Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Running Aces $1,110 Main Event is officially in the books with 225 total entries tallied by night's end.
Almost a full 15 levels were played to their completion but a hard stop with 25 players saw the night end with 13:00 remaining in the final level.
Robert Michener (729,000) leads the pack by after finishing the night with an exclamation mark, earning knockouts on the penultimate hand of the evening to edge out 2014 MSPT Running Aces champ Mark Sandness (692,000) for the top spot.
The top five is rounded out by three other players who finished the day north of 300,000: Steve Houle (439,000), Chris Knapp (337,000), and Cassidy McCabe (337,000).
The action hit a new gear in the final two levels of the evening, which saw the remaining players in the field ultimately drop from 41 down to 25.
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night. Among those to fire and fall in Thursday’s flight were MSPT Hall of Famer's Rob Wazwaz, three-time MSPT champ Matt Kirby, Brad Sailor, and Jason Bender.
Day 1b will get underway at Noon on Friday, April 8th. Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 12 (approximately 9:10 p.m.). PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action, so be sure to join us then.
MSPT Showdown Series Remaining Schedule
| Date | Time (CDT) | Tournament | Late Reg | GTD Prize Pool | Starting Stack | Blind Levels |
|---|
| Friday, April 08 | 10:00 a.m. | $265 Satellite – 1 in 5 advance to MSPT Main | 1:00 p.m. | - | 15,000 | 20 |
| | Noon | Event #9: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1b | 9:10 p.m. | $300,000 | 25,000 | 40 |
| | 7:00 p.m. | $265 Satellite – 1 in 5 advance to MSPT Main | 10:00 p.m. | - | 15,000 | 20 |
| Saturday, April 09 | 9:00 a.m. | $265 Turbo Ironman Satellite – 1 in 5 advance to MSPT Main | Noon | - | 15,000 | 20 |
| | Noon | Event #9: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1c | 11:40 p.m. | $300,000 | 25,000 | 40 |
| | 7:00 p.m. | $135 Nightly NLH | 9:10 p.m. | $5,000 | 12,000 | 20 |
| Sunday, April 10 | 11:00 a.m. | $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 2 | - | | | |
| | Noon | Event #10: $250 Last Chance NLH | 3:00 p.m. | $10,000 | 15,000 | 20 |
| | 3:00 p.m. | $135 Last Dance NLH | 5:10 p.m. | $3,000 | 12,000 | 20 |
PokerNews will be on hand all week long bringing you all of the action, so be sure to come back for Friday's Day 1b at Noon local time.
Tags:
Brad SailorCassidy McCabeChris KnappJason BenderMark SandnessMatt KirbyRob WazwazRobert MichenerRobert Michener LeadsSteve Houle
board ran out.
runout secured him the pot.
flop that gave him the nut flush draw. 
turn didn't change a thing but the 
river paired Johnson and secured his double-up. 
and was called by Johnson holding 
