Bally's Black Hawk Casino

Matthew Palumbo Edges Out Paul Schiff to Lead the Final 47 into Day 2

Day 1c was the final starting flight of the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship at Bally’s Casino, and attracted a final 424 runners, which, along with 1a's 167 and 1b’s 284, brought the total field up to 875 entries, shattering the $500k guarantee.

The impressive field generated a $847,250 prize pool, paying out a minimum of $2,158, while the eventual winner will walk away with a $161,847 first-place prize, along with the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship!

At the end of the third and final flight, just 47 players bagged and tagged with Matthew Palumbo (679,000), edging out Paul Schiff (672,000) for the top stack of the final flight.

Isaiah Easter (648,000), Andrew Dea (618,000), and Thomas Fuller (608,000) found themselves a part of the 600k club as they rounded out the top five stacks.

Others who survived the third and final flight included MSPT champs Eric Maier (570,000) & John Schroer (542,000), Naval Subbarayan (371,000), Richard Marsh (314,000), two-time MSPT champ Tim Thorp (199,000), and Cody Mondeau (75,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1c included MSPT Hall of Famer & bracelet winner Rob WazWaz, Joel Verbeck, Graham Griffin, Maxx Holland, Jeremy "Woody" Wood, and fellow Hall of Famer & bracelet winner Rich Alsup, just to name a few.

The surviving players from all three flights – of which there are 98 (19 from Day 1a, 32 from 1b, and 47 from 1c) – will return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, August 3^rd, to play down to a winner.

The MSPT live reporting crew will be on the floor throughout the remainder of the tournament to provide updates, so keep it here to catch the action!

MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship Schedule

End Day 1C Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Matthew Palumbo	679,000	618,000
Paul Schiff	672,000	395,000
Isaiah Easter	648,000	410,000
Andrew Dea	618,000	618,000
Thomas Fuller	608,000	595,000
Eric Maier	570,000	540,000
John Schroer	552,000	540,000
Thomas Rask	436,000	436,000
John Reiter	408,000	408,000
Sean Beinecke	371,000	270,000
Naval Subbarayan	371,000	243,000
Matthew Krier	356,000	356,000
Kevin Kurtz	349,000	349,000
Austin Apicella	340,000	340,000
Matthew Rice	332,000	332,000
Benjamin Erickson	316,000	316,000
Matt Adams	315,000	315,000
Richard Marsh	314,000	314,000
David Mead	282,000	282,000
Ramiro Perez	275,000	275,000
Matthew Berger	270,000	270,000
Sam Husar	219,000	219,000
Nathan Nielsen	215,000	215,000
Jason Vanstrom	213,000	165,000
Rahul Lal	203,000	203,000
Timothy Thorp	199,000	175,000
Barb Visher	198,000	239,000
Matt Fischer	196,000	196,000
Phil Gioia	195,000	210,000
Roeman Warner	158,000	158,000
Kim Criter	152,000	95,000
Zihan Kang	144,000	144,000
Michael Rankins	142,000	93,000
Rob Baker	140,000	140,000
Benjamin Marbach	139,000	220,000
Russell Neesham	129,000	129,000
Chris Daniels	129,000	129,000
Eric Vogler	129,000	129,000
Melissa Moss	122,000	122,000
Thomas Schultz	119,000	119,000
Bobby Sanoubane	105,000	105,000
Tan Hoang	103,000	176,000
Andrew Peragallo	77,000	140,000
Cody Mondeau	75,000	182,000
Sung Sik Baz	67,000	67,000
Cameron Bazley	63,000	63,000
Andrew 'Panda' Stevens	28,000	28,000

Maier Sets One Up; Hand-for-Hand Begins

A player from middle position raised all in, and MSPT champ Eric Maier called from the small blind.

Opponent:
Eric Maier:

Maier was ahead, holding a pair of ladies, and improved on the flop, which also gave his opponent flush and straight draws.

Fortunately for Maier, the turn followed by the river kept him in the lead to eliminate his opponent, and start the hand-for-hand process with 48 players remaining.

Eric Maier - 540,000

Criter Wakes Up with Cowboys

Action on the table folded to the small blind, who raised all in, and Kim Criter called off her shorter 42,000 stack from the big blind.

Kim Criter:
Opponnet:

Criter woke up with a premium hand of kings in the big blind, and the runout secured her double-up to keep her Main Event hopes alive.

Kim Criter - 104,000

Fuller Fires Three Streets and Gets There

Thomas Fuller raised to 16,000 from the hijack, and Matt Fischer called from the button to see a flop.

Fuller led out with a 15,000 continuation bet, and Fischer quickly called, bringing the turn.

A 53,000 bet was then tossed into the middle by Fuller, and he was met with a call from Fischer.

Once the completed the board on the river, Fuller moved out a final 98,000 bet and Fischer called.

Fuller tabled for the nut straight, and it was good as Fischer released his hand into the muck.

Thomas Fuller - 595,000
Matt Fischer - 180,000

Day 2 Line Up

So far, 51 players have punched their ticket into Day 2, and the final group of 47 hopefuls will look to add their names to that list tonight.

All who make it through until the end of play will return tomorrow, Sunday, August 3^rd, at 11:00 a.m. for Day 2, where the remaining players from all starting flights will combine and play until a winner is declared.

Rich Dixon Secures an Ultimate Victory!

Over the past week, players have been inside Bally's Casino, duking it out for the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship in Black Hawk, Colorado.

In Event #6: $300 NLH Ultimate Stack, 188 ultimate players took to the felt and generated a $46,060 prize pool that was paid out to the top 21 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Daniel Brewer (10^th Place - $874), Hung Nguyen (13^th Place - $691), Wayne Covey (16^th Place - $599), Stephen Decker (17^th Place - $599), and Stacie Newman (19^th Place - $553).

Walking away with the ultimate victory was Wyoming native Rich Dixon, who claimed the outright win for $11,974 and his first Gold Card!!

Final Table Results

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Matthew Palumbo	595,000	400,000
John Schroer	540,000	456,000
Isaiah Easter	410,000	165,000
Eric Maier	403,000	490,000
Thomas Fuller	395,000	140,000
Paul Schiff	395,000	200,000
Richard Marsh	270,000	245,000
Naval Subbarayan	243,000	165,000
Barb Visher	239,000	120,000
Phil Gioia	210,000	100,000
Tan Hoang	176,000	34,500
Timothy Thorp	175,000	166,000
Jason Vanstrom	165,000	65,000
Steve Wilkie	140,000	55,000
Kim Criter	95,000	139,000
Matthew Dodd	0	60,000
David Levy (CO)	0	103,500
Richard Alsup	0	30,000
Ivan Todorov	0	100,000
Jeremy "Woody" Wood	0	120,000
Rob WazWaz	0	70,000

Fischer Fills Up on Gabriel for a Double

Matt Fischer was all in preflop for 83,000 from middle position and was called by Max Gabriel from the small blind.

Matt Fischer:
Max Gabriel:

Fischer was at risk needing help, and found it after an ace appeared in the window on the flop to take the lead.

The then paired the board on the turn, while the river secured Fischer his double-up.

Max Fischer - 172,000
Max Gabriel - 20,000

The MSPT Returns to Hollywood Casino St. Louis August 19th - 24th!

Join us August 19-24 for the MSPT Festival at Hollywood Casino St. Louis

: Hollywood Casino St. Louis - Maryland Heights, MO

: August 19-24, 2025

: 10 Gold Card Events

: Main Event 292

: $300,000 GTD Main Event

: Senior Tour Event Included

: https://msptpoker.com/.../book-today-for-the-mspt...

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