$1,110 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day 1a Completed
MSPT Black Hawk
$1,110 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day: 1a
Kinzer Leads As Fifteen Bag on Day 1a of MSPT Black Hawk
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The first day of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Black Hawk $1,110 Main Event drew 133 entries to kick things off, surpassing 75% of the tournament's $200,000 guaranteed prize pool with two remaining flights to go. Plenty of big names made their way up to Bally's Black Hawk, creating what was likely the most star-studded field the room has seen since prior to the pandemic, with chips flying and players dropping until just 15 remained to reach a hard stop 21 minutes prior to the planned end of the day.
When that mark was reached, Michael Kinzer (488,000) had ascended to the top of the leader board, ultimately finishing with a stack nearly 50% bigger than the next-closest competitor. Kinzer's day dealt him largely no setbacks, knocking out a player early with ace-king and then doing it again to Scott Stewart against the latter's jacks. He then knocked out Derek McMaster in the penultimate level of the evening to contend for the chip lead, with others falling out of contention as he continued to add to his stack until play concluded for the night.
Jason Welch finished the day second in chips with 326,000, also experiencing a surge at the end of the night to bag a second-place stack. Thom Schultz (317,000) was third for the day, also due to a late-night heater, while Peter Johnson (305,000) finished as the only other player above 300K, doing so after having one of the largest stacks in the room for most of the evening.
Others that advanced included Zach Gutierrez (279,000), Kyna England (178,000), Eli Loewenthal (138,000), Krzysztof Stybaniewicz (136,000), and Kevin Eyster (111,000). Plenty more were less fortunate, including the aforementioned likes of Stewart and McMaster as well as other recent MSPT champions Steve Wilkie and Daniel Sepiol. All who did not bag will have two more flights to try and do so, with the next upcoming on Friday at noon local time.
As usual, PokerNews will be back at it then, so be sure to come back and see who else adds their name to Sunday's Day 2 roster.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
482,000 | 78,000 |
|
326,000 | 151,000 |
|
317,000 | 53,000 |
|
305,000 | -85,000 |
|
297,000 | 112,000 |
|
279,000 | 26,000 |
|
250,000 | -5,000 |
|
194,000 | 12,000 |
|
178,000 | -22,000 |
|
159,000 | -85,000 |
|
138,000 | -35,000 |
|
136,000 | -4,000 |
|
111,000 | -28,000 |
|
91,000 | -45,000 |
|
56,000 | -9,000 |
Hard Stop Is Reached
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The hard stop has officially been reached with 21:00 remaining in Level 15 after a pair of eliminations occurred on back-to-back hands on Table 6.
Raul Carrera was sent to the rail by Jason Welch after Welch opened with 
and Carrera defended his big blind with 
. Stacks eventually got in with two hearts on the board, and a running 
left Welch's queen to play en route to the pot and the knockout.
A moment later, Peter Nigh open-jammed under the gun and was called by Thom Schultz, who was on the button.
Peter Nigh: 
Thom Schultz: 
Schultz flopped top two pair on 
, but Nigh's gutshot became open ended on the turn 
to leave himself with eight outs to stay alive. Unfortunately for him, none fell on the river 
and the pair of eliminations brought the tournament down to 15, reaching the hard stop.
All 15 remaining players are now in the process of putting chips into bags, with Michael Kinzer atop the counts. A full list of chip counts and an end-of-day recap will be posted shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
Ellis Gets a Dub
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Raul Carrera limped in early position and saw Jon Glendinning raise to 15,000 in the cutoff. Chris Ellis then three-bet to 45,000 in the big blind and Carrera announced a limp-shove, bringing bout immediate action from both remaining players as Glendinning folded and Ellis called al in for 87,000 total.
Chris Ellis: 
Raul Carrera: 
Ellis faded the two outer on a runout of 
and scored the late-night dub as a result.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
255,000 | 135,000 |
|
|
182,000 | 47,000 |
|
|
88,000 | 65,000 |
Kinzer Adds To His Stack
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Zach Gutierrez opened the action with a raise to 12,000 in middle position and received calls from Kevin Eyster in the cutoff, Michael Kinzer on the button, and Krzysztof Stybaniewicz in the big blind.
The flop came 
and three checks sent action over to Kinzer, who bet 20,000. All players folded and he took down the multi-way pot with his flop bet, adding a small chunk to his stack. At the present moment, Kinzer looks to have the largest stack in the room, though chip stacks are fluctuating with each passing hand, making the title of end-of-day chip leader still plenty up for grabs.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
452,000 | 12,000 |
|
|
390,000 | -55,000 |
|
|
253,000 | -73,000 |
|
|
140,000 | 16,000 |
|
|
139,000 | -58,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Jacks Lose for Stacks
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Hand #1: Thom Schultz opened the action with a raise to 16,000 in middle position and saw action fold around to Peter Nigh, who three-bet to 63,000 in the small blind.
"All in," responded Schultz as soon as the dealer announced the three-bet, and Nigh called just as quickly.
Thom Schultz: 
Peter Nigh: 
Schultz connected with the flop 
but picked up four more outs to sweat on the turn 
. The river was safe and he scored the dub, leaving Nigh short in the process.
Hand #2: At the same time on the adjacent table, action folded to Chris Quackenbush in the small blind and he completed. Peter Johnson checked his option and the two went to a flop of 
, where Quackenbush check-shoved for 91,000 over a bet of 10,000 from Johnson. After a while in the tank, Johnson found a call.
Chris Quackenbush: 
Peter Johnson: 
An eight on the turn gave Johnson trips, with no jack falling on the river to bring about Quackenbush's elimination from Day 1a in 18th place. As a result, Johnson now looks to have the largest stack in the room once more with the field being just two eliminations away from reaching an early end of the night.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
445,000 | 183,000 |
|
|
264,000 | 168,000 |
|
|
36,000 | -117,000 |
|
Busted |
Kinzer Knocks Out McMaster
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Derek McMaster saw action fold to him on the button and open-jammed for 40,000. Michael Kinzer called in the big blind.
Derek McMaster:
Michael Kinzer: 
McMaster found no help as the board ran out 
, leaving Kinzer's pocket sevens best to win the coin flip and eliminate him in 19th place from the flight. Two full tables now remain in play with an hour left in the day unless three eliminations occur before that time.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
395,000 | 113,000 |
|
Busted |
Counts from Table 9
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Updated counts from the third and final remaining table in the room have been provided below. In the meantime, the short-stacked Neil Smith was eliminated on an adjacent table, bringing the field down to 19. The tournament is now one elimination away from reaching two full tables, and is four bust outs away from reaching a hard stop to end the night early.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
244,000 | 154,000 |
|
|
135,000 | 5,000 |
|
|
120,000 | -40,000 |
|
|
96,000 | |
|
|
65,000 | -35,000 |
|
|
23,000 | 23,000 |
|
Busted |