Time to Crown a Champion at the South Dakota State Poker Championship
The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) South Dakota State Poker Championship reaches its thrilling conclusion Sunday, as a champion will be crowned from the final 66 players returning to the Silverado-Franklin Hotel and Gaming Complex in Deadwood South Dakota.
That player will earn $105,204 and the iconic six-shooter trophy, while 54 of them will earn at least $2,202 for their efforts this weekend.
Day 1a chip leader Gerald Cunniff of St. Paul, Minnesota starts Day 2 as the player to catch, with 649,000 chips, while Day 1b chip leader Ron Kohner of Peoria, Arizona sits second with 532,000.
Many other notables are solidly in the hunt as well, with mid-western poker circuit crusher Joshua Reichard sitting third with 425,000 chips and newly minted MSPT Hall of Famer Matt Kirby just behind him with 424,000.
Top Ten Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerald Cunniff | 649,000 | 129 |
| 2 | Ron Kohner | 532,000 | 106 |
| 3 | Josh Reichard | 425,000 | 85 |
| 4 | Matt Kirby | 424,000 | 84 |
| 5 | Kevin Ellis | 417,000 | 83 |
| 6 | Wesley Cannon | 377,000 | 75 |
| 7 | Peter Asmuth | 354,000 | 70 |
| 8 | Patrick Rachow | 321,000 | 64 |
| 9 | Leroy Stuen | 319,000 | 63 |
| 10 | Michael Williams | 313,000 | 62 |
Mo Nuwwarah (301,000), Jeff Heiberg (269,000), Sergio Mireles (263,000), DJ Buckley (207,000), Eric Eelkema (169,000), and Michael Campbell (165,000) are among the other big names outside of the top ten that will all be looking to make a charge toward the title.
Three women remain in the field as well, but Claire Putnam (108,000), Patricia Baumann (64,000), and Angel Hamm (50,000) enter the day with some of the shorter stacks in the field and will need to spin them up to challenge for the championship.
Play resumes at 11 am mountain time with 19 minutes and 16 seconds remaining in level 15, the point of the Day 1a hard stop. Blinds will be 3,000 / 5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. Levels will remain 40 minutes in length until heads-up play is reached, at which point they will condense to 30 minutes.
Stay tuned to PokerNews throughout the day as we bring you all the action from the opening deal to the final showdown as a champion is crowned here in historic Deadwood, South Dakota.
, pairing Mireles' queen and sending Hilleren to the rail.
brought no help to Baumann, who bursts the bubble and guarantees the remaining 54 players at least $2,202.
board had his opponent's 
destroyed.
runout and he was sent to the rail.
flop gave Grone the lead, and it held up through the 
river, sending Yoder to the rail.
gave Word hope on the turn, but the 
to end Gingerich's day and send Reichard's stack over 1,000,000.
