Meskwaki Casino

Former MSPT Champ Leads as 34 Advance from Day 1A of MSPT Meskwaki

Day 1A of the MSPT Meskwaki $300K GTD Main Event attracted 203 entries to Tama, Iowa, but after 14 levels of play, just 34 remained with MSPT Season 4 Ho-Chunk champ Josh Reichard, who is also a nine-time WSOP Circuit ring winner, and his stack of 387,500 leading the way.

Others to bag big stacks were Steve Federspiel (284,500), Mike Lang (282,000), Jay Philips (228,000), and Steve Houle (195,000), who round out the top five.

They were joined at the end of the night by the likes of Josh Smith (183,500), 2016 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Champion Andy Rubinberg (135,500), Loki Abboud (90,500), MSPT Season 2 Running Aces champ (77,500), Rob Wazwaz (74,000), and 2017 MN Magazine Player of the Year Todd Melander (47,000).

Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through. Among those to try and fall were former NFL running back Fred Jackson, PokerNews reporter Mo Nuwwarah, Kimo Sabe Mezcal MSPT Season 8 Player of the Year Chris Meyers, and WSOP bracelet winner John Reading.

Likewise, Blake Bohn, Dan “DQ” Hendrickson, Jason Ramos, John Sun, and Keith Heine were just some of the former MSPT champs who found themselves on the rail.

All of those players, along with any newcomers, will have the opportunity to try again on Saturday if they so choose as Day 1B will get underway at 4 p.m. Be sure to join us then as we bring you all the latest and greatest straight from the tournament floor of Meskwaki Casino.

End-of-Day 1A Chip Counts

Five More Hands

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

Reg Powell Busts One Late

Kelly Cortum ripped his last 67,000 from UTG, and found a caller in Reg Powell in the small blind.

Cortum:
Powell:

Cortum was in need of an ace, but the gave him no immediate help. The brought a few oohs and aahs from the table, as Cortum picked up the nut flush draw, but the kept Powell in front and scored him a big knockout as Day 1A here at MSPT Meskwaki draws to a close.

Reg Powell - 190,000 (79 bb)
Kelly Cortum - Busted

MSPT Visits FireKeepers Casino May 12-20, Sights Set on Third $1M+ Prize Pool in a Row

This May, the MSPT is returning to FireKeepers Casino, and if last season is any indication, it’s going to be a record-breaking stop. In fact, we’re hopeful the stop will generate a seven-figure prize pool for the third time in a row.

A series of $65 and $250 qualifiers will take place in the weeks leading up to the $1,100 buy-in, $300,000 guarantee Main Event, which runs May 17-20.

The Main Event, which requires players be 21 years of age to participate, will feature three starting flights beginning with Day 1A at Noon on Thursday, May 17. Days 1B and 1C will then be held at Noon local time on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 respectively. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, May 20 at 11:00 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

Click here for a full look at the MSPT FireKeepers schedule.

The Main Event final table will be broadcast LIVE (15-minute delay) worldwide on msptpoker.com using RFID technology allowing all viewers to see the hole cards. In addition, the entirety of the Main Event will be live reported in the MSPT's live blog.

“In 2017, the MSPT FireKeepers created back-to-back prize pools of over $1,000,000,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “Michigan has a robust poker community, and FireKeepers easily draws players from the Chicago and Indiana markets. We look forward to returning in May to see if it’ll be three in a row!”

In May 2017, Mike Shanahan topped a field of 1,066 entries – which set the record for largest poker tournament ever held in Michigan – for $216,829. Then, in October, the 2017 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship set a new record with 1,067 entries. That tournament was won by Chris Meyers, who not only won $191,196 but went on to claim the Kimo Sabe Mezcal MSPT Season 8 Player of the Year title.

Other past MSPT Michigan State Poker champions including Brett Blackwood (2016 for $188,314), Michael Ferraroti (2015 for $134,642), Ryan Dykhouse (2014 for $124,500), and Jordan Townsend (2013 for $76,975). Some players to win other MSPT FireKeepers titles are Harry Tisdale (May 2015 for $142,637), Jason Zarlenga (May 2014 for $101,482), and Thomas Midena (March 2013 for $73,456).

