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HPT Champ Casey Carroll Leads Record Day 1a Field as 36 Players Advance

Day 1a of the 2016 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Michigan State Poker Championship set another record (something we’re becoming accustomed to here at FireKeepers Casino). The 195 entrants that took to the felt surpassed the 165 from May’s Day 1a flight. Remember, that tournament eventually garnered a MSPT Midwest record 820 entries, so there’s no telling how big this event could get as Days 1b and 1c are still to take place at Noon local time on Friday and Saturday respectively.

After 14 levels of play, the field was whittled down to 36 players with Michigan’s Casey Carroll and his stack of 287,000 leading the way. Back in May, Carroll topped a field of 541 runners to win the Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago Main Event for $174,469, which brought his lifetime earnings up to $240,578. Carroll is still seeking his first MSPT cash, and with that stack he’s primed to get it come Day 2 on Sunday.

Others who bagged and tagged were Daniel Conway (262,000) and Jimmy Ray (227,500), the only other players over 200K; Bruce Nosanchuk (128,000), who is playing in his first major poker tournament after dropping his daughter off at college earlier this week; inaugural MSPT FireKeepers champ Tom Midena (110,500); Michigan regular Adam Lamphere (77,500); and Ronald Kruk (53,500), who finished runner-up in our last event here back in May.

Of course not everyone was so lucky. Among those to fall in the opening flight were reigning Michigan State Poker Champ Michael Ferrarotti; two-time MSPT champ Jason Zarlenga; Minnesota poker pro Aaron Johnson; MSPT Season 4 Player of the Year Pat Steele; and Mark Johnson, who just completed a year-long weight loss bet that involved no shaving and quitting tobacco.

All of those players will have the opportunity to try again in the two subsequent flights. We’ll be back at Noon tomorrow for Day 1b action, so be sure to join us then for all the latest and greatest straight from the floor of the MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship!

End-of-Day 1a Chip Counts

Casey Carroll from Grand Rapids, MI bags the Day 1a chip lead with 287,000 at FireKeepers Casino

Casey Carroll - Grand Rapids, MI 287,000
Daniel Conway - Grand Rapids, MI 262,000
James Ray - Churubusco, IN 227,500
Osman Merdanovic - Grand Rapids, MI 178,500
Samuel Angott - Jackson, MI 178,000
Brett Blackwood - Ypsilanti, MI 176,000
Mark Morris - Spring Lake, MI 149,000
Jason Johnson - Pontiac, MI 135,000
Daniel Anulare - Westland, MI 132,000
Taylor Meredith - Fort Wayne, IN 130,500
Lars Cole - Ada, MI 130,000
Bruce Nosanchuk - West Bloomfield, MI 128,000
Jacob Stearley - Spring Lake, MI 120,500
Roger Khoury - Grand Rapids, MI 117,500
Thomas Midena - Brooklyn, MI 110,500
Warren Janney - Detroit, MI 109,500
Joel Ulery - Lagrange, IN 108,500
Rolando Allen - Muskegeon, MI 88,500
John Zannis - Northville, MI 88,500
Steve Siegel - Rockford, MI 86,000
Ryan Knoll - Sterling Heights, MI 81,000
Mark Garrod - Lansing, MI 79,000
Adam Lamphere - Lansing, MI 77,500
Scott Hammett - Chelsey, MI 76,000
Robert Deverney - Grand Haven, MI 72,500
Richard Kube - Saginaw, MI 66,500
Todd Wildig - Kalamazoo, MI 66,500
Bret Wigal - Milan, MI 66,500
Dustin Morris - Vicksburg, MI 65,500
Erik Badgley - Dewitt, MI 61,500
Yaroob Kaskorkis - Grand Rapids, MI 56,000
Ronald Kruk - Osceola, IN 53,500
Dale Hackney - Durand, MI 41,500
Dempster Ross - Plymouth, MI 38,000
William Webb - Grand Rapids, MI 35,000
Gabriel Lopez - Fort Wayne, IN 20,000

Five More Hands

The tournament staff just announced that the remaining players will play five more hands before bagging and tagging. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chips counts as well as a recap of the Day 1a action.

Jimmy Ray Sends Nicholas Seddon to the Rail

Nicholas Seddon got his last 14,600 all in preflop and found himself in a race situation against Jimmy Ray.

Ray:
Seddon:

Seddon needed to improve to stay alive, but that proved easier said than done as the board ran out a useless .

Jimmy Ray - 220,000
Nicholas Seddon - Busted

Some Late Night Shots

Adam Lamphere Doubles Through Aaron Werst

Adam Lamphere got his last 14,500 all in preflop and found himself at risk against Aaron Werst.

Werst:
Lamphere:

It was a flip and all Lamphere needed to do was hold to double. That’s just what he did as the board ran out a safe .

Aaron Werst - 80,000
Adam Lamphere - 35,000

Steve Siegel Doubles Through Jason Johnson

Jason Johnson raised to 4,000 from middle position only to have Steve Siegel three-bet jam for 14,100 from the cutoff. The button and blinds all folded, and Johnson didn’t seem excited but made the call nonetheless.

Johnson:
Siegel:

Johnson paired up on the flop, but fortunately for Siegel he did too. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing, and Siegel shipped the double.

Jason Johnson - 90,000
Steve Siegel - 32,000

Last Break of the Night

Players are now on their last 10-minute break of the night. When they return they’ll play two more levels before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned!

A Round of Chip Counts

Daniel Conway - 210,000
Jimmy Ray - 155,000
Jason Johnson - 125,000
Scott Hammett - 115,000
Ron Kruk - 110,000
Taylor Meredith - 105,000
Rolando Allen - 90,000
Pat Steele - 50,000
Tom Midena - 42,000
Brett Wigal - 40,000
Adam Lamphere - 16,000
Rick Syverud - Busted
Anthonuy Mastraieni - Busted
Aaron Johnson - Busted
Carter Myers - Busted

Scott Hammett Sends One to the Rail

After Scott Hammett opened for 4,100, a short-stacked player on the button moved all in for 17,000. Both blinds folded and Hammett made the call.

Hammett:
Button:

Hammett had the superior kicker, and that’s what made the difference after the board ran out .

Scott Hammett - 80,000