark Larson |
0 |
393,000 |
| 10 |
Benjamin OBrien |
0 |
362,000 |
MSPT Champ Mike O’Neill
Many other formidable contenders are left in contention for a shot at the title as MSPT Champ Mike O’Neill (361,000), two-time Player of the Year Umut Ozturk (358,000), reigning Player of the Year Jake Long (300,000), two-time MSPT Champ Lee Rzentkowski (300,000), and Season 13 Iowa Poker State Champ Craig Trost (285,000) will all take an above-average chip stack into Day 2, while Eric Vogler (261,000), two-time MSPT Champ Mike Estes (234,000), and Kelly Mahana (232,000), sit just under the chip average.
Two-Time MSPT Champ Mike Estes
While the aforementioned players have positioned themselves well on the final day, others like POY points leader Mike Wilklow (195,000) MSPT Champ Jeff Copeland (120,000), MSPT Hall of Famer’s Aaron Johnson (116,000) & Josh Reichard (101,000), two-time MSPT Champ Mo Nuwwarah (95,000), the MSPT’s top Casher DJ Buckley (65,000), and three-time MSPT Champ Nick Barksdale (61,000) all have an uphill battle in hopes of hoisting the title for themselves.
Three-Time MSPT Champ Nick Barksdale
Today will see each of the 46 returning players for Day 2 already in the money, with a min-cash of $2,146, but all eyes will be set on the $85,838 first-place prize the eventual winner will walk away with, along with the first MSPT Season 17 Riverside Main Event trophy, and a $3,500 seat into the ROCK ‘N’ ROLL POKER OPEN MSPT Championship at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL.
| Place |
Prize |
POY |
| 1 |
$85,838 |
1,500 |
| 2 |
$53,064 |
1,300 |
| 3 |
$38,627 |
1,200 |
| 4 |
$28,483 |
1,100 |
| 5 |
$21,460 |
1,000 |
| 6 |
$16,387 |
900 |
| 7 |
$12,876 |
800 |
| 8 |
$10,145 |
700 |
| 9 |
$7,413 |
600 |
| 10-12 |
$6,243 |
500 |
| 13-15 |
$5,072 |
400 |
| 16-18 |
$4,292 |
300 |
| 19-21 |
$3,668 |
200 |
| 22-24 |
$3,160 |
150 |
| 25-27 |
$2,731 |
100 |
| 28-36 |
$2,341 |
75 |
| 37-46 |
$2,146 |
50 |

Cards will be in the air at 11:00 a.m. local time, with blind levels lasting 40 minutes in length until heads-up play is reached, at which point they will be reduced to 30 minutes.
Day 1a reached the earliest hard stop, so Day 2 will begin there, picking up from Level 15, with 18:23 remaining at 3,000/6,000/6,000.
Stay tuned to MSPTpoker.com for all updates regarding the conclusion of the MSPT Riverside Main Event!
MSPT Season 17 Festival at Riverside Casino Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time (CST) |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Gold Card Event |
| 8-Nov |
9:00 AM |
$300 (40/30/30) NLH |
40,000 |
30 Minutes |
7 |
| 8-Nov |
11:00 AM |
$1,110 Main Event NLH Day 2 |
- |
40 Minutes |
5 |
| 8-Nov |
Noon |
$300 Ultimate Stack NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
8 |