Vannara Sam from the cutoff began the action with an open to 1,000. Douglas Pritts called on the button. Ramon Higginbottom chose to three-bet to 2,400 from the big blind in response. Sam folded, but Pritts came along with a call.
The K♥10♣4♣ flop resulted in a continuation bet of 1,700 from Higginbottom. Pritts called.
Higginbottom fired a second barrel to the tune of 3,200 on the 2♣ turn. Pritts was undeterred and made the call.
Higginbottom emptied the clip on the 9♠ river with a bet of 7,500. Pritts followed with a call, and they went to a showdown.
Higginbottom showed K♠Q♣ for a pair of kings, but he found out the bad news when Pritts rolled over 9♣9♦ for a rivered set of nines to claim the pot.
Two starting flights have been completed in the inaugural Mississippi State Poker Championship $400 Main Event. The page now turns to Saturday as two additional starting flights are scheduled to decide once and for all who will advance to Day 2 and continue the pursuit of the first-ever champion of the Mississippi State Poker Championship at the Horseshoe Casino Tunica, a tournament that features a $50,000 guarantee.
Cards, chips and branding
Day 1b reached its conclusion last night. The second opening flight attracted 73 entries, which permitted nine players the opportunity to punch their ticket to Day 2. Kerry Dawson (431,000) finished the flight as Day 1b chip leader. Jesse Lott (362,000) followed in second, while Benjamin Ridge (338,000) wrapped up the top three finishers from Day 1b.
End of Day Chip Counts Day 1b
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Kerry Dawson
United States
431,000
72
2
Jesse Lott
United States
362,000
60
3
Benjamin Ridge
United States
338,000
56
4
James Hand
United States
293,000
49
5
Craig Kromraj
United States
264,000
44
6
David Frazier
United States
173,000
29
7
Jason Simon
United States
136,000
23
8
Anthony Graham
United States
92,000
15
9
Jaxiyz Watkins
United States
87,000
15
Dawson has nearly $60,000 in live career earnings, with all of his career earnings taking place at Tunica, according to his The Henon Mob page. The Arkansas native will certainly look to use that experience after bagging the top stack of anyone through the first two flights.
Lott failed to bag during Day 1a, but his second attempt during Day 1b went much better as he will now advance to Day 2 and have a chance to become the first-ever Mississippi State Poker $400 Main Event Champion. Lott has racked up over $285,000 in live career earnings per his The Hendon Mob profile and will look to cross the $300,000 mark with a deep run at Horseshoe Tunica this weekend.
Ridge’s The Hendon Mob profile shows that this is his third cash at Horseshoe Tunica and his first cash since 2024. Ridge can make this his biggest yet as he enters the room to duke it out on the final day of play.
Jason Simon (136,000) failed to make the cut during the opening flight of the day, but his second attempt proved to be more successful as he now has a seat on Day 2 following his performance during Day 1b.
Day 1c is slated to begin today at 11 a.m. The final opening flight is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Day 2 restart will take place 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
*All times are local
Competitors will begin with a starting stack of 30,000. Players are entitled to unlimited reentries. Registration for each starting flight closes at the beginning of Level 9. Players may also forfeit their stack at the end of Level 8 and buy back in for a fresh stack for $400.
Blind levels are scheduled for 30 minutes on Day 1. They will increase to 35 minutes at the beginning of Day 2 before bumping up to 40 minutes at the final table.
A total of 12.5% of each flight, rounded down, will be permitted to advance to Day 2.
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Stay tuned here at PokerNews for full coverage of Day 1c as play continues in the first-ever Mississippi State Poker Championship $400 Main Event held at the Horseshoe Casino Tunica.
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