Running Aces Casino

MSPT Champ Mark Jaroslawski Edges Out Dave Sorenson for Top Stack as 36 Advance from Day 1B

Almost a full day of action occurred during Day 1b of the MSPT (Mid-States Poker Tour) $1,110 Minnesota State Poker Championship at Running Aces Casino with the hard stop being reached in Level 14 with 23:16 remaining.

The second of three flights drew 303 entries to bring the two-day total thus far to 475, closing in on the $500k guarantee with one flight remaining.

Of those 303 entries, 36 players remained when chips went into bags with MSPT champ Mark Jaroslawski bagging the top overall stack with 723,000.

Finishing in a close second was Dave Sorenson (pictured), who was looking good to bag the chip lead but lost a few late hands to drop to 694,000.

The top five are rounded out by two-time MSPT champ Mark Sandness (682,000), MSPT champ Rodger Johnsonj (648,000), and fellow champ Mo Nuwwarah (426,000).

Several other familiar players will also be joining the aforementioned including MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk (406,000), 2011 MSPT Player of the Year Nathan Fair (330,000), MSPT champ’s William Chao (297,000), Curtis Vierstraete (266,000), Jason Sell (212,000), & Derek McMaster (148,000), along with five-time MSPT champ Blake Bohn (110,000), who add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the 20 to have already advanced from Day 1a.

All players who haven't found a Day 2 birth will get one last chance to do so tomorrow for Day 1c starting Noon with late registration and re-entries remaining open through Level 12 (approximately 9:10 p.m.).

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor at Running Aces Casino!

Season 15 MSPT Minnesota Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

End Day 1B Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Mark Jaroslawski	723,000	700,000
Dave Sorenson	694,000	750,000
Mark Sandness	682,000	696,000
Rodger Johnson	648,000	620,000
Mo Nuwwarah	426,000	362,000
Umut Ozturk	406,000	225,000
Matthew Dodd	369,000	170,000
Nathan Fair	330,000	100,000
William Chao	297,000	280,000
Andrew Nelson	297,000	210,000
Azimdzhon Ishanov	293,000	100,000
Sam DeSilva	231,000	275,000
Shawn Libersky	217,000	140,000
Robert OConnell	214,000	100,000
Jason Sell	212,000	230,000
John Reading	206,000	168,000
Paul Cross	205,000	155,000
Dave Soderstrom	193,000	100,000
Joseph Larson	185,000	173,000
Andrew Foss	185,000	100,000
Edward Pelto	177,000	100,000
Theresa Brown	158,000	167,000
Chris Sterzinger	150,000	100,000
Derek McMaster	148,000	208,000
Anthony Smith	142,000	100,000
Ali Nabizadehgangaraj	129,000	185,000
Yi (KitKat) Klassen	127,000	55,600
Peter Creese	113,000	100,000
Blake Bohn	110,000	255,000
Alan Baker	105,000	70,000
Mehran Shahabi	102,000	100,000
Brian Berthiaume	92,000	85,000
John Harkins	76,000	65,000
William Perpich	69,000	55,000
Nick Olson	59,000	100,000

Day 1A Chip Counts

Yesterday’s starting flight saw Matt Alexander bag a 556,000 stack leading the 20 players who advanced from a 172-entry field, and players who make it through today will join that group on Sunday, April 28th at 11:00 a.m. for Day 2.

Day 1A Chip Counts

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Dave Sorenson	750,000	335,000
Mark Jaroslawski	700,000	540,000
Mark Sandness	696,000	411,000
Rodger Johnson	620,000	715,000
Mo Nuwwarah	362,000	285,000
William Chao	280,000	170,000
Sam DeSilva	275,000	188,000
Blake Bohn	255,000	78,000
Curtis Vierstraete	250,000	140,000
Jason Sell	230,000	170,000
Andrew Nelson	210,000	240,000
Joseph Larson	173,000	210,000
Matthew Dodd	170,000	170,000
Daniel Warner	80,000	60,000
John Harkins	65,000	160,000
William Perpich	55,000	77,000
Josh Reichard	0	255,000
Freddie West	0	121,000
Tyler Westra	0	44,000
Michael Estes	0	130,000
Gerald Cunniff	0	44,000
Rory Linton	0	370,000

Alan Berlin Finds an Epic Win

For the eighth stop of its 15th season, the MSPT traveled back home to host the Minnesota State Poker Championship and players have been duking it out over the past week inside Running Aces Casino for its 16-trophy event series!

