Hollywood Casino St. Louis

MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff Bags Near a Milly to Lead 22 Survivors After Day 1B of the MSPT Season 16 Missouri Poker State Championship!

Another full day of action was played to its conclusion at the MSPT Season 16 $1,110 Missouri State Poker Championship at Hollywood Casino as Day 1b hit its hard stop midway through Level 16.

The second of three flights drew 204 entries to bring the two-day total thus far to 315, passing the $300k guarantee with one flight remaining.

Of those 204 entries, only 22 players remained when pens went to slips with MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff rising to the top to put a monstrous 962,000 on his slip to end the night, taking the overall chip lead into Day 2 thus far.

Cunniff bagged over double the amounts of Cory Nazaruk (449,000), Phil Mader (446,000), WSOP bracelet Winner Greg Raymer, and Dalton Jones (416,000) as they rounded out the top five stacks of the flight.

Several other familiar players will also be joining the aforementioned five which includes back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk (214,000), Jake Long (167,000), MSPT champ Anthony Scarborough (149,000), Sherry Hammers, (142,000), and two-time MSPT champ Taylor Howard (117,000), are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the 12 to have already advanced from Day 1a.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1b included WSOP bracelet winner Blair Hinkle, David Gutfreund, Andros Ioakimides, defending champ Jeffrey Copeland, Dylan Crawford and MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard just to name a few.

The final starting flight will get underway tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 12 (approximately 10:40 p.m.).

Make sure to tune in to see who makes it through to Day 2.

MSPT Season 16 Missouri Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

End Day 1B Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Gerald Cunniff	962,000	620,000
Cory Nazaruk	449,000	30,000
Phil Mader	446,000	155,000
Greg Raymer	439,000	300,000
Dalton Jones	416,000	410,000
Wesley Snow	323,000	300,000
Derek Schroeder	309,000	230,000
Brian Roberts	285,000	225,000
Elia Bybee	275,000	405,000
Mike Budde	258,000	30,000
Ed McPike	229,000	100,000
Umut Ozturk	214,000	260,000
Josh Wisdom	203,000	230,000
Cory Smith	169,000	100,000
Merritt Kuhn	167,000	90,000
Jacob Long	167,000	155,000
Jason Aken	153,000	100,000
Richard Viebranz	152,000	60,000
Anthony Scarborough	149,000	130,000
Sherry Hammers	142,000	103,000
Taylor Howard	117,000	189,000
Ryan Tepen	86,000	130,000

Hammers Dominates a Double, Bubble Bursts with Double Elimination

After an initial raise, Sherry Hammers three-bet jam for 67,000 from the big blind and was called.

Sherry Hammers:
Opponent:

Hammers rolled over a dominating hand with the flop not changing much.

The turn did bring possible chop outs as it paired the board, but the completed the board on the river and secured her double-up.

After the hand two quick back-to-back eliminations occurred at different tables with MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff bursting the bubble to end the night.

Sherry Hammers - 130,000

Day 1A Chip Counts

So far, just 12 players have punched their ticket into Day 2 and another group of 22 hopefuls will look to add their names to that list tonight.

All who make it through until the end of play will return to action, Sunday, February 23^rd at 11:10 a.m. for Day 2, where the remaining players from all starting flights will combine and play until a winner is declared.

McCracken Turn Broadway for a Triple Up

Shawn McCracken was all in preflop for just over a starting stack from late position and found two callers that saw a flop.

Merritt Kuhn then check-folded from under the gun after a 20,000 bet was tossed out and the two hands were tabled.

Shawn McCracken:
Opponent:

McCracken was trailing until the dealer turned the giving him Broadway while the river secured him the pot.

Shawn McCracken - 96,000

Patrick Ray Strolls Away the Top Senior

Over the past week inside the Hollywood Casino in St. Louis MO, duking it out for the MSPT Season 16 Missouri Poker State Championship!

In Event #4: $300 NLH Seniors, 165 walkers strolled to the tables and created a $73,500 prize pool which was reserved for the top 18 seniors.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Kevin Shipp (11th Place - $768), Greg Wood (13th Place - $647), William Rowse (16th Place - $586), and Walter Mickey (17th Place - $566).

Strolling away the top senior was Patrick Ray who took down the lion's share of the prize pool, along with the Sapdey trophy!

Final Table Results

Big Slick Does the Trick for Graves

Michael Graves was all in from the small blind and was called by Dalton Jones from the button.

Michael Graves:
Dalton Jones:

Graves rolled over a dominating hand and the runout kept his tournament rolling.

Dalton Jones - 410,000
Michael Graves - 110,000

Chip Movers

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Dalton Jones	410,000	300,000
Elia Bybee	405,000	300,000
Greg Raymer	300,000	165,000
Josh Reichard	230,000	304,000
Josh Wisdom	230,000	150,000
Brian Roberts	225,000	68,500
Merritt Kuhn	169,000	131,000
Phil Mader	155,000	230,000
Ryan Tepen	130,000	75,000
Michael Graves	110,000	155,500
Sherry Hammers	103,000	30,000

First Season 16 Trip to Riverside Casino Scheduled for March 25th - 30th!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for MSPT Riverside Casino March 25-30

: Riverside Casino - Riverside, IA

: March 25-30, 2025

: 5 Trophy Events

: $300K GTD Main Event

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

Bybee Turns Broadway to Drop Buckley

DJ Buckley open-jammed his starting stack under the gun and Elia Bybee isolated from the cutoff.

DJ Buckley:
Elia Bybee:

Buckley was behind needing help, but the runout gave Bybee Broadway to end his night.

Elia Bybee - 300,000
DJ Buckley - 0