button in SafariJosh Matti Bags the Chip Lead on Day 1a of the South Dakota State Poker Championship
The town of Deadwood, made famous by “Wild Bill” Hickock in the days of the Wild West, conjures images of legendary gunslingers. Today on Day 1a of the $1,140 South Dakota State Poker Championship, Josh Matti proved quickest on the draw.
Matti ended up as the chip leader with 489,000 as 19 players made it through to Day 2. Alan Curl (452,000), Spike Smith (408,000), and Lorri Riley (404,000) complete the group who finished above 400,000.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Matti | United States | 489,000 |
| 2 | Alan Curl | United States | 452,000 |
| 3 | Spike Smith | United States | 408,000 |
| 4 | Lorri Riley | United States | 404,000 |
| 5 | Rick Leonard | United States | 353,000 |
| 6 | Dori Julius | United States | 348,000 |
| 7 | Richard Perkerewicz | United States | 312,000 |
| 8 | Dave Ouellette | United States | 305,000 |
| 9 | Jeffrey Bowen | United States | 212,000 |
| 10 | Zeph Irion | United States | 212,000 |
Curl had some luck on his side on his way to building a big stack today. He first doubled up with quad sevens, then put a horrific beat on Stephen Berger when he made running trips to crack Berger’s aces. Smith scored the first knockout of Day 1a when he won an aces-versus-king cooler and stayed near the top of the chip counts for nearly the entire way. Riley, meanwhile, was the first player to crack the 300,000-chip mark when she cracked Patrick Davey’s queens with a full house.
A total of 148 players gathered inside the Silverado Casino today for the first of three starting flights. Also among those to survive the day were Rick Leonard (353,000), Richard Perkerewicz (312,000), Dave Ouellette (305,000), and Nathan Shervheim (120,000), who won this event in 2024. Three-time Roughrider Poker Tour Player of the Year Arlie Brandvold was a late entry but was eliminated by Matti, while Joshua Reichard and Brent Slaubaugh were also sent to the rail over the course of the day and will have to try again on another flight.
The second of three starting flights begins tomorrow at 3 p.m. All surviving players from the three flights return on Sunday, April 19, at 11 a.m. local time to play down to a champion. Day 1a played all of the scheduled 15 levels, and Day 2 will pick up on the earliest finishing time from one of the flights.
PokerNews will return to the Silverado tomorrow to follow all the action from Day 1b and provide live updates.