Created (5/15/2026 12:49:35 AM by Anthony Thompson)
Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 Michigan Poker State Championship at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan, is in the books after pulling an impressive 588 total entries.
A full day of action was needed to hit the hard stop of 65 players as 4:36 minutes remained in Level 16 (4,000/8,000/8,000) when chips hit the slips with Joshua Koetje seizing the top as he bagged a whopping 825,000 to take into Day 2.
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Vance Essak
Bagging behind Koetje was Vance Essak, who put an impressive 643,000 in his bag to end the night, while Srikanth Inja (635,000), Luc Lucaj (633,000), and Dustin Bowling (617,000) rounded out the top five stacks.
Shkelzen “Scotty” Gocaj
Other players to survive the first flight were Imran Sajwani (583,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard (560,000), three-time MSPT Champ & fellow Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson (433,000), Michigan’s Finest Shkelzen “Scotty” Gocaj (247,000), and fellow Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz (229,000), just to name a few.
David Gutfreund
Among those to try and fall on 1a include Dave Gutfreund, MSPT Champ Brett Blackwood, Allen Pritchett, Kim Schinco, and two-time bracelet winner Dan Heimiller.
Two-Time Bracelet Winner Dan Heimiller
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 on 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, May 17th, and will play down to a winner.
MSPT Season 17 Michigan Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Gold Card Event |
| 15-May |
10:00 AM |
$265 Turbo Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event |
20,000 |
15 Minutes |
|
| 15-May |
Noon |
$1,110 Michigan Poker State Championship NLH Day 1B (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5B |
| 15-May |
5:00 PM |
$265 Turbo Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event |
20,000 |
15 Minutes |
|
| 15-May |
8:00 PM |
$250 Nightly NLH |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
7 |
| 16-May |
Noon |
$1,110 Michigan Poker State Championship NLH Day 1C (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5C |
| 16-May |
8:00 PM |
$250 Nightly NLH |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
8 |
| 17-May |
10:00 AM |
$1,110 Michigan Poker State Championship NLH Day 2 (2-Day Event) |
- |
40 Minutes |
5 |
| 17-May |
Noon |
$400 Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
9 |
Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor of FireKeepers Casino!