Michigan Holds Largest Poker Tournament in State History

The live poker tournament scene in Michigan is enjoying an unprecedented surge of interest, and five months after hosting its biggest event to date, that record has now been beaten, albei by just a single person. Equally as impressive is the fact that the player who finished 5th in the MSPT FireKeepers held in May also topped the record-breaking MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship which took place this past weekend.
In summer, Chris Meyers was one of 1,066 competitors to enter the $1,100 MSPT FireKeepers, with the player eventually finishing in 5th place to secure a slice of the event’s $1,032,520 prize pool worth $42,333. Winning the event, however, was Michael Shanahan who collected $216,829 for his victory.
On October 12th, the $1,100 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship then attracted 1,067 entries to create a prizepool of $1,033,490, with Chris Meyers ultimately managing to triumph over the field to earn himself a $191,196 payday. Commenting upon a win which now pushes his career earnings to $492,336, Meyers stated:
“I feel good. I’ve put in a lot of work honestly. This was on my list, to win a MSPT. I made the final table last time, came up a little short. I thought I played well last time, and I ran really well this time to get it done.”
Amongst the notable pros entering the tournament and seeing a return on theiir buy-ins was Brett Blackwood in 91st ($2,274), Dylan Linde in 79th ($2,584), and Pat Steele in 27th ($5,891). MSPT FireKeepers champion Michael Shanahan also recorded an 18th place finish worth $10,128, in the process bosting his live poker winnings to $403,833.
Meanwhile, Chris Meyers managed to proceed all the way throuugh to the final table of ten, eventually facing Michigan resident Millard Hale heads-up for the title. Hale subsequently received $117,818 after losing at the final hurdle, while 35 year-old New York player Chris Meyers was crowned the champion. The $191,196 Meyers received for his victory also represents his biggest score to date, surpassing the $78,000 he won only last year after taking down the WPT L.A Poker Classic $5,250 Pot Limit Omaha 7 Handed event.
Final Table Results:
1: Chris Meyers $191,196
2: Millard Hale $117,818
3: Altaf Motiwala $87,847
4: Jerry Delisle $65,110
5: Jake Reeser $49,607
6: Brian Reinert $38,239
7: Djon Palshaj $29,971
8: James Miller $22,737
9: Santa Zawaideh $18,603
10: Spencer Wright $14,468