Day 1a of the MSPT (Mid-States Poker Tour) $1,110 Minnesota State Poker Championship at Running Aces Casino has come to a close after seeing 172 entrants kick things off.

Almost a full day of action was played to completion with the hard stop of 20 players being reached with 11:43 remaining in Level 15.

The final level was full of eliminations which saw two MSPT Hall of Famer’s, Blake Bohn and Kou Vang depart before chips were marked on slips which saw Matt Alexander (555,000), edge out John Pierce (544,000), and MSPT champ Jon Kim (520,000) for the top spot.

Jay Chaudhary (422,000), and Eric Seeliger (359,000) rounded out the top five stacks while WSOP bracelet winner Ian Matakis (338,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup (266,000), Chuck Kersey (263,000), and fellow Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz (227,000), also finding a Day 2 berth.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included MSPT Hall of Famer’s Jason Seitz & Matt Kirby, MSPT champ Derek McMaster and three-time MSPT champ Carl Carodenuto just to name a few.

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action. Day 1b will kick off at 3:00 p.m. local time Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at Noon on Saturday.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor at Running Aces Casino!

Season 15 MSPT Minnesota Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule