Day 1A of the Mid-States Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville Main Event drew 164 entrants, which puts the field well on pace to surpass the $200,000 advertised guarantee. After 14 levels of play, the field was whittled down to the final 29 players with Stephen Strout of St. Augustine, Florida and his stack of 304,000 leading the way.

For finishing as the Day 1A chip leader, Strout will take home a $2,000 bonus. All three of Strout’s previous three cashes have come in bestbet Jacksonville’s recurring tournaments with his biggest cash of $10,314 coming back in July 2016 after he took third in a $200 no-limit hold’em event.

Others who bagged and tagged were PeteTheodocian (267,500), Tim Alters (258,500), 2016 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker champ Andy Rubinberg (146,000), Brian Washington (145,000), Hal Lewis (128,500), Ryan Dunn (112,000), MSPT Season 8 bestbet Regional runner-up Jonathan Cronin (101,500), and Jeff Klein (95,000), who finished runner-up to Brian Arbaugh in this very event back in 2015.

Of course, not everyone was so fortunate. Among those to fall over the course of the day were MSPT bestbet Regional champ Mick Robilotto, host of the bestbet Poker Show Allie Hollander, MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge, and MSPT regulars Jason Bender, Alex Smith, and Jim Boone.

Hollander’s bust was particularly painful as it came in the first hand after the dinner break. She had raised to 2,100 from early position, and Ben Scrogins called. A queen-high flop saw them get it all in, and Hollander’s ace-queen fell to Scrogins’ king-queen after he hit running straight cards. Scrogin busted a few levels later.

Fortunately, all those who busted have the chance to try again on Day 1B, which will kick off at Noon local time on Saturday. It’s the final starting flight, so if you want a shot at one of bestbet Jacksonville’s most prestigious title, you’d better get here by the time registration closes tomorrow (approximately 7:30 p.m.).