$

Awarded to date

FireKeepers Casino

May 13 - 21, 2017

 
  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
Brian Eklund Leads 48 Day 1A Survivors; Three-Time MSPT Champ Carl Carodenuto Bags Big
Created (5/19/2017 1:15:53 AM by Admin System)

The first of three starting flights in the MSPT FireKeepers Main Event drew a whopping 250 entrants, which crushed the previous Day 1A record of 195. It also puts the field on pace to surpass last fall’s record of 884 total entrants; in fact, it looks as if the field is primed for 1,000+ runners and a $1,000,000 prize pool!

After 14 levels of play on Day 1A, just 48 players remained with Brian Eklund and his stack of 238,000 leading the way.

Also bagging was three-time MSPT champ Carl Carodenuto (168,500), who is pictured above. Carodenuto flew in from Minnesota earlier in the day with MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year Rich Alsup and Todd Breyfogle, neither of who bagged.

Others who made it through were Michigan’s Adam Lamphere (174,000), who has the incredible distinction of cashing seven of the eight MSPT Main Events held here at FireKeepers; MSPT Season 4 Ho-Chunk Champ Josh Reichard (45,000); and MSPT Season 7 Meskwaki champ Keith Heine (187,000), who is currently on top of the Season 8 Player of the Year race with 2,200 points.

Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to survive. Among those to fall on Day 1A were MSPT Season 4 Player of the Year Pat Steele, 2016 MSPT Iowa State Poker Champ John Sun, inaugural MSPT FireKeepers champ Tom Midena, #MSPT100 winner Jason Ramos, and both Cy Church and Brett Blackwood, who finished as runner-up and winner of the last MSPT FireKeepers.

Day 1B will kick off at Noon local time on Friday, and it’s already shaping up to be bigger as approximately 150 satellite winners are already signed up. Join us then as we bring you all the action straight from the tournament floor of the FireKeepers Casino Poker Room.

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
End-of-Day 1A Chip Counts
Created (5/19/2017 1:12:58 AM by Admin System)

Brian Eklund 279,000
Pierre Williams 238,000
Edward Ochana 202,500
Edward Dixon 190,500
Scott Modetz 189,500
Keith Heine 187,000
Scott Skriba 174,500
Adam Lamphere 174,000
Carl Carodenuto 168,500
Chris Moon 156,500
Nicholas Depalma 151,000
Timothy McGrail 142,500
Robert Vanderhart 137,000
Bob Buyce 135,000
Andrew Herweyer 126,000
Brad Yeomans 126,000
Dapreesch Scates 125,500
Warren Janney 124,000
Hector Llerena 109,000
Mark Barrett 107,500
Rodney Hall 107,000
Altaf Motiwala 102,000
Dominick Chiesa 96,500
David Blickenstaff 95,500
George Janssen 92,500
Michael Koleszar 89,500
Mark Ader 85,500
Scott Davis 84,500
Carmino Argiero 84,000
Jonathan Hamilton 80,500
Gjergj Sinishtaj 78,000
Timothy Dock 75,500
Bryan Gwin 70,000
Jeffrey Hill 68,500
Carol Babcock 64,000
Gary Farhat 63,000
Michael Bennett 63,000
Millard Hale 51,000
Bruce Swart 50,500
John Drikakis 48,000
Michael Seago 47,500
Philip Clements 46,000
Josh Reichard 45,000
Joe Barnard 40,000
Timothy Telisky 33,000
Michael Parrott 32,500
Christopher Meyers 32,500
Mark Shaw 31,500

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
Four More Hands
Created (5/19/2017 1:03:59 AM by Admin System)

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play four more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a recap of the Day 1A action along with chip counts.

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
Warren Janney Scores Late Night Double
Created (5/19/2017 12:38:56 AM by Admin System)

Warren Janney

Warren Janney opened for 5,500 from early position and a player in late position called. Fernando Gonzalez then three-bet all in for around 65,000 from the button, both blinds folded, and Janney called off for 60,500 total. The other player folded and Gonzalez was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Janney:  9c 9d
Gonzalez:  9s 8h

The  6s 5c ks gave Gonzalez a gutshot straight draw, but it didn’t come in as the  jh blanked on the turn followed by the  3c on the river.

Warren Janney - 125,000
Fernando Gonzalez - 3,500

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
Jonathan Little: Deciding What to Do with Big Slick Ain’t Always Easy
Created (5/19/2017 12:23:37 AM by Admin System)

In the first level on Day 2 of MSPT Canterbury Park, which drew a record 475 entrants, the blinds were 1,500/3,000/500 and 83 players remained with 45 of them getting paid.

Dan Vandevoort

Luke Mernin (98,000) opened for 7,000 and Jason Ramos (290,500) called from middle position. Dan Vandevoort, who started the day as the second shortest stack, then moved all in for 34,000 from the button. Robert Ogorman proceeded to move all in over the top for 82,000, and Mernin hit the tank for a couple minutes before calling to put both players at risk. Ramos folded and all three players turned up their cards.

