Riverside Casino

William Failor Leads 15 Advancing Players After Day 1A of the MSPT Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship at Riverside Casino is officially in the books with 128 total entries tallied during the first flight.

With action needing to play down to 11% of the field, 15 levels were required, as there was 33:43 remaining on the clock once the hard stop was reached with William Failor and his stack of 463,000 leading the charge of the 15 advancing players.

Two-time MSPT champ Ken Baime was able to catch some late-night steam to put 388,000 in his bag to end the night, while MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson was hot on his tail, ending with 381,000.

Rounding out the top five stacks of the flight were MSPT champ Jeff Copeland (346,000) and Brandon Reyes (319,000), while Randy Perkins (308,000) was the only other player to eclipse the 300k mark.

Others who found a Day 2 berth after the first starting flight included Jeff Kenny (297,000), Steve Buell (188,000), Saad Ghanem (180,000), and back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk (174,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included MSPT champ Lee Rzentkowski, Rainer Nielsen, Matthew Dahl, Ramon Ziadeh, and Edward Burke, among others.

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

Day 1b will kick off at 2:00 p.m. 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 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

MSPT Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship Schedule

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

End Day 1A Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
William Failor	463,000	240,000
Kenneth Baime	388,000	263,000
Aaron Johnson	381,000	186,000
Jeffrey Copeland	346,000	215,000
Brandon Reyes	319,000	290,000
Randy Perkins	308,000	153,000
Jeff Kenny	297,000	355,000
Richard Pierson	282,000	202,000
Ken Coy	207,000	200,000
Steve Buell	188,000	204,000
Brian Green	181,000	101,000
Saad Ghanem	180,000	227,000
Umut Ozturk	174,000	125,000
Shawn Quinn	64,000	30,000
Dauson Miell	63,000	220,000

Back-to-Back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk Eliminates Dalton Jones on the Bubble

Dalton Jones tossed out his last 34,000 from the hijack, and action quickly folded to back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk in the big blind, who looked down at his cards and said, “I have seven-deuce offsuit”.

“No, really, I have seven-deuce offsuit”, Ozturk reiterated to the table, who thought he was wasting time just before he tossed out a call.

Dalton Jones:
Umut Ozturk:

“I’m sorry buddy, I’m trying to get this over”, Ozturk said to Jones just as a duece appeared in the window on the flop to give him the lead.

The turn then fell the , keeping Ozturk in the lead while the river improved him to two-pair to eliminate Jones on the bubble.

Umut Ozturk - 174,000
Dalton Jones - 0

Hand-for-Hand Begins

After the elimination of David Battani, only 16 players remain, meaning the hand-for-hand process has now begun, as only 15 of them will advance to Day 2.

Ace on the River Keeps Jones' Tournament Hopes Alive

Action on the table folded to Dalton Jones, who tossed out his last 56,000 from the button and was called by Ken Coy from the big blind.

Dalton Jones:
Ken Coy:

Jones was at risk holding two overs, with nothing changing after the flop hit the felt.

The turn then added to Jones’ outs as it gave him a few more with a gutshot straight draw, and fortunately for him, the that fell on the river was one of them as it kept his tournament rolling.

Ken Coy - 250,000
Dalton Jones - 120,000

Dave Grandin Claims an Epic Victory!

For the second time this season, the MSPT has traveled to Riverside Casino in Riverside, IA, to host a six-Trophy Event Series for the 2025 Iowa Poker State Championship!

In Event #2: $250 No-Limit Hold'em Epic Stack, 197 epic players went to the felt and generated a $39,400 prize pool that was paid out to the top 21 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Don Havener (10^th Place - $749), Jason Bender (11^th Place - $440), Michael Mitchell (14^th Place - $512), "Wild" Bill Romer (16^th Place - $512), Ryan Ellis (18^th Place - $512), and Richard Ramsay (21^st Place - $473).

Coming out on top was Wisconsin native Dave Grnadin, who came out on top with the lion's share of the prize pool to claim the second MSPT Gold Card of the series!

Final Table Results

Updated Chip Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Jeff Kenny	355,000	338,500
Brandon Reyes	290,000	115,000
Kenneth Baime	263,000	255,000
David Battani	260,000	250,000
William Failor	240,000	200,000
Saad Ghanem	227,000	137,500
Dauson Miell	220,000	300,000
Jeffrey Copeland	215,000	119,000
Steve Buell	204,000	175,000
Aaron Johnson	186,000	170,000
Randy Perkins	153,000	133,000
Umut Ozturk	125,000	90,000
Dalton Jones	100,000	60,000
Sam Caltvedt	70,000	144,000
Daniel Bekavac	0	105,000
Sherry Hammers	0	110,500
Tom Hammers	0	145,000
Jacob Long	0	90,000
Josh Reichard	0	30,000
Todd Sladek	0	45,000
Charles Telle	0	85,000

Registration Closed

Level 13 has started, meaning registration for Day 1a of the MSPT Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship at Riverside Casino is officially closed with 128 entrants tallied for the first flight.

The plan is to play until 11% of the field, rounded up (15 players), is reached, with the tournament clock reading 23 players remaining.

Sneaky Set of Threes Secure Kenny a Double

Four-time MSPT champ Dan Bekavac raised from the hijack and was called by Sam Caltvedt from the button, along with Jeff Kenny from the small blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, Kenny checked to Bekavac, who fired out a continuation bet, and Caltvedt tossed out a call only to have Kenny check-raise to 50,000.

With action back on Bekavac, he fired back with a three-bet jam, having both players covered, and only Kenny called off his shorter 142,000 stack.

Jeff Kenny:
Dan Bekavac:

Kenny was ahead holding a set of threes, but the turn did keep things interesting as it improved Bekavac two-pair and kept him live heading to the river.

Fortunately for Kenny, the then fell to complete the board and secured him the double.

Jeff Kenny - 338,000
Sam Caltvedt - 144,000
Dan Bkavac - 105,000

Chip Collectors & Givers

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Jeff Kenny	338,500	189,000
Kenneth Baime	255,000	74,400
David Battani	250,000	235,000
Sam Caltvedt	144,000	103,000
Jeffrey Copeland	119,000	113,000
Daniel Bekavac	105,000	146,000
Jacob Long	90,000	31,500
Umut Ozturk	90,000	30,000
Charles Telle	85,000	50,000
Todd Sladek	45,000	105,000
Michael Estes	0	70,000
John Ro	0	35,500