Kohner Bags Day 1b Chip Lead, Cannon, Mireles, Buckley Among 37 Survivors
Ron Kohner of Peoria, Arizona bagged up the biggest stack of Day 1b with 532,000 chips to lead the pack of 37 from Day 1b of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) South Dakota State Poker Championship.
Those 37 will join the 29 survivors from Day 1a for a final field of 66 that will be competing Sunday at the Silverado-Franklin Hotel and Gaming Complex for the huge $105,204 first prize and the iconic six-shooter trophy.
When the smoke cleared from a wild pair of opening flights, 506 entries had created a massive prize pool of $489,320, nearly quintupling the $100,000 guarantee.
South Dakota State Championship Main Event Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| RANK | PLAYER | COUNTRY | CHIP COUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron Kohner | United States | 532,000 |
| 2 | Wesley Cannon | United States | 377,000 |
| 3 | Michael Williams | United States | 313,000 |
| 4 | John Schroer | United States | 275,000 |
| 5 | Sergio Mireles | United States | 263,000 |
| 6 | Cash Hepper | United States | 257,000 |
| 7 | Jim Michaelis | United States | 252,000 |
| 8 | Terence Reid | United States | 246,000 |
| 9 | Zane Reis | United States | 238,000 |
| 10 | Shane Steinhour | United States | 224,000 |
Several MSPT stalwarts also advanced through the field of 260 entries, as Wesley Cannon (377,000) found the second biggest bag of the day, while 2019 Champion Sergio Mireles (263,000), DJ Buckley (207,000), and 2019 runner-up Michael Campbell (165,000) also advanced with healthy stacks.
MSPT South Dakota State Poker Championship Payouts
| Place | Prize | MSPT POY Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $105,204 | 1,600 |
| 2 | $64,639 | 1,400 |
| 3 | $46,583 | 1,300 |
| 4 | $35,231 | 1,200 |
| 5 | $26,423 | 1,100 |
| 6 | $20,062 | 1,000 |
| 7 | $15,658 | 900 |
| 8 | $12,233 | 800 |
| 9 | $9,297 | 700 |
| 10-12 | $7,340 | 600 |
| 13-15 | $5,872 | 500 |
| 16-18 | $4,893 | 400 |
| 19-21 | $4,453 | 300 |
| 22-24 | $3,768 | 200 |
| 25-27 | $3,278 | 150 |
| 28-36 | $2,642 | 100 |
| 37-45 | $2,398 | 75 |
| 46-54 | $2,202 | 50 |
The final 66 will return Sunday at 11 am to battle down to a winner, with the action starting midway through Level 15 with 19 minutes and 16 seconds remaining in the 3,000/5,000/5,000 level, as this was the point of Friday’s hard stop at the end of Day 1a.
Keep it locked onto PokerNews as we bring you all the action until a champion is crowned Sunday night here in historic Deadwood, South Dakota.
, Michael Williams checked to Kohner, who bet 20,000. Williams then check-raised to 65,000 and was snap-called by Kohner.
for a bluff with a missed flush draw and Kohner turned over 
for winning trip nines.
flop, but the 
turn and 
river ended his chance of making Day 2 late in the day again.
flop meant he would need running spades to survive.
on the turn ended those hopes, followed by an inconsequential 
on the river to end Howard's chances of repeating as champion.
turn and river.
with an already large pot in front of them.
, the big blind and Ghostbear checked, and the other early position player overbet the pot for 15,000. The big blind folded, and Ghostbear sprung his trap, raising all-in to approximately 60,000. The original bettor called and the limped pot had officially become massive.
