Day 1c was the final starting flight of the MSPT 2026 Indiana Poker State Championship at the Ameristar Casino in East Chicago and attracted a final 280 runners, which, along with the 264 totals from the previous two flights, brought the total field up to 544 entries, shattering the $300k guarantee.

The impressive field generated a $526,180 prize pool, paying out a minimum of $2,015, while the eventual winner will walk away with a $111,344 first-place prize, along with the MSPT 2026 Indiana Poker State Championship!

At the end of the third and final flight, just 31 players bagged and tagged with David Orlando securing the final elimination of the night to bag over a milly (1,153,000) and take the overall chip lead into Day 2.

Rounding out the big stacks were Sebastian Stefanski (874,000), Alin Cotolan (618,000), Tansel Turgut (487,000), and Dustin Bowling (471,000).

Others who survived the third and final flight included Jeff Halcomb (315,000), Casey Bogus (298,000), MSPT Champ Matt Porter (238,000), Mike Puccio (212,000), Clint Lilienthal (188,000), and MSPT Hall of Famer & bracelet winner Rob WazWaz (125,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1c were MSPT Champ Curtis Vierstraete, Jason Crews, Jennifer Mandel, MSPT Champ Tim Burden, Jill Bryant, and Ricky Landais, just to name a few.

The surviving players from all three flights – of which there are 61 (12 from Day 1a, 18 from 1b, and 31 from 1c) – will return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, August 30^th, to play down to a winner.

The MSPT live reporting crew will be on the floor throughout the remainder of the tournament to provide updates, so keep it here to catch the action!

MSPT Season 17 Indiana Poker State Championship Schedule