2015 MSPT Potawatomi Casino Day 1b: Huge Turnout Results in Tour's 2nd-Largest Event
Records fell hard Saturday as the second starting flight of the 2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Potawatomi Casino Main Event played out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The flight drew a total of 323 entries, and when added to the 309 from Day 1a, a grand total of 632 entries was achieved, easily surpassing the Wisconsin state record of 487 recorded the last time the MSPT came to Potawatomi in September 2014.
The big number also added up to a new record for the most entries in an MSPT event outside of Las Vegas, pushing well past the 517 entries recorded at Battle Creek, Michigan in October of 2014, and while the 854 entries the MSPT drew at The Venetian in Las Vegas still remains the largest event in the tour's history, MSPT Potawatomi now stands as the second biggest.
The massive turnout will result in 63 players taking home at least $2,089, while the eventual winner will take home a hefty $147,529. The man best positioned to make a run at it is Paul Zalewski, who finished the 66 Day 1b survivors as the chip leader with 254,500.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Zalewski | 254,500 |
| 2 | Mark Sandness | 252,500 |
| 3 | Andreas Wagner | 215,500 |
| 4 | Richard Woo Bai | 196,000 |
| 5 | Scott Hammett | 190,500 |
| 6 | Lokesh Subramanian | 180,500 |
| 7 | Marianne Deguzman | 180,500 |
| 8 | Matt Alexander | 180,000 |
| 9 | Calvin Shaw | 178,500 |
| 10 | David Gutfreund | 174,500 |
Many came, but many fell as they played down to 66 remaining through 14 levels. Included in the fallen was PokerNews Managing Editor and World Series of Poker Bracelet Winner Chad Holloway, who fired two bullets on the day and did build a stack, but could not hold on to it.
Early chip leaders like Ami Sharma, Tony Hough, Hassan Tahsildar, and 2014 MSPT Potawami third-place finisher Robert Edelstein also suffered a similar fate.
As the day wore on, the chip lead changed hands several times, but when Racine, Wisconsin's Andreas Wagner doubled with kings over queens late, he emerged as the first player past the 200,000-chip mark, holding on to bag 215,400. However, a late flurry from Zalewski saw him bag 254,600 chips and the Day 1b chip lead.
Day 1a chip leader Brett Reichard and the 290,500-chip stack still make him the man everyone will be chasing Sunday.
Others building contending stacks on Day 1b included 2014 MSPT Columbus champ Mark Sandness, MSPT Pro Matthew Alexander, Chicago's Marianne Deguzman and Heartland Poker Tour winner and MSPT finalist David Gutfreund. While he's a little below average, well-known pro and structure junkie Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler will also be back with a shot at the money on Day 2.
All 66 players who made it through the day will be joined by the 69 Day 1a survivors when play resumes at 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday with plans to play down to a winner. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to cover all the action from start to finish, which you can follow by clicking here.
Plus, the final table, featuring 60-minute levels, will be broadcast live (15-minute delay) with hole cards on msptpoker.com and PokerNews.
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