Vandevoort: A♣A♥
Ogorman: 10♠10♦
Mernin: Aâ™ Kâ™ 

Vandevoort held the goods, and maintained his lead on the 6♣3♦J♠flop. The 8♠ turn put a big sweat out there as Mernin picked up a spade flush draw, but he missed it when the Q♣ blanked on the river. Mernin was left with 16,000 after the hand, but he went bust a short time later.

We caught up with poker pro and author Jonathan Little to get his take on how this hand played out.

MSPT: What do you think of Ogorman’s four-bet jam with pocket tens in this spot?

Little: Ogorman is certainly in a difficult spot with his pocket tens, but I think going all in is perfectly acceptable given he only has 27 big blinds. The only way you can realistically justify folding is if he knows either the initial raiser or the pusher are overly tight, putting pocket tens in marginal shape. If both players are getting in with reasonable ranges, you have to be willing to gamble. Also notice that the only time he is in a terrible situation is when the initial raiser has a premium hand. When he is only against the 34,000 all in, he is getting great pot odds and if he loses, he will still have about half his stack remaining.

MSPT: How do you feel about Mernin’s call with ace-king?

Little: It is difficult to assume how players will play shortly after doubling up from a tiny stack as Vandevoort had done. Some players will play tightly to "protect" their newly found chips while others will still feel short and will be blasting all in with a wide range thinking that they are now "free rolling". Without an actual read, you should not assume much about your opponents' strategies and instead try to play a fundamentally sound strategy yourself.

Facing two all ins, A♣A♥ is in a tough spot, but I typically call off in this situation if I think both players play well (because their ranges both include a few hands ace-king dominates). Similar to Ogorman's spot with tens, if Mernin knows either player is overly tight, folding becomes a fine option. Also notice that the only time he gets wrecked is when he loses to the 82,000 all in.

While you should rarely be thrilled to call off in this spot, if you pass up on too many situations like this, you will find that you have a difficult time accumulating chips unless the tournament is filled with players who have significant flaws in their strategies.

For more on Little, follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle. You can also receive a FREE copy of his eBook by simply entering your email at JLpoker.com/mspt.

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 1000 / 2000
  • Ante: 300
Being good isn't the same as staying good
Created (5/19/2017 12:11:47 AM by Admin System)

George Janssen

With  5c 5s 8s on the flop, George Janssen checked, Nathan Geise bet 17,100, and Janssen jammed all in.

Geise, who had fewer chips, made the call and was ahead with  9d 9h versus  ks 10s.

The 2d on the turn didn’t help Janssen, but the  kd on the river gave him a bigger two pair and all of the chips.

George Janssen - 170,000
Nathan Geise - Busted

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 1000 / 2000
  • Ante: 300
Timothy Dock Loves the River
Created (5/19/2017 12:07:40 AM by Admin System)

Tim Dock

In the very next hand after doubling up, Joe Barnard raised to 4,500 from the the cutoff and Keith Heine called from the button. Tim Dock then three-bet all in for 34,800 from the small blind and Barnard thought long and hard before making the call, which prompted Heine to snap-folded.

Barnard:  ks qd
Dock:  10c 10s

It was a flip, but not after the flop came down  kd 5s qs to give Barnard top two pair. The  jd turn gave Dock an open-ended straight draw, and he hit it after the  9c spiked on the river.

Timothy Dock - 75,000
Joe Barnard - 10,000

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 1000 / 2000
  • Ante: 300
Joe Barnard Doubles Through James Crawford
Created (5/19/2017 12:03:26 AM by Admin System)

Joe Barnard

We missed the preflop action, but we do know Joe Barnard got his stack of 20,000 all in against James Crawford.

Barnard:  kd 10d
Crawford:  qh 10h

Barnard was way out in front, and he improved on the  7c kh 9s flop, though Crawford did pick up a gutshot to a jack.

The  3h turn gave Crawford a flush draw to boot, but he missed the  qs bricked on the river.

Joe Barnard - 45,000

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 1000 / 2000
  • Ante: 300
POY will be back tomorrow
Created (5/18/2017 11:58:59 PM by Admin System)

Gary Farhat

Gary Farhat and MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year Rich Alsup got all the chips in the middle preflop.

Alsup was behind and at risk with  Ax Kx verus  Qx Qx.

With a king in the window, it was looking like an easy double for Alsup, but a queen on the river sent him out the door.

Gary Farhat - 86,600
Richard Alsup - Busted

  • Level: 12
  • Blinds: 800 / 1600
  • Ante: 200
Last Break of the Night
Created (5/18/2017 11:27:42 PM by Admin System)

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 on Day 1A.

