Day 1A of the 2017 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship at Meskwaki Casino attracted 226 entrants. That’s a venue record for largest first starting flight in 17 visits to the property and puts us on pace to surpass the 466 entries – the largest MSPT Meskwaki ever – from the #MSPT100 earlier this year.
After 14 levels of play, just 43 players remained with Allan “Big Al” Hedin and his stack of 277,500 leading the way. Hedin, who placed 172nd in the 2016 MSPT Venetian for $3,112, is seeking his second MSPT cash. He has $225,694 in lifetime poker earnings.
Others that bagged big stacks were Joseph Finocchiaro (198,500), Reg Powell (194,500), Jay Philips (184,500 – pictured above), Carter Myers (174,500), and Kathy Hartwick (168,500).
Others who survived the night were Rob Wazwaz (162,000), MSPT Season 7 Meskwaki champ Ken Komberec (149,500), Joe Barnard (106,500), MSPT Season 4 Ho-Chunk champ Josh Reichard (102,500), MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year Rich Alsup (74,500), Dustin Dirksen (67,000), and MSPT Season 6 Canterbury Park champ Dan “DQ” Hendrickson (50,000).
Of course not everyone was so fortunate. Among those to hit the rail on Friday were former MSPT champs Daniel Bekavac, Andy Rubinberg Keith Heine, Kou Vang, Blake Bohn, Luke Arora, and Jason Ramos, who won the aforementioned #MSPT100. All of those players and any newcomers will have a chance to try again on Saturday if they so choose.
Day 1B will get underway at 4 p.m. CDT on Saturday with the plan of playing 14 levels. As always, the MSPT crew will be on location to bring you all the latest and greatest straight from the tournament floor.