In Event #11: $200 No-Limit Hold'em Epic Stack, 150 epic players took to the felt and generated a $24,000 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Tyler "TK" Kolness (10th Place - $492), Peter Greese (11th Place - $492), MSPT champ Max Havlish (12th Place - $492), Kyler McKnight (13th Place - $408), Richard Larson (14th Place - $408), and David Kramber (15th Place - $408).

When the dust settled, it was Alan Berlin of Shoreview, MN who came out on top with the lion's share of the prize pool, along with the Sapdey trophy!

Final Table Results

* denotes chop

Bohn Flops the Good to Stay Alive

The player under the gun raised and then called Blake Bohn’s three-bet from the small blind.

Bohn’s last 1,000 chip got into the middle after the flop, and the two players tabled their hands.

Blake Bohn:
Opponent:

Bohn flopped the goods holding a flush and the turn secured him the pot after the meaningless completed the board on the river.

Blake Bohn - 80,000

Largest Midwest Poker Tournament Set for May 16th - 19th!

Don’t look now, but Michigan is one of the country’s hottest spots for poker, a fact evidenced by massive tournament fields.

Case in point, recent stops of the MSPT, which will visit FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek for the first time in Season 15 May 16th - 19th.

A series of $70 and $265 qualifiers will take place in the weeks leading up to the $1,110 buy-in, $1,000,000 guarantee Main Event, which is once again expected to draw a massive field.

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 16th.

The next two starting flights, Days 1b and 1c will then be held at the same time on Friday, May 17th, and Saturday, May 18th respectively. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, May 19th at 10:00 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

Last May, a venue record of 2,473 entrants packed the poker room and, in the end, it was MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang who took home a career-best $314,145 for the win.

That event was followed up by the MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship in October which set a new bar with 2,883 entrants tallied and saw Travis Young walk away with a $297,977 first-place prize.

Some others who've notched wins at FireKeepers are Matthew Davis (October 2022 for $344,446), Dan Bekavac (May 2022 for $198,175), Bobby Noel (October 2019 for $262,145), and Chris Moon (May 2019 for $258,407).

For more information, visit firekeeperscasino.com.

For a full look at the MSPT FireKeepers schedule, click here.

Round of Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Rodger Johnson	715,000	615,000
Mark Jaroslawski	540,000	313,000
Mark Sandness	411,000	380,000
Rory Linton	370,000	200,000
Dave Sorenson	335,000	290,000
Mo Nuwwarah	285,000	263,000
Nizom Abdukadyrov	259,000	68,000
Umut Ozturk	225,000	30,000
Ali Nabizadehgangaraj	185,000	90,000
William Chao	170,000	0
Matthew Dodd	170,000	128,000
Jason Sell	170,000	50,000
John Reading	168,000	220,000
Curtis Vierstraete	140,000	164,000
Shawn Libersky	140,000	110,000
Michael Estes	130,000	88,000
John Mcnee	103,000	117,000
Brian Berthiaume	85,000	149,000
Blake Bohn	78,000	70,000
Alan Baker	70,000	30,000
Daniel Warner	60,000	137,000
Michael Williams (MN)	0	70,000
Terence Reid	0	100,000
Brad Sailor	0	38,000
Matthew Hamilton	0	93,500
Wilnor Lundi	0	180,000
Joe Matheson	0	38,000
Aaron Johnson	0	44,500

David Ehlke & Brian Knoop Dominate Tag Team Event

For the eighth stop of its 15th season, the MSPT traveled back home to host the Minnesota State Poker Championship and players have been duking it out over the past week inside Running Aces Casino for its 16-trophy event series!

In Event #10: $300 No-Limit Hold'em Tag Team, 442 players took to the field and generated a $50,830 prize pool that was paid out to the top 24 teams.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Shawn Libersky & John Volgren (14th place - $762), James Reno & Kevin Hicks (17th place - $686), Thai Dinh & Yume Carr (20th place - $564), and Rory Linton & Kurtis Koenig (22nd place - $488).

Coming out the top team was David Ehlke & Brian Knoop who took home the top prize along with the MSPT Spadey trophies!

Final Table Results

* denotes chop

Registration Closed

Players have returned from their final 10-minute break meaning, registration is now closed for Day 1b of the MSPT Season 15 Minnesota State Poker Championship $1,110 Main Event at Running Aces Casino.

A total of 303 entries were recorded in this flight and with the 172 entries from Day 1a, the total entries for the tournament are now up to 475.

There were 20 players who advance from yesterday’s starting flight and the tournament clock reads 63 hopefuls looking to join them as we head into the final three levels of play this evening.

The plan is to play through Level 15 unless the hard stop of 12% of the field (36 players) is reached first.