$

Awarded to date

FireKeepers Casino

May 15 - 18, 2025

 
  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
Justin Lee Leads 68 Survivors After Day 1A
Created (5/16/2025 12:59:28 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 16 Michigan Poker State Championship at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan is in the books with the first flight tallying 612 total entries, putting it just behind with the record-setting 672 total Day 1a field.

Almost 16 full levels were needed to hit the hard stop of 68 players as 13:09 minutes remained in Level 16 (4,000/8,000/8,000) when chips hit the slips with Justin Lee seizing the top as he bagged just under the milly mark taking a whopping 936,000 into Day 2.

Riva Arthur

Bagging behind Lee was Riva Arthur who put an impressive 684,000 in her bag to end the night, while Zinoviy Pelekh (555,000), Matthew Ploof (505,000), and Travis McCullough (486,000) rounded out the top five stacks.

Two-Time MSPT Champ Chris Meyers

Other players to survive the first flight were two-time MSPT champ Chris Meyers (398,000), Hannah Richardson (351,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson (350,000), Loki Abboud (256,000), and Michael Kamenjarin (234,000) just to name a few.

MSPT Hall of Famer Pat Steele

Among those to try and fall on 1a include MSPT Hall of Famer’s Pat Steele, Rich Alsup, Chris Moon & Rob WazWaz, along former champs Mike ONeill, Curtis Vierstraete, Matt Porter and Dan Goepel.

MSPT Champ Dan Goepel

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action.

Day 1b will kick off at Noon local time Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

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

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
End Day 1A Chip Counts
Created (5/16/2025 12:56:00 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Justin Lee 936,000 936,000
Riva Arthur 684,000 684,000
Zinoviy Pelekh 555,000 555,000
Matthew Ploof 505,000 505,000
Travis McCullough 486,000 486,000
Steve Fall 479,000 479,000
Adam Lamphere 475,000 475,000
Lee OBrien 468,000 468,000
Roman Pumpernich 434,000 434,000
Stephen Smith 420,000 420,000
Daniel Marshall 410,000 410,000
Dale Kirgis 401,000 401,000
Chris Meyers (NY) 398,000 398,000
Donald Dingwell 396,000 396,000
Ryan Brown 372,000 372,000
Marcin Dzibuek 363,000 363,000
Hannah Richardson 351,000 351,000
Aaron Johnson 350,000 350,000
Russell Brooks 349,000 349,000
Scott Martis 337,000 337,000
Dalton Jones 333,000 333,000
Doug Bowersock 304,000 304,000
Peter Ng 300,000 300,000
David Eliason 298,000 298,000
Jaret Villarreal 297,000 297,000
Kathleen Gliua 294,000 294,000
Daniel Mohs 289,000 289,000
Mike Bowersock 278,000 278,000
Sung Kim 275,000 275,000
Nicholas Cikulin 270,000 270,000
Kevin Reinhout 266,000 266,000
Josh Beitel 264,000 264,000
Dustin King 262,000 262,000
Loki Abboud 256,000 256,000
Allen Pritchett 252,000 252,000
Patrick McCullough 250,000 250,000
Klayton Bechtold 239,000 239,000
Michael Kamenjarin 234,000 234,000
Antonio Ndoja 227,000 227,000
Rodney Reames 216,000 216,000
Ryan Eamon 214,000 214,000
Larry McCully 202,000 202,000
Randy Bull 193,000 193,000
Alec Magdan 186,000 186,000
Rudy Mamo 180,000 180,000
Giovanni El-Hadi 179,000 179,000
Jeffrey Copeland 178,000 178,000
Brett Blackwood 175,000 175,000
Dapreesch Scates 159,000 159,000
Uday Are 158,000 158,000
Wayne Smith 156,000 156,000
Thomas Midena 143,000 143,000
Jon Sumrack 142,000 142,000
Shiva Dudani 140,000 140,000
Joe Shammas 129,000 129,000
Mark Ader 127,000 127,000
Heather Schuchaskie 122,000 122,000
Vance Essak 120,000 120,000
Wesley Cannon 115,000 115,000
Steve Reynolds 112,000 112,000
Brady Wieland 109,000 109,000
Tony Cholagh 108,000 108,000
Mark Prentice 107,000 107,000
Ameed Asmaso 104,000 104,000
Blake Borden 104,000 104,000
Jim Kanalerski 80,000 80,000
Athir Saco 77,000 77,000
Gabriel Dvorak 57,000 57,000

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
Play Has Ended
Created (5/16/2025 12:52:58 AM by Anthony Thompson)

After MSPT Hall of Famer Matt Kirby’s short stack was blinded out, the bubble burst with 68 players remaining and play has ended for the night.

