Rivers Casino

Oli Sankiewicz Claws His Way to the Top to Lead 66 Survivors After Day 1B of the Inaugural MSPT $1,100 Illinois Poker State Championship

Another full day of action was played to its conclusion at the inaugural $1,100 Illinois Poker State Championship Main Event at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois, after a hard stop was reached at the end of Level 17.

The second of three flights drew a massive 600 entries, bringing the two-day total thus far to 973 and blasting past the $750K GTD with one flight remaining.

Of those 600 entries, only 66 players remained when chips went into bags, with Oli Sankiewicz finding himself atop of the pack with a massive 816,000.

Following closely behind Sankiewicz was MSPT Champ and bracelet winner Antonio Vargas, who ended the night with 764,000, while Jerry Gumila (746,000) was the only other player to clip the 700k mark.

Rounding out the top five stacks of the second flight were Dustin Bowling (589,000) and Rory Linton (575,000), while MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk wasn’t far behind, as he ended the night with a healthy 572,000.

Several other familiar players will also join the five mentioned above as two-time MSPT champ Lee Rzentkowski (382,000), Brett “Pops” Reichard (366,000), Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long (329,000), MSPT Hall of Famer & bracelet winner Josh Reichard (275,000), fellow Hall of Famer & bracelet winner Rob WazWaz (193,000), and MSPT Champ Anthony Scarborough (49,000) are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster, along with the 42 to have already advanced from Day 1a.

Much like Day 1a, the final level of the night saw an onslaught of casualties, with players such as Sam DeSilva, Theresa Flores, and MSPT Champ Jorden Helstern among those to be eliminated before play concluded for the night with chips flying all across the remaining tables in the final level of play that led to a lot of players riding roller coasters with their stack sizes before becoming official for the evening.

The final starting flight begins tomorrow at Noon local time and will be the last chance for players to punch their ticket to Sunday's Day 2.

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.

Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 12 (approximately 9:10 p.m.)

Make sure to tune in to see who makes it through to Day 2.

MSPT Season 17 Illinois Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

End Day 1B Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Oliwer Sankiewicz	816,000	860,000
Antonio Vargas	764,000	410,000
Jerry Gumila	746,000	746,000
Dustin Bowling	589,000	148,000
Rory Linton	575,000	395,000
Umut Ozturk	572,000	455,000
Matthew Hoey	564,000	564,000
Derek Chang	562,000	562,000
Joseph Ozimok	561,000	561,000
Keyei Wong	524,000	524,000
Michael Goldberg	496,000	496,000
Zhao Liu	482,000	482,000
Glen Nelson	470,000	470,000
Tyler Schmidt	429,000	429,000
Lee Rzentkowski	382,000	270,000
Brett Reichard	366,000	340,000
David Coffman	359,000	300,000
David Orlando	351,000	415,000
Christopher Cullen	344,000	344,000
Taylor Fortini	332,000	350,000
Brendan Shiller	330,000	120,000
Jacob Long	329,000	410,000
Shreyas Venkatasubramaniam	325,000	325,000
Anthony De Jesus	323,000	350,000
Jacob Zoll	310,000	310,000
Steve Alonzo	276,000	276,000
Josh Reichard	275,000	250,000
Imran Sajwani	268,000	310,000
Frank Cerminara SR	263,000	165,000
Joel Casper	253,000	253,000
Rinaldo Teodoro	249,000	249,000
Larry Wagner	243,000	170,000
Sung Pil Kim	243,000	245,000
Marianne Degozixizn-Dennis	231,000	231,000
Tony Tran	223,000	160,000
Niel Mittelman	221,000	221,000
Joseph Elpayaa	220,000	245,000
Anthony Veckey	218,000	218,000
Kevin Patterson	205,000	205,000
Paul Elfelt	201,000	400,000
Rob WazWaz	193,000	345,000
Songjie Zhou	166,000	166,000
Brandon Meister	153,000	153,000
Arthur Kramer	149,000	149,000
Doug Timmer	135,000	135,000
Steven Brill	117,000	117,000
Bob Markham	115,000	115,000
Howie Guo	111,000	111,000
Greg Koutelidakis	106,000	65,000
Scott Vetter	102,000	185,000
Daniel Hart	101,000	101,000
Nathan Rivera	94,000	120,000
Dennis Stevermer	83,000	100,000
Dimitre Dimitrov	80,000	80,000
Drew Coleman	76,000	76,000
Bekr Ali	72,000	72,000
Josh Balderson	70,000	70,000
John Kamis	63,000	63,000
Esayas Ketema	56,000	56,000
Srinivasan Parthasarathy	52,000	52,000
Anthony Scarborough	49,000	65,000
Joshua Twoney	46,000	46,000
Bill Brudenell	36,000	36,000
Minsoo Park	30,000	30,000
James Goldman	29,000	29,000

David Coffman Fills Up to Burst the Bubble

David Coffman raised the button and then called the small blind’s 36,000 three-bet jam.

