$

Awarded to date

Ameristar Casino St. Charles

March 24 - 29, 2026

 
 
 
  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000
  • Ante: 6000
MSPT Champ Charlie Dawson Leads the First Batch of Survivors After Day 1A
Created (3/27/2026 12:35:46 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Missouri Poker State Championship at the Ameristar Casino has come to a close after seeing 43 entrants kick things off.

Almost a full day of action was played to completion, with the hard stop of five players being reached with 38:15 remaining in Level 15.

The final levels were full of action, which saw MSPT Champ Charlie Dawson secure one of the largest pots with a set of queens, which propelled him to the top of the chip counts with 458,000.

Closing the night second in chips was Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long, who secured the final elimination of MSPT Champ Anthony Kastelic to take 401,000 into Sunday’s Day 2.

Following behind Long was Mark Lafata, who put 247,000 in his bag to end the night, while David Short (77,000) and Matthew Spiker (71,000) were the only others to find a Day 2 berth.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Event #1 winner Thomas Hannan, Cory Bogert, Ryan Tepen, Steven Dill, and Joseph Herboth, 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, March 27th, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday, March 28th.

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 Ameristar Casino!

MSPT Season 17 Missouri Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule
Date Time (CST) Tournament Chips Blind Levels Gold Card Event
27-Mar 10:00 AM $265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to $300K GTD 20,000 20 Minutes
27-Mar 2:00 PM $1,110 MSPT Missouri Poker State Championship NLH Day 1B (2-Day Event) 30,000 40 Minutes 6B
27-Mar 7:00 PM $265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to $300K GTD 20,000 20 Minutes
28-Mar 10:00 AM $265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to $300K GTD 20,000 20 Minutes
28-Mar 2:00 PM $1,110 MSPT Missouri Poker State Championship NLH Day 1C (2-Day Event) 30,000 40 Minutes 6C
28-Mar 7:00 PM $250 Monster Stack NLH 30,000 20 Minutes 8
29-Mar 11:00 AM $1,110 MSPT Missouri Poker State Championship NLH Day 2 (2-Day Event) - 40 Minutes 6
29-Mar Noon $300 Black Chip County NLH 40,000 30 Minutes 9
29-Mar 3:00 PM $250 Monster Stack NLH 30,000 20 Minutes 10

Make sure to stay tuned here to find out who makes it through to Sunday’s Day 2!

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000
  • Ante: 6000
End Day 1A Chip Counts
Created (3/27/2026 12:28:56 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Charlie Dawson 458,000 471,000
Jacob Long 401,000 360,000
Mark Lafata 247,000 267,000
David Short 77,000 80,000
Matthew Spiker 71,000 130,000

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000
  • Ante: 6000
Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long Eliminates MSPT Champ Anthony Kastelic on the Bubble
Created (3/27/2026 12:22:10 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Photo: Jake Long

MSPT Champ Anthony Kastelic tossed out his last 41,000 from the button, and Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long looked down at his cards from the big blind, shrugged his shoulders, and tossed out a call.

Anthony Kastelic:
Jake Long:

Kastelic was ahead holding an ace, but the flop gave Long top pair to take the lead.

The then paired the board on the turn, leaving Kastelic needing an ace on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board and ended his night on the bubble.

Jake Long - 401,000
Anthony Kastelic - 0

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 3000
  • Ante: 5000
Dawson's Set of Ladies Melts Spiker's Set of Snowmen
Created (3/27/2026 12:16:32 AM by Anthony Thompson)

Photo: Charlie Dawson

MSPT Champ Charlie Dawson raised under the gun, and Matt Spiker defended his big blind to see a flop.

Spiker check-called a continuation bet from Dawson, bringing about the turn.

This time, Spiker check-raised to 70,000 after Dawson fired out a 20,000 bet, and Dawson called to see the complete the board on the river.

Spiker then led out with a 85,000 bet, and Dawson looked him up.

was then tabled by Spiker, showing a set of eights, but it was no good, as Dawson rolled over for a set of ladies to scoop the pot.

Charlie Dawson - 471,000
Matt Spiker - 130,000

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 3000
  • Ante: 5000
Mike Estes is a Four Card Master
Created (3/26/2026 11:59:54 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Over the past week, players have been inside the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, MO, duking it out for their MSPT Season 17 Missouri Poker State Championship!

In Event #5: $300 Pot-Limit Omaha, 125 four-card specialists took to the tables, generating a $30,625 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Chad Buzinski (10th Place - $628), David Kowalski (11th Place - $628), MSPT Champ Chris Audrain (12th Place - $628), Satar Al-Sadoun (13th Place - $483), Austin Schaal (14th Place - $483), and Robert Keeling (15th Place - $483)

Walking away the victor was St. Louis native Mike Estes, who secured the outright win to go along with his first Gold Card!

