Jerry May called 2,100 from a middle-position opponent on a 
board. The river was the 
, and the first player checked May bet 7,000, and his opponent immediately shoved for 15,000.
"I should have put you all in preflop," May said.
"Wouldn't have been any different if you did," his opponent declared.
May mucked, and his momentum has slowed for the time being.
Level: 2
Blinds: 75/150
Ante: 0
Jerry May, the victor in the hand that busted John Utley, is off to a blazing start. He just bet 2,100 from the big blind in a four-way pot on a 
flop and got two calls. On the 
turn, he shoved all in for more than 20,000, and the player under the gun called off for about that amount. The third player folded.
May: 
Under the gun: 
May was against a boat but he filled up himself on the 
river to take the pot.
We found John Utley getting his last 11,775 all in with 
on a 
flop. Unfortunately for Utley, his opponent in the small blind held 
, and Utley did not hit his three-outer.
Tim Vance is among the players sitting in here in the early going. He is a former European Poker Tour champ who hails from the St. Louis area.
Meanwhile Michael Hahn bagged the chip lead on Day 1a of this event last year. However, the early going has not been kind to him as he already busted one bullet.
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
The Mid-States Poker Tour's second trip to Tropicana Evansville has seen one flight in the books, so there's one more to go: Day 1b is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. local time here on the Ohio River.
Day 1a saw 110 runners take their chances and just 19 advance to Sunday's Day 2, led by Craig Spalding, who ran it up to 283,000. Other notable survivors included MSPT Team Pro Nick Pupillo, two-time circuit ring winner Josh Turner, and last year's runner-up here, Alex Yen.
Some of the players who failed to advance, and players we'll likely see fire again on Day 1b: Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler, Jonathan Dimatteo, Jason Zarlenga, Matt Alexander, Mark Hodge, Adam Friedman, Adam Lamphere, and Steve Anderson. Hodge has another golden opportunity to gain Player of the Year ground on Blake Bohn, who is skipping this event.
Once again, players will get 20,000 in starting stacks and start with blinds of 50/100. Levels go up every 40 minutes, and each player gets one reentry. The reentries will be cut off at the beginning of Level 10, with breaks between every three levels. At the conclusion of 14 levels, players will bag and the Day 2 field will be set.
Main Event
Day 1b Started
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