After 14 levels of play, the first day of The $1,110 United States Poker Championship presented by MSPT at Sycuan Casino and Resort has come to an end. A total of 76 players came out to this flight, leaving just 9 remaining at day's end.
Leading the way is Jose Araya, who ended their day with 650,000. Araya is no stranger to the MSPT here in Sycuan. He scored a career best fifth place here in 2021 and with his bag here today, he looks to add to his $74,579 in lifetime earnings.
End of Day Chip Counts
| Place |
Name |
Chip Count |
| 1 |
Jose Araya |
650,000 |
| 2 |
Brandon Zuidema |
306,000 |
| 3 |
Eider Cruz |
262,000 |
| 4 |
Kevin Meyers |
255,000 |
| 5 |
Phil Ambrosetti |
254,000 |
| 6 |
David Vannoy |
249,000 |
| 7 |
Kevin Morey |
200,000 |
| 8 |
Matt Polera |
186,000 |
| 9 |
Kirk Morrison |
139,000 |
|
Mixing old and new faces on the MSPT circuit, Brandon Zuidema (304,000) ended the day second in chips after knocking out Jeremy Clemons in the last hand of the night holding aces, while local legend Kevin Meyers (255,000) also spent most of the day as the big stack. WSOP bracelet winner Kirk Morrison (139,000) also found a bag in the hunt for his first MSPT cash and title.
Not all were able to find success today. Former champion Ken Baime found himself out during the day. Along with him were Eddie Pilotin, Rich Lanes, Camille Brown, and Rip Fritzer. They will have the next two days of play to find a bag for day 2 to get a piece of the $300,000 guarantee.
Play ended with 13:25 left in play in Level 14, with blinds at 3,000/5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante. Players will return on Sunday at 11 am at this level unless another flight ends earlier than this. Stay tuned to MSPTPoker.com for all updates regarding the Main Event in Sycuan.