Ameristar East Chicago

Shimon Braun Leads 12 Advancing Players After Day 1A of the MSPT Season 17 Indiana Poker State Championship

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 Indiana Poker State Championship at the Ameristar Casino in East Chicago is officially in the books, with106 total entries tallied during the first flight.

With action needing to play down to 11% of the field, 16 levels were required, as there was 26:29 remaining on the clock once the hard stop was reached, with Shimon Braun and his stack of 685,000 leading the charge of the 11 advancing players by a wide margin.

Sitting second in chips was David Speicher, who caught some late-night steam to put 351,000 in his bag to end the night, while two-time bracelet winner Scott Bohlman finished behind him with 336,000.

Fellow bracelet winner Jean “Prince” Gaspard was able to find himself a top-five sack as well, bagging 300,000, while Maher Syed (280,000) rounded out the top stacks of the first flight.

Others who found a Day 2 berth after the first starting flight included Brandon Meister (233,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Ben Stuart (196,000), Thai Dinh (185,000), and Michael VanderWoude (145,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Hal Kilgore, Jesse Cohen, Daniel Johnson, Nino Papava, and Marty Masarr, among others.

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action.

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.

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.

MSPT Season 16 Ameristar East Chicago Remaining Schedule

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor of Ameristar Casino!

End Day 1A Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Shimon Braun	685,000	590,000
David Speicher	351,000	300,000
Scott Bohlman	336,000	215,000
Jean (Prince) Gaspard	300,000	210,000
Maher Syed	280,000	327,000
Brandan Miester	233,000	233,000
Aaron Johnson	196,000	282,000
Thai Dinh	185,000	324,000
Ryan Cooper	166,000	166,000
Michael Maher	163,000	163,000
Michael VanderWoude	145,000	70,000
Richard Crooks	142,000	129,000

Jamie Payne Bubbles Day 1A

Photo: Jamie Payne

Jamie Payne moved out his small stack from the cutoff, and Brandon Meister called from the big blind.

Jamie Payne:
Brandon Miester:

Payne was behind holding two live cards, but he couldn’t find either on the runout, ending his night on the bubble.

Brandon Meister - 233,000
Jamie Payne - 0

Saltanovitz Loses Battle of the Blinds to Gaspard; Hand-for-Hand Begins

Photo: Joseph Saltanovitz

Action on the table folded to Joseph Saltanovitz, who raised all-in from the small blind, and WSOP bracelet winner Jean “Prince” Gaspard flipped over one card at a time before making the call.

Joseph Saltanovitz:
Jean “Prince” Gaspard:

Saltanovitz was behind needing help, and the flop gave him some more outs with a wheel draw.

The turn then left Saltanovitz needing any ace for five to fall on the river to stay alive, but the paired the board and ended his night, starting the hand-for-hand process.

Jean “Prince” Gaspard - 320,000
Joseph Saltanovitz - 0

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Shimon Braun	590,000	400,000
Maher Syed	327,000	278,000
Thai Dinh	324,000	395,000
Aaron Johnson	282,000	101,000
Scott Bohlman	215,000	300,000
Jean (Prince) Gaspard	210,000	140,000
Joseph Saltanovitz	150,000	105,000
Richard Crooks	129,000	78,000
Michael VanderWoude	70,000	102,000
Jamie Payne	67,000	100,000
Milan Patel	0	50,000

Johnson Flips Well Against Payne

Photo: Aaron Johnson

Jamie Payne opened for 15,000 from the hijack and then called MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson’s 135,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Aaron Johnson:
Jamie Payne:

It was a classic race, with the flop keeping Johnson in the lead.

The turn kept things sweaty as it gave Payne more outs with the nut flush draw, but the completed the board on the river and secured Johnson the double.

Aaron Johnson - 282,000
Jamie Payne - 55,000

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

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

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

McNally Loses Battle of the Blinds Against Bohlman

Photo: Daniel McNally

There was all-in action preflop between two-time bracelet winner Scott Bohlman from the small blind and Daniel McNally from the big blind, with McNally at risk.

Daniel McNally:
Scott Bohlman:

McNally was behind holding two live connecting cards, but he didn’t find any help on the runout, ending his night.

Scott Bohlman - 300,000
Daniel McNally - 0

Fuster Set Up by Syed's Cowboys

Photo: Maher Syed

A series of preflop raises led to all-in action between Brian Fuster from early position and Maher Syed from the cutoff, with Fuster holding the effective stack.

Brian Fuster:
Maher Syed:

Fuster rolled over the inferior made hand, and things got worse after the flop fell, as it gave Syed a top set of kings.

The turn then left Fuster drawing dead to the river.

Maher Syed - 278,000
Maher Syed - 0