Ameristar East Chicago

Varkey James Leads the Final 29 Players into Day 2

Day 1c was the final starting flight of the MSPT 2025 Indiana Poker State Championship at the Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, and attracted a final 269 runners, which, along with the 265 totals from the previous two flights, brought the total field up to 534 entries, shattering the $300k guarantee.

The impressive field generated a $516,480 prize pool, paying out a minimum of $2,273, while the eventual winner will walk away with a $108,600 first-place prize, along with the MSPT 2025 Indiana Poker State Championship!

At the end of the third and final flight, just 29 players bagged and tagged with Varkey James (650,000), securing the final elimination of the night to edge out MSPT champ Matt Porter (562,000) for the top stack of the final flight.

Rounding out the big stacks was last May’s Event #13 winner, Pawel Kotara (437,000), MSPT champ Lee Rzentkowski (416,000), and the 2025 Michigan Poker State Champion Corey Wick (397,000).

Others who survived the third and final flight included Season 16 POY points leader Jake Long (303,000), Jeff Schwartz (298,000), Ryan Scully (262,000), Zach Heiman (257,000), Angela Gambino (190,000), and 2023 East Chicago champ Marc Bernal (162,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1c included MSPT champ Matthew Eng, Sami Shurbaji, Bret Martin, Cody Mondeau, Everett Lawrence, and defending champ Harrison Genson, just to name a few.

The surviving players from all three flights – of which there are 59 (11 from Day 1a, 19 from 1b, and 29 from 1c) – will return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, August 17^th, 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 Indiana Poker State Championship Schedule

End Day 1C Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Varkey James	650,000	340,000
Matthew Porter	562,000	360,000
Jeffrey Steghes	460,000	400,000
Pawel Kotara	437,000	550,000
Lee Rzentkowski	416,000	333,000
Corey Wick	397,000	250,000
Keith Schiller	393,000	360,000
Shant Karamian	345,000	300,000
Michael Holm	331,000	160,000
Jacob Long	303,000	265,000
Jeff Schwartz	298,000	310,000
David Anderson (IN)	295,000	200,000
George Wedemeyer	278,000	260,000
Syed Hussain	277,000	200,000
Ryan Scully	262,000	160,000
Zach Heiman	257,000	435,000
Duane Graff	222,000	200,000
Joey Ricely	205,000	200,000
James Maahs	191,000	55,000
Angela Gambino	190,000	150,000
Ben Mintz	183,000	330,000
Kelly Mahana	181,000	170,000
Jill Bryant	175,000	90,000
Tim Capretta	163,000	150,000
Marc Bernal	162,000	150,000
Scott Heiligman	132,000	130,000
George Dietz	128,000	105,000
Daniel Jesudason	45,000	30,000
Aaron Weeks	42,000	150,000

Two Drop at the Same Time Bursting the Bubble

There were two all-ins at the same time at different tables, with the first including Todd Sladek (pictured above), who lost holding to .

On the other table, Jerry Hapunik was all in holding on a board, and was called by Varkey James holding .

Hapunik needed a king to fall on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board and ended play for the night.

Varkey James - 555,000
Jerry hapunik - Eliminated
Todd Sladek - Eliminated

Schiller Dominates a Double on the Bubble

Tim Capretta raised all in from the button, and Keith Schiller called off his shorter 179,000 stack from the big blind.

Keith Schiller:
Tim Capretta:

Schiller rolled over a dominating ace and connected with the runout to stay alive.

Keith Schiller - 360,000
Tim Capretta - 150,000

Hand-for-Hand Begins

After the elimination of Casey Bogus (pictured above, 31 players now remain, meaning the hand-for-hand process has begun, as only 30 of them will be advancing to Day 2.

Day 2 Line Up

So far, 30 players have punched their ticket into Day 2, and the final group of 30 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 17^th, 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.

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Pawel Kotara	550,000	350,000
Zach Heiman	435,000	205,000
Matthew Porter	360,000	105,000
Varkey James	340,000	150,000
Jeff Schwartz	310,000	230,000
George Wedemeyer	260,000	420,000
Ryan Scully	160,000	120,000
Scott Heiligman	130,000	37,500
George Dietz	105,000	300,000
Jill Bryant	90,000	155,000
Joe Batterman	0	335,000
Justin Lynch	0	55,000
Jennifer Mandel	0	115,000
Umut Ozturk	0	65,000
Linas Kasputis	0	150,000
Heather Schuchaskie	0	90,000

Season 16 Player of the Year Standings

The midway point of Season 16 has passed, and the race for Player of the Year is currently a nail-biter.

Sitting atop the tight leaderboard is Jake Long, who, after securing a runner-up finish at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort for $94,499, sits atop the leaderboard with 5,321 points, while back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk currently sits in a close second, with both players looking to make a Day 2 berth tonight.

Full POY Leaderboard: https://msptpoker.com/statistics/MSPTSeasonPoints.aspx

Trost Ousted by Dietz in Double Elimination

There was three-way all-in action preflop between George Dietz from the cutoff, MSPT champ Craig Trost (pictured above) from the button, and the big blind, with Dietz having both players well covered.

Carig Trost:
Big Blind:
George Dietz:

Dietz rolled over the best hand and connected with the flop to take a commanding lead.

The dealer then kept things interesting after they turned the , giving each player a Broadway draw, but then followed with another on the river to secure Dietz the double elimination.

George Dietz - 300,000
Craig Trost - Eliminated

Holm Calls Right Side of Flip to Drop One

Michael Holm was all in preflop for 84,000, and the button called off their 79,000 stack.

Opponent:
Michael Holm:

It was a flip, with Holm calling the correct side as the runout paired his ace and secured him the knockout.

Michael Holm - 170,000