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
Mamo Race to a Double on the Bubble
Created (5/16/2025 12:42:52 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Rudy Mamo was all in for 80,000 from the button and was called by a player from middle position.

Rudy Mamo:
Opponent:

Mamo was racing for his tournament life on the bubble and was able to hold the lead as the runout secured his double-up.

Rudy Mamo - 180,000

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
Hand-for-Hand
Created (5/16/2025 12:28:40 AM by Anthony Thompson)

With 69 players remaining, the hand-for-hand process has started.

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
Late Night Counts & Bust Outs
Created (5/16/2025 12:13:00 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Aaron Johnson 440,000 600,000
Hannah Richardson 370,000 270,000
Loki Abboud 246,000 165,000
Mark Ader 160,000 290,000
Shiva Dudani 105,000 103,000
Matt Kirby 75,000 50,000
Sandra Morse 60,000 30,000
Umut Ozturk 0 165,000
Kenneth Baime 0 100,000
Ron Bell 0 135,000
Thai Dinh 0 135,000
Dash Dudley 0 70,000
Rob WazWaz 0 280,000

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000 / 6000
  • Ante: 6000
Eliason Chops Up a Double with Big Slick
Created (5/15/2025 11:59:28 PM by Anthony Thompson)

After an initial 15,000 raise and one call, David Eliason squeezed his 131,000 stack in the middle from the button and was called by both players.

The flop was checked to the turn where 40,000 was put into the dry pot and a call was found to see the river.

Action was checked and Eliason tabled to chop with the cutoff who revealed

David Eliason - 195,000

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000 / 6000
  • Ante: 6000
Morgan Pushes Through
Created (5/15/2025 11:14:04 PM by Anthony Thompson)

There was heads-up action between Chris Morgan from the hijack and his opponent seated to his left in late position, with a completed board showing.

With over 60,000 already in the middle, Morgan’s opponent led out with an 18,000 bet only to be put to the test with a 225,000 all-in raise from Morgan.

After some careful thought, Morgan’s opponent decided to release their hand into the muck giving him the pot.

Chris Morgan - 295,000

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000 / 6000
  • Ante: 6000
Assorted Chip Counts
Created (5/15/2025 10:58:42 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Matthew Ploof 570,000 350,000
Chris Meyers (NY) 410,000 175,000
Dalton Jones 350,000 280,000
Hannah Richardson 270,000 145,000
Jeffrey Copeland 205,000 335,000
Umut Ozturk 165,000 135,000
Kirby Rogers 160,000 50,000
Ron Bell 135,000 145,000
DJ Buckley 0 50,000
Richard Alsup 0 70,000
Frank Lagodich 0 115,500
Patrick Steele 0 30,000
Benjamin Teston 0 100,000
Steve Reynolds 0 35,000

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 3000 / 5000
  • Ante: 5000
Take a Look at the Season 16 FireKeepers Photo Gallery!
Created (5/15/2025 10:40:05 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Playing Day 1a of the MSPT Season 16 Michigan Poker State Championship at FireKeepers?

Have family or friends in action?

Have a look through our NEW photo gallery tab to see if you can find their photo!

 
 
LEVEL INFO
Level
16
Blinds
4000 / 8000
Ante
8000
TOURNAMENT INFO
Entries
612
Players Remaining
68
Average Chip Stack
270,000
Total Chips
18,360,000
TOP 10 CHIP COUNT
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
1 
Justin Lee
936,000
2 
Riva Arthur
684,000
3 
Zinoviy Pelekh
555,000
4 
Matthew Ploof
505,000
5 
Travis McCullough
486,000
6 
Steve Fall
479,000
7 
Adam Lamphere
475,000
8 
Lee OBrien
468,000
9 
Roman Pumpernich
434,000
10 
Stephen Smith
420,000
SEASON TOP 10 POY POINTS
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
1 
Anthony Scarborough
4,117
2 
Josh Reichard
3,750
3 
Ryan Eamon
3,700
4 
Umut Ozturk
3,617
5 
Jacob Long
3,191
6 
Carl Carodenuto
3,000
7 
DJ Buckley
2,958
8 
Jessica Vierling
2,625
9 
Brad Gafford
2,575
10 
Timothy Thorp
2,542