 
 
Player Name
Chips
Progress
 
City
State
Country
279,000  
279,000 
 
MI 
238,000  
238,000 
 
MI 
202,500  
202,500 
 
Elgin 
WI 
190,500  
190,500 
 
MI 
189,500  
189,500 
 
Oxford 
MI 
187,000  
187,000 
 
MO 
174,500  
174,500 
 
Mason 
MI 
174,000  
174,000 
 
MI 
168,500  
168,500 
 
MN 
156,500  
156,500 
 
MI 
151,000  
151,000 
 
Lima 
OH 
142,500  
142,500 
 
MI 
137,000  
137,000 
 
MI 
135,000  
135,000 
 
MI 
126,000  
126,000 
 
MI 
126,000  
126,000 
 
MI 
125,500  
125,500 
 
MI 
124,000  
124,000 
 
MI 
109,000  
109,000 
 
MI 
107,500  
107,500 
 
MI 
107,000  
107,000 
 
MI 
102,000  
102,000 
 
MI 
96,500  
96,500 
 
MI 
95,500  
95,500 
 
MI 
92,500  
92,500 
 
MI 
89,500  
89,500 
 
Toledo 
OH 
85,500  
85,500 
 
Novi 
MI 
84,500  
84,500 
 
VA 
84,000  
84,000 
 
MI 
80,500  
80,500 
 
MI 
78,000  
78,000 
 
MI 
75,500  
75,500 
 
MI 
70,000  
70,000 
 
MI 
68,500  
68,500 
 
August 
MI 
64,000  
64,000 
 
MI 
63,000  
63,000 
 
MI 
63,000  
63,000 
 
MI 
51,000  
51,000 
 
MI 
50,500  
50,500 
 
MI 
48,000  
48,000 
 
MI 
47,500  
47,500 
 
MI 
46,000  
46,000 
 
MI 
45,000  
45,000 
 
WI 
40,000  
40,000 
 
MN 
33,000  
33,000 
 
MI 
32,500  
32,500 
 
MI 
32,500  
32,500 
 
NY 
31,500  
31,500 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
 
IL 
0  
Busted 
 
MN 
0  
Busted 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
  
MN 
0  
Busted 
 
IN 
0  
Busted 
 
Keota 
IA 
0  
Busted 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
 
WI 
0  
Busted 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
 
MN 
0  
Busted 
 
IN 
Rank
Player Name
City
State
Country
Amount
Points
1
Avon 
IN 
$216,829
1,900
2
NV 
$131,646
1,700
3
MI 
$85,699
1,600
4
MI 
$57,924
1,500
5
NY 
$42,333
1,400
6
Muncie 
IN 
$32,731
1,300
7
MI 
$26,846
1,200
8
MI 
$22,199
1,100
9
Mason 
MI 
$18,276
1,000
10
Ada 
MI 
$14,145
900
11
KY 
$14,145
900
12
MI 
$14,145
900
13
WI 
$10,840
800
14
Owosso 
MI 
$10,840
800
15
MN 
$10,840
800
16
Okemos 
MI 
$7,950
700
17
August 
MI 
$7,950
700
18
AZ 
$7,950
700
19
MI 
$6,298
600
21
MI 
$6,298
600
22
MI 
$6,298
600
24
Sabina 
OH 
$6,298
600
26
MI 
$6,298
600
28
MI 
$5,266
500
30
MI 
$5,266
500
32
NY 
$5,266
500
33
MI 
$5,266
500
35
MI 
$5,266
500
36
MI 
$5,266
500
37
Flint 
MI 
$4,337
400
38
OH 
$4,337
400
40
NV 
$4,337
400
41
Toledo 
OH 
$4,337
400
43
IL 
$4,337
400
44
MI 
$4,337
400
45
MI 
$4,337
400
47
Keota 
IA 
$3,820
300
48
MI 
$3,820
300
49
MI 
$3,820
300
53
IN 
$3,820
300
54
Lapeer 
MI 
$3,820
300
55
Newton 
NC 
$3,304
200
58
MI 
$3,304
200
61
Dewitt 
MI 
$3,304
200
62
Owosso 
MI 
$3,304
200
64
IL 
$2,891
100
65
MI 
$2,891
100
69
Owosso 
MI 
$2,891
100
70
MI 
$2,891
100
71
MI 
$2,891
100
72
Elgin 
WI 
$2,891
100
73
MI 
$2,685
50
74
MI 
$2,685
50
75
MI 
$2,685
50
76
IL 
$2,685
50
78
Olivet 
MI 
$2,685
50
82
MI 
$2,375
50
84
MI 
$2,375
50
85
MI 
$2,375
50
87
Omaha 
NE 
$2,375
50
88
MI 
$2,375
50
90
Mason 
MI 
$2,375
50
93
Lima 
OH 
$2,272
50
95
OH 
$2,272
50
96
MI 
$2,272
50
97
Novi 
MI 
$2,272
50
LEVEL INFO
Level
14
Blinds
1200 / 2400
Ante
400
TOURNAMENT INFO
Entries
250
Players Remaining
48
Average Chip Stack
104,166
Total Chips
5,000,000
TOP 10 CHIP COUNT
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
279,000
238,000
202,500
190,500
189,500
187,000
174,500
174,000
168,500
10 
156,500
SEASON TOP 10 POY POINTS
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
5,425
4,825
4,633
4,500
3,550
3,533
3,450
3,450
10 
3,400