Final Table Results
Place Name Prize POY
1 Mike Estes $8,573 250
2 Jason Simon $5,298 200
3 Jacob Long $3,828 175
4 Jonathan Raffel $2,863 150
5 Shawn Quinn $2,083 125
6 Brayden Smiley $1,593 100
7 Shabta Moria $1,225 75
8 Gary Gwinn $949 50
9 Jesse Keel $766 25

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 2000
  • Ante: 4000
Reichard Runs into Lafata's Aces
Created (3/26/2026 11:42:43 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Photo: Mark Lafata

There was all in action preflop between Mark Lafata from late position and MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard from the cutoff, with Reichard holding the effective stack.

Josh Reichard:
Mark Lafata:

Reichard rolled over the inferior made hand and wasn’t able to find a lucky seven on the runout, ending his night.

Mark Lafata - 267,000
Josh Reichard - 0

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 2000
  • Ante: 4000
Bogert Out Kicked by Dawson
Created (3/26/2026 11:28:41 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Photo: Charlie Dawson

MSPT Champ Charlie Dawson raised from middle position and then called Cory Bogert’s three-bet jam from the big blind.

Cory Bogert:
Charlie Dawson:

Bogert rolled over a dominated hand, and the runout ended his night.

Charlie Dawson - 298,000
Cory Bogert - 0

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 2000
  • Ante: 4000
Updated Chip Counts & Bust Outs
Created (3/26/2026 11:11:11 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Matthew Spiker 225,000 219,500
Jacob Long 202,000 150,000
Charlie Dawson 188,000 180,000
Mark Lafata 175,000 157,000
Anthony Kastelic 140,000 30,000
Josh Reichard 70,000 77,000
David Short 55,000 125,000
Cory Bogert 44,000 72,000
Mitchell Gann 36,000 30,000
Lucus Drummonds 0 40,000
Li Liang 0 55,500

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 2000
  • Ante: 4000
Day 1A Registration Closed
Created (3/26/2026 10:59:15 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Level 13 has started, meaning registration for Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,110 Missouri Poker Championship at the Ameristar Casino is officially closed.

The first starting flight tallied 43 runners, and the plan is to play until 11% of the field (rounded up to 5 players) is reached, with the tournament clock showing 9 players remaining.

  • Level: 12
  • Blinds: 2000
  • Ante: 3000
Bogert Fills Up to Drop Galic
Created (3/26/2026 10:44:17 PM by Anthony Thompson)

Photo: Cory Bogert

Dino Galic tossed out his last 25,000 from the hijack, and Cory Bogert went over the top from the small blind, giving him isolation.

Dino Galic:
Cory Bogert:

Galic was behind holding a live suited connecting hand, but the flop put him in a deep hole after it gave Bogert top two pair.

The turn then stuck a dagger in Galic, as he was left drawing dead to the river.

Cory Bogert - 72,000
Dino Galic - 0

 
 
Player Name
City
State
Country
Chips
Progress
KY 
458,000  
13,000 
 
Omaha 
NE 
401,000  
41,000 
 
MO 
247,000  
20,000 
 
MO 
77,000  
3,000 
 
IL 
71,000  
59,000 
 
IN 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
WI 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
IA 
0  
Busted 
 
Fenton 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
IL 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
IA 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
NJ 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
IL 
0  
Busted 
 
IL 
0  
Busted 
 
MO 
0  
Busted 
 
IL 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
Rank
Player Name
City
State
Country
Amount
Points
2
MO 
$67,121
1,400
3
MN 
$48,837
1,300
5
Peoria 
IL 
$27,048
1,100
6
Peoria 
IL 
$20,536
1,000
8
MO 
$12,522
800
12
MO 
$7,513
600
15
MO 
$6,011
500
16
MO 
$5,009
400
17
MO 
$5,009
400
20
Omaha 
NE 
$4,308
300
21
Elburn 
IL 
$4,308
300
22
MO 
$3,656
200
24
MO 
$3,656
200
26
Rolla 
MO 
$3,106
150
28
Owasso 
OK 
$2,705
100
32
Troy 
IL 
$2,705
100
33
Fenton 
MO 
$2,705
100
35
MO 
$2,705
100
36
MO 
$2,705
100
37
MO 
$2,454
75
38
MO 
$2,454
75
41
MO 
$2,454
75
42
Festus 
MO 
$2,454
75
44
Lititz 
PA 
$2,454
75
46
NC 
$2,254
50
47
Peoria 
AZ 
$2,254
50
50
IL 
$2,254
50
51
MO 
$2,254
50
52
MO 
$2,254
50
57
IL 
$2,254
50
58
MN 
$2,254
50
LEVEL INFO
Level
15
Blinds
3,000 / 6,000
Ante
6,000
TOURNAMENT INFO
Entries
43
Players Remaining
5
Average Chip Stack
258,000
Total Chips
1,290,000
TOP 10 CHIP COUNT
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
458,000
401,000
247,000
77,000
71,000
0
10 
0
SEASON TOP 10 POY POINTS
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
3,800
3,150
3,050
2,900
2,660
2,550
10 
2,400