2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian
Day 2 Completed
2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian
2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian
Day: 2
James Carroll Wins MSPT Venetian $1,100 ($180,850)
Level 31
: 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante
James Carroll shined at Venetian again, but unlike last time, he didn't have to share the spotlight after a chop.
Two years ago in February, he chopped a big DeepStack Extravaganza event here for $184K apiece. At MSPT Venetian $1,100 this time around, after a small saver that still left the vast majority of the first-place money in play against William Chao, Carroll came out on top for the trophy and $180,850.
It's step one in recapturing the momentum from his stellar 2019 — he cashed for just shy of $1.3 million — that was halted by coronavirus. He said it was his fourth tournament since the lockdowns hit and put the kibosh on most live poker.
"It's nice to stop that online grind," he said. "Probably the best I've ran in a tournament in a single day in my life. Just had a lot of big hands and got paid a lot."
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Carroll | $180,850 |
| 2 | William Chao | $135,277 |
| 3 | Daniel Jones | $84,171 |
| 4 | Daniel Sammarco | $57,745 |
| 5 | Bill Lewis | $38,170 |
| 6 | Veselin Dimitrov | $28,383 |
| 7 | Justin Ligeri | $21,532 |
| 8 | Monty Ford | $15,660 |
Carroll got some heat early in the day and was cruising with a big stack of about 100 blinds, but where he really started to take over was at the final two tables. There, he opened constantly and swept up blinds while also showing up with some big hands when players tried shoving on him, and he soon had about 20% of the total chips with the final table still yet to convene.
From those final two tables on, it seemed Carroll was locked in a collision course with Chao. Despite being in second place, Chao still had almost double the chips of the third-place Bill Lewis when the final table went to battle.
Chao tested Carroll early with a four-bet and did his best to keep pace even as Carroll collected a couple of knockouts, of Lewis and Veselin Dimitrov.
In fact, Carroll did slip into second momentarily, but he recovered with the good run he referenced when he three-outed Daniel Sammarco shoving king-three suited into queens in a blinds battle. He then dispatched Daniel Jones — it was a day of near misses for Daniel Joneses as a more famous one bubbled the NFL playoffs — and looked to be complete command with a big lead heads up against Chao.
Heads-Up Save
However, Chao let him know he wasn't going quietly with a three-street value play holding top pair on a pretty coordinated board. That put him down only about 14 million to 10 million.
With deep stacks, the two opted to look at the numbers and quickly agreed to a $10K saver that tightened the payouts a bit.
"He's a super tough player," Carroll said. "So, I didn't mind doing a small saver. But, I wanted to get some heads-up practice in live and make sure the money still meant something."
In the end, he wouldn't get much practice at all. He turned on the aggression with a couple of three-bets that got through, and when Chao three-bet him, Carroll four-bet jammed ace-nine. Chao opted to go with ace-six suited and was left wanting when each player paired his ace but the kicker of Carroll played.
Carroll said it's onwards for him as he plans to play the WPT in Florida next, and he'll presumably be right back to his adopted home city for the following WPT events in March at Venetian.
William Chao Eliminated in 2nd Place ($135,277)
Level 31
: 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante
James Carroll opened on the button for 400,000, William Chao made it 1,360,000 and Carroll jammed. Chao had about 9 million and called off.
Chao: 
Carroll: 
The 
flop gave Chao outs to a straight but he missed on the 
turn and 
river, and Carroll's kicker played.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,225,000 | 10,700,000 |
|
Busted |
Looking at the Numbers...
Level 31
: 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante
After a brief pause in the action the two remaining players, James Carroll and William Chao, have requested a "$10K saver," which means that the posted payout will be slightly adjusted and $10,000 will be moved from the top spot to the 2nd place payout.
Chao Gets Three Streets
Level 31
: 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante
William Chao opened for 400,000 and James Carroll called. Carroll check-called 500,000 on the 
flop and 700,000 on the 
turn. On the 
river, he check-called a final 1.2 million, though this time it took awhile before the call went in.
Chao opened 
and Carroll mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,525,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
10,700,000 | 5,100,000 |
Most MSPT Main Event Cashes in History
Level 31
: 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante
Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 years on they have one of the best player databases in the industry.
On their "Leaderboards" page, the MSPT tracks such things as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Final Tables, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, and much more. Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.
Here's a look at the top ten MSPT Main Event cashers:
| Place | Player | Hometown | Main Event Cashes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Johnson | Red Wing, Minnesota | 39 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 32 |
| 3 | Richard Alsup | New Hope, Minnesota | 30 |
| 4 | DJ Buckley | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 27 |
| 5 | Patrick Steele | Chelsea, Michigan | 26 |
| 6 | Mark Hodge | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 25 |
| 7 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 25 |
| 8 | Jason Seitz | Shakopee, Minnesota | 22 |
| 9 | Phil Mader | Grand Island, Nebraska | 23 |
| 10 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 22 |
Daniel Jones Eliminated in 3rd Place ($84,171)
Level 31
: 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante
Daniel Jones moved his last remaining chips all-in from the button, which got a fold from William Chao in the small blind and an immediate call from James Carroll in the big blind.
Daniel Jones: 
James Carroll: 
Amazingly both players flopped trip jacks, but unfortunately for Jones Carroll's ace-kicker did play on the 
runout and he was eliminated in 3rd place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Level: 31
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 80,000
Break Time Once Again...
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
The three remaining players have been sent on a 15-minute break.
Carroll Soaring After Getting Thin Value
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
James Carroll opened for 250,000 on the button and William Chao defended the big blind. Chao check-called 450,000 on the 
flop and both players checked the . On the 
river, Carroll bet 1.1 million when checked to, and Chao called but couldn't beat 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,500,000 | 5,600,000 |
|
|
5,600,000 | -3,700,000 |
|
|
5,000,000 | 775,000 |