Running Aces Casino

Paul Carney Leads 19 Survivors After Day 1A of the MSPT Season 17 Minnesota Poker State Championship!

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Minnesota Poker State Championship at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack has come to a close after seeing 167 entrants kick things off.

Almost a full day of action was played to completion with the hard stop of 19 players being reached with 24:45 remaining in Level 14 (3,000/5,000/5,000).

The final level was full of eliminations, which saw chip leader Paul Carney’s 300k stack balloon to 567,000 to end the night, edging out Loki Abboud (549,000) for the top stack.

Steve W was able to hold onto his steam throughout the day, bagging a respectable 447,000 to put in his bag at the end of the night, while Event #11 winner Leo Pinamonti (397,000) and Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long (396,000), as they round out the top five stacks of the flight.

Season 14 Minnesota Poker State Champion runner-up Rory Linton collected 323,000 to end the night with, while two-time MSPT Champ Jeremy Dresch (242,000), Dennis Stevermer (241,000), MSPT Champ Dan Goepel, and MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup (82,000) all found a Day 2 berth.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Yume Carr, MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz, Dalton Jones, Peter Her, John Mcnee, and Ashish Gandhi, just to name a few.

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 on Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at noon on Saturday.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 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 at Running Aces Casino & Racetrack!

MSPT Season 17 Minnesota Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

End Day 1A Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Paul Carney	567,000	561,000
Loki Abboud	549,000	477,000
Steve W	447,000	440,000
Leo Pinamonti	397,000	365,000
Jacob Long	386,000	400,000
Rory Linton	323,000	310,000
Bruce Fagan	316,000	340,000
Ali Nabizadehgangaraj	316,000	200,000
Michael Nelson	309,000	275,000
Jeremy Dresch	242,000	100,000
Dennis Stevermer	241,000	220,000
Tanner Pray	194,000	185,000
Andrew Pickett	190,000	100,000
David "Digger" Vig	134,000	120,000
Daniel Goepel	123,000	52,000
Ariel Pressman	114,000	71,000
Richard Alsup	82,000	140,000
Adithya Pailla	47,000	100,000
Daniel Blegen	44,000	10,000

Matt Fox Flushed Out on the Bubble by "Digger"

Photo: Matt Fox

David “Digger” Vig opened under the gun for 20,000 and then called Matt Fox’s 34,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Matt Fox:
David “Digger” Vig:

Fox rolled over a dominated hand, but the flop paired his king to give him the lead, while also giving Vig a flush draw.

The dealer then turned the , keeping Fox in the lead, but then followed with the on the river, ending his night on the bubble.

David “Digger” Vig - 120,000
Matt Fox - 0

Hand-for-Hand Begins

After the elimination of five-time MSPT Champ Blake, Bohn, just 20 players remain, meaning the hand-for-hand process has now started, as only 19 of them will be advancing to Day 2.

Chip Collectors & Givers

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Paul Carney	561,000	400,000
Loki Abboud	477,000	258,000
Steve W	440,000	220,000
Jacob Long	400,000	520,000
Leo Pinamonti	365,000	330,000
Bruce Fagan	340,000	270,000
Rory Linton	310,000	64,000
Dennis Stevermer	220,000	110,000
Ali Nabizadehgangaraj	200,000	70,000
Ariel Pressman	71,000	143,000
Blake Bohn	70,000	107,000
Michael Estes (IA)	0	78,000
Jerric Jiang	0	80,000
Joseph Larson (MN)	0	30,000
David Margulies	0	190,000
Tanya Payne	0	20,500
Kou Vang	0	52,000
Michael Wilklow	0	77,000

A New GOAT Has Taken the Mantle

With his 8^th place Main Event finish at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort - for the first time in 10 years - we have a new Josh Reichard

Full List: https://msptpoker.com/statistics/goatpoy.aspx

Nabizadehgangaraj Dominates Pressman for a Double

Photo: Ariel Pressman

There was all-in action preflop between Ali Nabizadehgangaraj from the hijack and Ariel Pressman from the button, with Nabizadehgangaraj holding 32,000 effective.

Ali Nabizadehgangaraj:
Ariel Pressman:

Nabizadehgangaraj rolled over a dominating suited hand, and the runout secured his double-up.

Ariel Pressman - 110,000
Ali Nabizadehgangaraj - 70,000

Updated Chip Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Jacob Long	420,000	210,000
Paul Carney	400,000	185,000
Leo Pinamonti	330,000	89,000
Loki Abboud	258,000	186,000
Steve W	220,000	148,000
David Margulies	190,000	165,500
Tanner Pray	185,000	140,000
Richard Alsup	140,000	55,000
Dennis Stevermer	110,000	32,000
Jerric Jiang	80,000	26,500
Michael Estes (IA)	78,000	110,000
Michael Wilklow	77,000	125,000
Daniel Goepel	52,000	118,000
Kou Vang	52,000	123,000
Joseph Larson (MN)	30,000	142,000
DJ Buckley	0	49,000
Gerald Cunniff	0	34,000
Gennady Shimelfarb	0	30,000
Mo Nuwwarah	0	46,500
Umut Ozturk	0	30,000

Day 1A Registration Closed

Level 13 has started, meaning registration for Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Minnesota Poker State Championship is officially closed, with 167 entries tallied for the first flight.

The plan is to play until 11% of the field rounded up (19 players) is reached, with the tournament clock showing 35 players remaining.

The MSPT Returns to Potawatomi Casino April 28th - May 3rd!

MSPT FESTIVAL

: Potawatomi Casino Hotel - Milwaukee, WI

: April 28 - May 3, 2026

: $1,000,000 GTD Main Event
: $3,500 MSPT Championship Seat ADDED to Main Event 1st Place

: 11 Gold Card Events

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

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=494msptpoker.co