A non-stop day of action here at the JACK Cleveland Casino saw some brutal eliminations, classic battles, and Ohio’s finest constantly put to the test.

The first starting flight attracted 211 entries, putting it on par with the record-breaking Day 1a field from February of last year.

With chips flying and players dropping throughout the day, play tightened up in the later levels, as only 11% of the field secured a Day 2 berth with 4:10 remaining in Level 15 (3,000/6,000/6,000).

Once players put their chips into the bags, it was Max Rastatter claiming the Day 1a chip lead with 683,000, leading the 24 advancing players.

Rastatter was able to position himself in front of Anthony Carbone (604,000), Brett ‘Pops’ Reichard (464,000), Franklin Lo (451,000), and Brad Rogoff (443,000), who rounded out the top five stacks after the first flight.

Others able to find a Day 2 berth included Penny Banhidy (363,000), Frank Lagodich (255,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard (217,000), 2023 JACK Cleveland champ Jon Lewis (201,000), and DJ Swartz(136,000).

Among those to try and fall on 1a included Chad Stone, MSPT champ Veerab Zakarian, Nicholas Rigby, MSPT champ Anthony Hancovsky, and Thomas Carlin, to name a few.

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

Day 1b will kick off at 12:15 p.m. local time on Friday, August 29^th, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday, August 31^st.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

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

MSPT Season 16 JACK Cleveland Remaining Schedule