Idrovo Leads Heading to Day 2

Ritchie Idrovo's late surge up the chip counts resulted in him bagging a Day 1b-best 205,900 here at Mid-States Poker Tour Majestic Star Casino. A total of 52 players survived the nine-level heat, and rounding out the top five stacks were Jason Martens (197,600), Nick Pupillo (192,600), Jason Smith (152,300), and Carter Gent (122,800).

Other notables bagging stacks included Fadi Hamad (122,500), Matt Alexander (66,000), Ken Payne (61,800), "Wild" Bill Romer (53,900), and Terry Ring (22,700).

Notably, Alexander may have broken out of his recent jinx when he managed to come from behind for a late double up to secure a Day 2 appearance.

Mark Kroon, Tom Midena, Doug Redmann, Tom Tracy, and Mike Reynolds were among the notable players falling out of contention today.

We caught Idrovo's two-hand ascent on the last level of the night. In the first pot, he opened for a raise to 5,200 under the gun, and a player in middle position called. The small blind shipped it for 13,800, and Idrovo reraised to 23,200. The caller inquired about the legality of the raise before folding after the dealer assured him it was an allowable wager.

Idrovo:
Small blind:

Idrovo had a commanding lead, but a flop gave his opponent a straight draw, while a turn meant an eight would chop the pot. The board paired with the though, and Idrovo eliminated his short-stacked opponent.

Shortly thereafter, he wielded another monster in an all-in pot, busting an opponent when his aces held against jacks.

The 86 players from both Day 1 fields will return tomorrow at 10 a.m., when they will play down to a winner. Prize pool information will be available at that time, so be sure to tune in to PokerNews for the conclusion of the tournament and the crowning of an MSPT champion.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ritchie Idrovo	205,900 -10,100	-10,100
Jason Martens	197,600 17,600	17,600
Nick Pupillo	192,600 192,600	192,600

Jason Smith	152,300 19,300	19,300
Carter Gent	122,800 122,800	122,800
Fadi Hamad	122,500 17,500	17,500
Robert Buckman	113,900 113,900	113,900
Joshua Givant	105,700 105,700	105,700
M. Reid	98,000 98,000	98,000
George Dietz	95,000 95,000	95,000
Shane Martin	87,700 87,700	87,700
Tomasz Luberda	86,400 86,400	86,400
Allen Lanier	84,400 84,400	84,400
Paul Lyskawa	83,300
Tim Huss	82,300 28,800	28,800
Brad Davis	81,200 -5,800	-5,800
Steve Long	80,400 -17,600	-17,600
Kenny Nguyen	77,000 77,000	77,000
Bernadeta Wisniewska	75,300 75,300	75,300
Mike Deis	69,400 69,400	69,400
Brent Burrows	68,800 35,800	35,800
Richard Rosas	67,600 67,600	67,600
Richard Bai	66,800 66,800	66,800
Matthew Alexander	66,000 21,000	21,000
Judi Gumila	65,400 65,400	65,400
Philip Termini	65,000 65,000	65,000
Dale Hackney	64,300 64,300	64,300
Brian Smith	62,800 62,800	62,800
Ken Payne	61,800 61,800	61,800
Mike Shin	60,900 34,900	34,900
Howard Hankin	60,200 60,200	60,200
Ken Baime	57,200 57,200	57,200
Bill Romer	53,900 3,900	3,900
Frank Maggio	53,200 53,200	53,200

Jocelyn Gumila	50,700 50,700	50,700
William Luciano	48,900 -6,100	-6,100
Mike Cloud	44,300 44,300	44,300
Gheorghe Farima	35,100
Jeremiah Rizek	34,700 -3,600	-3,600
Phung Ngo	33,800 33,800	33,800
Angelo Peralta	30,800 30,800	30,800
Kevin Boskey	29,600 29,600	29,600
George Janssen	28,800 28,800	28,800
Mike Millikin	28,100 28,100	28,100
Daniel Harrington	24,900 24,900	24,900
Terry Ring	22,700 2,700	2,700
Niel Mittelman	21,900 21,900	21,900
Ryan Lindquist	20,600 -6,700	-6,700
imran sajwani	20,300
Krista Gifford	19,500 19,500	19,500
Mac Antigua	16,600 16,600	16,600