Created (8/7/2026 12:15:26 AM by Anthony Thompson)
Day 1a of the inaugural $1,100 Illinois Poker State Championship Main Event at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois, is in the books with the first flight tallying a whopping 373 entries, and the large field that entered came to play as action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.
Over 15 full levels were needed to hit the hard stop of 42 players as 34:55 minutes remained in Level 16 (4,000/8,000/8,000) when pens hit the slips, with Jason Andrews seizing the moment, as he nearly clipped the milly mark by bagging an impressive 968,000 for the top stack of the first flight.
MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff
Following behind Andrews was MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff, who ended the night with 618,000, as he and Jamin Stokes (604,000) were the only other players to clip the 600k mark.
Rounding out the top five stacks of the first flight were Kristopher Magruder (593,000) and Daniel McNally (561,000), while MSPT Champ & WSOP bracelet winner Mo Nuwwarah secured the final elimination of the night to join the 500k club, ending the night with 525,000.
MSPT Champ Mo Nuwwarah
Other players to survive the first flight included Stephen Ma (428,000), Ben Krauss (416,000), Evan Bethyo (412,000), Nino Papava (370,000), Hanna Joo (347,000), and the MSPT’s top casher DJ Buckley (95,000), just to name a few.
Anna Marcie
Others who took their shot but fell on 1a include Matt Miller, Anna Marcie, Joseph Elpayaa, three-time Anthony Babic, Shiva Dudani, and Thai Dinh.
Thai Dinh
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 Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday.
This is a best-stack forward event: If a player qualifies for Day 2 more than once, they may only play the higher chip stack; any lower stack(s) will be removed from play at the start of Day 2 and receive the lowest Day 2 payout.
Player of the Year points will only be awarded for the higher stack. Players will only receive credit for a single MSPT Main Event cash finish.
The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.
MSPT Season 17 Illinois Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Gold Card Event |
| 7-Aug |
10:00 AM |
$265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to $1,110 |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
|
| 7-Aug |
12:00 PM |
$1,110 Illinois Poker State Championship NLH Day 1B (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5B |
| 7-Aug |
5:00 PM |
$265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to $1,110 |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
|
| 7-Aug |
8:00 PM |
$250 Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
7 |
| 8-Aug |
9:00 AM |
$265 Turbo Ironman Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to $1,110 |
30,000 |
15 Minutes |
|
| 8-Aug |
12:00 PM |
$1,110 Illinois Poker State Championship NLH Day 1C (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5C |
| 8-Aug |
7:00 PM |
$250 Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
8 |
| 9-Aug |
9:00 AM |
$400 Seniors (50+) Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
9 |
| 9-Aug |
11:00 AM |
$1,110 Illinois Poker State Championship NLH Day 2 (2-Day Event) |
- |
40 Minutes |
5 |
| 9-Aug |
12:00 PM |
$400 Black Chip Bounty Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
10 |
| 9-Aug |
3:00 PM |
$250 Last Chance NLH |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
11 |
Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor of Rivers Casino Event Center!