2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Potawatomi Casino

Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Potawatomi Casino

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
85
Prize
$147,529
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$635,000
Entries
635
Level Info
Level
32
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
20,000

Main Event

Day 1a Completed

Day 1a of the 2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Potawatomi Casino Wraps Up

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Brett Reichard
Brett Reichard

The 2015 Mid-States Poker Tour returned to Milwaukee's Potawatomi Casino in a big way Friday.

After setting a Wisconsin state record for field size by attracting 487 entries at this very same venue this past September, the first of two starting flights drew a whopping 309 entries today.

With another starting flight set for 4 p.m. local time Saturday, the MSPT has already obliterated the event's $200,000 guarantee, and if the numbers for the second starting day are anywhere near what the event drew today, both state and tour records should fall hard.

After 14 levels of play on the day, just 69 players survived. They will be joined by anyone who can make it through Day 1b to play down to a winner Sunday beginning at 10:30 a.m. local time.

2014 MSPT Gary, Indiana, runner-up Leon Morford, who also has a Heartland Poker Tour title under his belt, jumped out to the early chip lead thanks to one set-over-set hand and another where he made a full house against an opponent's flush. He found a comfortable gear as the day moved on, finally bagging 247,000.

However, Brett Reichard, who has twice made the MSPT final table in Tama, Iowa, managed to bag the biggest stack when all was said and done.

Reichard made a set of fours that held against a pair and a flush draw early to push past 100,000 in chips. He picked off a bluff later to push up near 200,000, and while he dipped a bit as the day wore on, Reichard made a late push to bag 290,500 and the chip lead.

While recognizable names like Allen Kessler, World Poker Tour title holder Ravi Raghavan, Wisconson's own Mark Kroon, and PokerNews Senior Editor and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Chad Holloway all found a way out the door, MSPT sponsored pro Matt Kirby and MSPT regulars Michael Ross and Steve Anderson were among those to build contending stacks before Day 1a was done.

The PokerNews Live Reporting team return to Saturday at 4 p.m. local time to capture all the Day 1b action.

Tags: Allen KesslerBrett ReichardChad HollowayLeon MorfordMark KroonRavi Raghavan

Day 1a Chip Counts (full)

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante
Player Chips Progress
Brett Reichard us
Brett Reichard
290,500
Leon Morford us
Leon Morford
247,000
Jonathan Hanner us
Jonathan Hanner
191,500
Alan Wehbi
Alan Wehbi
170,000
Mike Ross us
Mike Ross
162,000
Michael Slutzky
Michael Slutzky
161,500
Kathalyn Holz-Zammuto
Kathalyn Holz-Zammuto
160,500
Matt Kirby us
Matt Kirby
153,000 8,000
Sarah Stefan us
Sarah Stefan
149,000
Tyler Van Elzen
Tyler Van Elzen
143,000
Steve Anderson us
Steve Anderson
132,000
Randy Propson
Randy Propson
126,000
James Kasputis us
James Kasputis
121,500
Cory Henrickson
Cory Henrickson
112,500
Zal Irani us
Zal Irani
110,000
Alex Watts
Alex Watts
108,500 -11,500
Ryne Johnson us
Ryne Johnson
107,000
Daniel Moorman
Daniel Moorman
105,500
Jeffrey Olson
Jeffrey Olson
103,500
Eugene Pingel
Eugene Pingel
102,000
Luke Merker
Luke Merker
99,500
He Huang
He Huang
99,500
Ali Ahmad
Ali Ahmad
98,000
John Nelson us
John Nelson
95,000
Nghia Tran
Nghia Tran
94,000

Read full

PokerNews Podcast Episode #276: Epic Slowroll, Jail Time for Lusardi, WPT500, and More

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

Rich and Donnie break down the epic slowroll at the Irish Poker Open, look ahead to the WPT500 at ARIA, discuss Christian Lusardi's sentencing, and the Global Poker Masters announcement.

You can subscribe to the entire iBus Media Network on iTunes here, or you can access the RSS feed here. The PokerNews family of podcasts is now available on Stitcher.

Tags: PokerNews Podcast

Last Four Hands!

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

With 10 minutes left in the 14th level the clock was stopped.

Tournament staff drew to determine the number of hands left to play and came up with four.

Big Stacks

Level 14 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

The following players appear to have the biggest stacks in the room now well into the final level of play on the day:

Player Chips Progress
Leon Morford us
Leon Morford
245,000 -5,000
Brett Reichard us
Brett Reichard
240,000 150,000
Kathy Holz-Zamuto
Kathy Holz-Zamuto
205,000 64,000
Mike Slutzky
Mike Slutzky
175,000
Matt Kirby us
Matt Kirby
145,000 -15,000
Michael Ross us
Michael Ross
125,000 29,000
Alex Watts
Alex Watts
120,000 49,000
Steve Anderson us
Steve Anderson
120,000 -9,000
Greg Koutelidakis us
Greg Koutelidakis
116,000 -20,000
Mike Deis us
Mike Deis
99,000 -25,000
Mike Scorsone
Mike Scorsone
90,000 -30,000
Chris Karambinis us
Chris Karambinis
25,000 -121,000

Level: 14

Blinds: 1,200/2,400

Ante: 400

Mr. Anderson

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

Steve Anderson made it 5,700 only to see one opponent three-bet to 13,000.

Anderson called and the flop came {a-Spades}{j-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}. Anderson promptly checked, but when his opponent led out for 18,000, he check-raised all in.

With little fanfare his opponent folded and Anderson is suddenly climbing the leaderboard.

Player Chips Progress
Steve Anderson us
Steve Anderson
129,000 19,600

Wagner Wilting

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

Since busting Mark Koon in the early part of the day to jump up near the chip lead, Bill Wagner has been on a slow descent to obscurity.

Moments ago he called a 4,500-chip open from one player only to see a third bump it to 12,000. Only Wagner called and they went heads-up to a {10-Spades}{4-Spades}{3-Hearts} flop.

Wagner checked, his opponent bet 21,000 and Wagner was forced to fold.

Player Chips Progress
Bill Wagner
Bill Wagner
51,000 -19,000

Level: 13

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 300