Welcome to Day 1b of Mid-States Poker Tour Running Aces

The Mid-States Poker Tour is off to a solid start with 150 players having played in the Day 1a flight. An even larger turnout is expected for today's flight 1b, scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. central time in Columbus, MN.

A total of 30 players made it through last night, led by Nancy Anderson who bagged 234,000 in chips. Not far behind Anderson was Michael Zietz from North Dakota with 205,500. And rounding out the top three was Mid-States Poker Tour Pro Matt Kirby who will start Day 2 with 187,000 in chips.

Other survivors of Day 1a included Erick Wright (173,000), John Alexander (92,000), Steve Belland (87,000), Tony Hartmann (80,000), MSPT Pro Matt Alexander (76,500), Kou Vang (58,000), and Mike Schneider (49,000).

Players will once again use the Kessler-approved structure, featuring blinds starting at 50/100 and a 20,000 starting stack. Levels will increase ever 40 minutes, with ten minute breaks after every three levels. All players are allowed to reenter once, and the reentry period will end after Level 9.

Please stayed tuned here at PokerNews for live updates beginning with the start of the tournament at 4 p.m.