The Mid-Stakes Poker Tour drew 191 entries to the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in Tama, Iowa, today for the first of two starting flights in the $300,000 guaranteed MSPT Meskwaki Main Event.
Through 14 levels of play, just 37 survived with Calmar, Iowa's Marty Faldet bagging the chip lead on 317,000.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marty Faldet | 317,000 |
| 2 | Adam Friedman | 242,500 |
| 3 | Rick Alsup | 176,000 |
| 4 | Tim Thompson | 167,500 |
| 5 | Vic Hoffman | 163,000 |
| 6 | Kip Smith | 152,500 |
| 7 | Rick McGown | 150,500 |
| 8 | David Gutfreund | 139,500 |
| 9 | Derek Dempster | 134,500 |
| 10 | Jose Serratos | 124,500 |
Faldet, who is no stranger to success here in Tama, having made 19th here in March and 16th back in 2013, doubled through early leader Tim Colby with pocket kings versus the nut-flush draw to climb into the lead halfway through the day.