Small Blind:
David Coffman:

Coffman was ahead holding an ace, and the sweaty runout gave him a full house to burst the bubble.

David Coffman - 359,000

Johnson Doubles with Three Snowmen, Then Falls Shortly After; Hand-for-Hand Begins

Photo: Daniel Johnson

Daniel Johnson tossed out his last 45,000 from under the gun and received isolation from the button.

Daniel Johnson:
Opponent:

Johnson was ahead holding a pair of eights, and saw another in the window on the flop, but it also gave his opponent a club draw.

The turn was a scare, but it kept Johnson in the lead, and the river secured his much-needed double-up.

Unfortunately for Johnson, he was seen taking his exit from the field a few hands later, leaving 67 players remaining in the field, starting the hand-for-hand process.

Daniel Johnson - 0

Day 1A Chip Counts

There were 42 players who advanced from a 373-entry field after Day 1a, and the 66 players who make it through today will join that group on Sunday, August 9^th, for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m.

Tran Cracks Koutelidakis' Pocket Tens for Survival

Photo: Tony Tran

Two-time WPT Champ Tony Tran raised all-in for 72,000 from middle position, and Greg Koutelidakis went over the top from the small blind, giving him isolation.

Tony Tran:
Greg Koutelidakis:

Koutelidakis was ahead holding a pair of tens, until the flop fell, pairing Tran’s jack.

The turn then improved Tran to top two-pair, but it also came with a sweat as it gave Koutelidakis an open-ended straight draw.

Fortunately for Tran, the river was a brick and secured his double-up.

Tony Tran - 160,000
Greg Koutelidakis - 65,000

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Oliwer Sankiewicz	860,000	400,000
David Orlando	415,000	320,000
Jacob Long	410,000	135,000
Taylor Fortini	350,000	165,000
Brett Reichard	340,000	270,000
Imran Sajwani	310,000	250,000
Josh Reichard	250,000	500,000
Tony Tran	160,000	30,000
Matthew Porter	140,000	110,000
Zach Gutierrez	139,000	123,000
Nathan Rivera	120,000	305,000
Brendan Shiller	120,000	225,000
Dennis Stevermer	100,000	137,000
Daniel Johnson	75,000	140,000
Greg Koutelidakis	65,000	135,000
Anthony Scarborough	65,000	120,000
Jennifer Lin	0	109,000
Anthony Kastelic	0	255,000

2026 MSPT Wisconsin Poker State Championship Series Set!

: Potawatomi Casino I Hotel - Milwaukee, WI

: September 22-29, 2026

: Wisconsin Poker State Championship

: $1,110 Main Event / $1,000,000 GTD
$3,500 MSPT CHAMPIONSHIP SEAT ADDED TO MAIN EVENT 1ST PLACE

: 11 Gold Card Tournaments

: Coming Soon

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.ashx?eventID=495

Vargas Collects with Two Ladies

Photo: Antonio Vargas

Bill Brudenell opened for 12,000 from middle poistion, and then called a 21,000 three-bet MSPT Champ & bracelet winner Antonio Vargas made from the big blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, Vargas led out with a 14,000 continuation bet, and Brudenell called to see the turn.

Vargas then check-called a 44,000 bet from Brudenell, and the river was checked to showdown.

was quickly tabled by Vargas, and it was good as Brudenell tossed into the muck.

Antonio Vargas - 410,000
Bill Brudenell - 89,000

Brudenell Flops Quads to Drop One

Photo: Bill Brudenell

There was all-in action preflop between Bill Brudenell and the big blind, with Brudenell putting his opponent at risk.

Opponent:
Bill Brudenell:

Brudenell rolled over the better made hand, and enjoyed the flop that gave him quads.

The board completed with a meaningless on the turn and river, securing Brudenell the knockout.

Bill Brudenell - 150,000