Ross Leads 29 Day 1a Players Into Day 2
The first of three starting flights in the 2015 Mid-States Poker Tour Michigan State Poker Championship at FireKeepers Casino attracted 154 entries, but after 14 levels of play, just 29 remained with Mike Ross (pictured left) and his stack of 311,500 leading the way.
Ross had been building a stack all day until his stack exploded over 200,000, due in no small part to turning a straight flush against George Janssen. Janssen had turned an ace-high flush and the two players got their massive stacks all in, leaving Ross with the chip lead and Janssen with about 30,000. Janssen managed to navigate the rest of the night to make Day 2, even with Ross on his direct right for almost the entire day.
Bill Rogers, who was the runner-up in May's MSPT FireKeepers event, won a huge pot right before the end of the night to take the number two spot behind Ross. In one hand, with the board reading 
, James Smith bet 24,000 and Rogers raised to 50,000. Smith then shoved all in for about 132,000, and Rogers agonized for several minutes over his decision.
"You can't have aces," said Rogers, trying to talk himself through Smith's possible holdings.
After a few more minutes Rogers tilted his hand up while still deciding his next move. Standing up, then kneeling on his chair, then standing again. The answer seemed to be eluding him, until finally he threw one orange chip into the pot.
"Alright, show me a four," he said, "I call."
Rogers turned over his hand, the 
, and Smith turned over his, 
. The river was the 
and Rogers won a huge pot shortly before play stopped for the night.
"I'm sorry guys," Rogers said, apologizing to the table for taking so long to make his decision.
Meanwhile former MSPT FireKeepers champions Tommy Midena and Ryan Dykhouse were among the Day 1a casualties, as was 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Ryan Riess.
A big crowd is expected for tomorrow��s Day 1b flight. The day begins at noon local time and the players will play 14 40-minute levels. Stay tuned for updates and chip counts all weekend long.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
311,500
500
|
500 |
|
287,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
|
200,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
165,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
|
|
164,500
164,500
|
164,500 |
|
|
146,500
146,500
|
146,500 |
|
129,500
59,500
|
59,500 |
|
|
128,500
43,500
|
43,500 |
|
|
124,500
500
|
500 |
|
117,000
117,000
|
117,000 |
|
114,000
114,000
|
114,000 |
|
98,000
98,000
|
98,000 |
|
|
94,000
94,000
|
94,000 |
|
93,000
93,000
|
93,000 |
|
86,500
-5,500
|
-5,500 |
|
||
|
|
82,500
82,500
|
82,500 |
|
|
80,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
79,000
79,000
|
79,000 |
|
|
66,500
66,365
|
66,365 |
|
|
63,000
63,000
|
63,000 |
|
|
62,500
62,500
|
62,500 |
|
|
61,000
-11,000
|
-11,000 |
|
|
57,500
57,500
|
57,500 |
|
|
55,500
55,500
|
55,500 |
|
|
51,000
27,600
|
27,600 |
|
|
47,000
47,000
|
47,000 |
|
|
42,500
42,500
|
42,500 |
|
42,000
-18,000
|
-18,000 |
|
|
31,000
31,000
|
31,000 |