FireKeepers Casino Hotel recently hosted a record-breaking poker tournament, drawing thousands of players and generating nearly $3 million in prizes.
The Mid-States Poker Tour’s Michigan Poker State Championship, held at FireKeepers, 11177 E. Michigan Ave., Battle Creek, in May saw 3,040 entries for its $1,110 buy-in Main Event, according to an announcement. This surpassed the previous record of 2,883 entries set in 2023. The turnout created a $2,947,300 prize pool.
Corey Wick from Wisconsin won the tournament, earning his first MSPT title and a career-high prize of $397,587. Wick started Day 2 with a strong chip stack and, despite some setbacks, managed to secure his victory by eliminating Ryan Brown with pocket kings.
“It was completely undeserved,” Wick said in the announcement. “Ryan was probably the best player at the table and should have won, but he caught the worst run of hands — all caused by me.”
The final table results were as follows:
1st – Corey Wick – $397,5872nd – Ryan Eamon – $244,4623rd – Travis McCullough – $182,4484th – Ryan Brown – $142,2485th – Jose Montes – $108,0856th – Sung Pil Kim – $85,4087th – DJ Buckley – $65,3818th – Oliwer Sankiewicz – $50,6569th – Dale Kirgis – $41,820
The tournament was one of the first to be held in FireKeepers’ new poker room, which features enhanced amenities and a player-focused layout. The response from guests has been overwhelmingly positive, according to the announcement.
“Our dedicated dealers are the true MVPs of FireKeepers’ poker success,” Steven Senk, VP of Gaming Operations, said in the announcement. “Their skill, professionalism, and energy elevate every event and keep players coming back. We’re proud to be the place where poker players know they’ll find top-tier action and unmatched service.”
FireKeepers plans to continue its poker events with the 2025 Tournament of Champions series. The series will include quarterly $10,000 events leading up to a $60,000 Grand Finale on Jan. 24, 2026.
The casino remains a popular destination for poker players in the Midwest, offering both major tournaments and daily games.
This story was created by Janis Reeser, jreeser@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct or share your thoughts at http://bit.ly/3RapUkA with our News Automation and AI team.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: What made this FireKeepers poker tournament one for the record books?
Reporting by Janis Reeser, reporter assisted by AI / Battle Creek Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
