MSPT Season 5 Running Aces: Day 1b Brings Total Field to 354 Entries; Caspers Leads
On Saturday, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) $1,100 Main Event at Running Aces Harness Park in Columbus, MN continued with Day 1b, which set an all-time MSPT flight record with 226 runners. Combined with the 128 entrants on Day 1a, the two-flight event attracted 354 runners creating a $355,200 prize pool.
Just 36 players survived Day 1a and another 76 advanced from 1b, meaning 110 players will return for Day 2 action on Sunday. Of those the top 36 finishers will get paid with the eventual winner taking home $91,000. Dustin Dirksen set the bar high on Day 1a when he bagged 254,800 chips – but Tyler Caspers accumulated 259,800 during Saturday’s 1b to take the overall chip lead heading into Day 2 action.
Top Ten Start-of-Day 2 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Caspers | 259,800 |
| 2 | Dustin Dirksen | 254,800 |
| 3 | Derek Lesniak | 166,700 |
| 4 | Mark Sandness | 148,200 |
| 5 | Yevgeny Minakrin | 135,100 |
| 6 | Peixin Liu | 124,100 |
| 7 | Adam Dahlin | 121,300 |
| 8 | Rick Rothausen | 118,700 |
| 9 | Tim Hoberstad | 118,100 |
| 10 | Mark Powers | 116,400 |
Day 1b got off to a mirthful start through the table banter and unorthodox play of Shane Nelson, but things got serious a little later as players began to hit the rail.
Among them were accomplished players like Matt Alexander, Nesbitt Coburn, Jeff Bryan, Sam de Silva, Mark Fink, Steve Lillehaug, Brian Soja, Jason Seitz, and PokerNews' very own Chad Holloway.
Holloway fell late in the evening when he three-bet all in for about 18,000 after a player had opened to 2,500. The small blind woke up with K♣K♠, and Holloway's A♦Q♦ couldn't catch up on the jack-high board.
While many fell, a few notables managed to survive the night including Lance Harris (71,700), John Hayes (64,500), Jeff Fielder (59,900), Mike Schneider (51,700), David Gonia (35,600), Jason Sell (29,700), and Larry Ormson (13,100).
They will join Day 1a survivors that included Reg Powell (101,100), Rodger Johnson (88,800), Todd "sharkslayerr" Breyfogle (75,900), Rob Wazwaz (55,400), and Terry Ring (39,100).
Day 2 will kick off at 10 a.m. local time as the returning 110 players look to play down to a winner. Be sure to tune back to PokerNews then as we bring you all of the live updates from the first stop of the MSPT Season 5.
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