button in SafariBrandon Owens Bags as Day 1a Chip Leader
The first opening flight in the tournament’s history came to a close after hosting 71 entries to the inaugural Mississippi State Poker Championship $400 Main Event held at the Horseshoe Casino Tunica. When the dust settled, eight entries were permitted to advance to Day 2 as they are all now in the money and have secured a piece of the $50,000 guarantee prize pool.
Brandon Owens (386,500) finished at the top of the chip counts of Day 1a. Kenneth Stewart (382,500) and Jason Miller (365,000) finished in second and third in chips, respectively.
Final Chip Counts Day 1a
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Owens | United States | 386,500 | 64 |
| 2 | Kenneth Stewart | United States | 382,500 | 64 |
| 3 | Jason Miller | United States | 365,000 | 61 |
| 4 | Matt Vaughan | United States | 340,000 | 57 |
| 5 | Cliff Hart | United States | 222,500 | 37 |
| 6 | Carl Masters | United States | 202,000 | 34 |
| 7 | David Flowers | United States | 196,000 | 33 |
| 8 | Lap Ng | United States | 51,500 | 8.5 |
Owens made his first big splash of Day 1a when his pocket aces held during a three-handed all-in that saw him cross the six-figure mark for the first time. Owens never looked back the rest of Day 1a as he continued to build positive momentum when he spiked an ace on the river against then chip leader Matt Vaughan to continue climbing up the counts. This is Owens eighth cash at Horseshoe Tunica, per his The Hendon Mob page as he aims to make this the biggest if he can go on to have a deep run on Day 2.
Stewart hit a speed bump when Jason Rogers hit a two-outer against him to stall Stewart’s progress, but that would hardly define his Day 1a as he went on to eliminate Jesse Lott down the stretch to climb just over 300,000 in chips at the time. Stewart is still looking for his first five-figure score, and advancing to Day 2 gets him one step closer to achieving a career high.
“Mayhem” Miller received a boost out of the gate early on Day 1a when he doubled with pocket aces. He managed to stay out of danger the rest of the flight as he built up his stack to come out of the pack with the third-most chips of any player from the opening flight. This is Miller’s fourth cash at Horseshoe Tunica, according to The Hendon Mob.
Nicholas Rigby took his shot on Day 1a, but was unable to find his way to a bag and advance to Day 2. Jason Simon also made an appearance during the first flight, but was also stopped from securing a spot on the final day.
Day 1a was the first of four opening flights, with Day 1b currently underway. Day 1c will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, and Day 1d will conclude the starting flights later that day at 7 p.m. All times are local. Day 2 restart is slated to begin on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 12 p.m.
Main Event Schedule
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, Sept. 19 | 11:00 a.m. | $400 Main Event Flight 1c |
| Sat, Sept. 19 | 7:00 p.m. | $400 Main Event Flight 1d |
| Sun, Sept. 20 | 12:00 p.m. | $400 Main Event Day 2 |
Entrants begin with a starting stack of 30,000. Blind levels are set for 30 minutes on Day 1. They will increase to 35 minutes at the beginning of Day 2, and bump up to 40 minutes at the final table.
Players are entitled to unlimited reentries. Registration closes at the beginning of Level 9. Players may also forfeit their stack at the end of Level 8 and re-enter for $400. Should a player qualify more than once for Day 2, they will advance with their largest stack and forfeit their lowest stack(s) for a minimum Day 2 payout.
The top 12.5% of each starting flight, rounded down, advance to Day 2. Day 2 blinds will begin at the lowest level of play during Day 1 flights.
Stay tuned here atPokerNews for continued coverage of the first Mississippi State Poker Championship $400 Main Event held at the Horseshoe Casino Tunica.