There’s also poker pro Aaron Massey, who has quite the track record at FireKeepers. Back in Season 7, he took home $174,658 for winning the MSPT FireKeepers. Amazingly, he followed that up by final tabling the 2016 Michigan State Poker Championship (he finished seventh for $23,882) and then returned in May 2017 to attempt a title defense. He fell one spot short finishing runner-up for $131,646.

FireKeepers Casino Hotel opened in August of 2009. The venue features a 111,700-sqare foot gaming floor with 2,900 slot machines, 70 table games, multiple restaurants and lounges, a live poker room and bingo room.

FireKeepers Casino Hotel is located just off Interstate 94 at Exit 104, has been named Best Casino by audiences in Western Michigan and Northern Indiana, plus earned nine first-place awards in the Casino Player Magazine Best of Gaming 2015 Native Midwest category, including Best Overall Gaming Resort.

FireKeepers was also selected one of the Best Casinos to Work for by Casino Player Magazine. Their signature restaurant, Nibi, is a multiple recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

FireKeepers offers an AAA-rated Four Diamond resort-style hotel with 243 rooms, a functional multi-purpose event center, six distinctive dining destinations, and multiple lounges. FireKeepers is the title sponsor of the FireKeepers Casino 400, a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, and host of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship a Symetra Tour-Road to the LPGA golf event.

For more information, visit firekeeperscasino.com.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @msptpoker, like us on Facebook here, and subscribe at Twitch.tv/mspt.

Late Night cooler Sends Joe Barnard to the Rail

Joe Barnard was just the victim of a cooler.

We missed the chips go in preflop, but we do know Barnard was at risk for his last 50,000.

Van Blair:
Barnard:

Barnard was looking for some luck but was left wanting as the board ran out .

Andy Van Blair - 110,000 (55 bb)
Joe Barnard - Busted

Mario Hudson Jams Against Rob WazWaz

Mario Hudson raised to 5,500 from the cutoff, and was called by the small blind, before Rob WazWaz three-bet to 23,000 from the big blind. Hudson made the call, while the cutoff got out of the way.

WazWaz continued for 25,000 on a flop, but quickly folded when Hudson jammed for around 65,000 total.

Rob WazWaz - 160,000 (80 bb)
Mario Hudson - 140,000 (70 bb)

Eric Eelkema Doubles Through John Whitacre

With around 40,000 already in the pot and a flop of , Eric Eelkema got his stack of 65,300 in against John Whitacre.

Whitacre:
Eelkema:

Whitacre was not pleased and someone else at the table chimed in that it was the fourth time at that table queens had run into aces. There would be no suck out for Whitacre as the bricked the turn followed by the river.

Eric Eelkema - 170,000 (85 bb)
John Whitacre - 25,000 (13 bb)

Mark Larson Doubles Through Daniel Wagner

Mark Larson raised to 5,000 from middle position and was met by a three-bet to 17,000 by Daniel Wagner in the small blind. Larson paused for a few beats and then announced he was all in for 51,400. Wagner snap-called and discovered the bad news.

Larson:
Wagner:

Larson had the better pair and it held as the board ran out . Ship the double to Larson.

Mark Larson - 110,000 (55 bb)
Daniel Wagner - 35,000 (18 bb)

Late Night Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Steve Federspiel	330000	350000
Jay Philips	280000	125000
Josh Reichard	250000	88000
Michael Lang	215000	250000
Josh Smith (Iowa)	140000	65000
Mario Hudson	125000	67000
Loki Abboud	110000	140000
Reg Powell	106000	68000
Frank Cerminara	92500	80000
Jason Seitz	85000	48000
Joseph Barnard	68000	22000
Steve Shanks	63000	20000
Andrew Rubinberg	52000	70000
Todd Melander	50000	35000
Michael Holm	50000	30000
Steven Pike	40000	26500
Scotter Clark	36000	70000