Carl Carodenuto Ships Third MSPT Title and $114,072
The Mid-States Poker Tour has been around for years, but Carl Carodenuto managed to do in just 11 months what countless other players have failed to do despite dozens more attempts: He won his third MSPT title. Carodenuto topped a field of 490 entrants to win MSPT Golden Gates $1,100 Main Event in Black Hawk, Colorado, for $114,072.
That win follows Carodenuto's other victories, both at MSPT Canterbury Park, from December 2015 and April 2016. Carodenuto also finished sixth at MSPT Meskwaki just last week. All told, he has put together more than $400,000 in tournament cashes in the past calendar year.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Carodenuto | Bloomington, MN | $114,072 |
| 2 | Rich Alsup | New Hope, MN | $68,919 |
| 3 | Josh Turner | St. Louis, MO | $44,916 |
| 4 | Norman Straughn | Westminster, CO | $31,132 |
| 5 | Adam Wilbur | Erie, CO | $23,765 |
| 6 | Brian Gallegos | Denver, CO | $18,291 |
| 7 | Bobby Garcia | Denver, CO | $15,210 |
| 8 | Alex Greenblatt | San Francisco, CA | $12,595 |
| 9 | Jackson McAllister | Denver, CO | $10,647 |
| 10 | Kai Wang | Denver, CO | $8,080 |
With 490 entries logged over the three starting days, 45 players would be paid. Colossus II champ Ben Keeline, MSPT Team Pro Matt Alexander, Jason Vanstrom, Caufman Talley, Scott Stewart, Phil Mader, former MSPT Golden Gates winner Kane Lai and Jason Gooch were among those cashing in the event.
According to the live updates, Carodenuto's run was very nearly cut short with 18 players left, when he got 15 big blinds in with nines against the queens of Alex Greenblatt. Luckily for Carodenuto, a nine peeled off on the flop and kept him alive.
By the time the final table was reached, Adam Wilbur held a rather hefty chip lead with more than 100 big blinds, more than triple the stack of second place Carodenuto. The Minnesotan got going early though, shoving J♠9♠ for about 20 big blinds over a cutoff open from Kai Wang, who called with ace-king. The board ran out clean for Wang through fourth street but a jack on the river sent him to the rail.
Carodenuto then ran into a snag against World Series of Poker Circuit crusher Josh Turner, who picked up aces against Carodenuto's queens. Hammered back down to 20 big blinds, Carodenuto picked up tens with eight players left and got it in against Greenblatt, holding against A♥10♥ to knock out the pro.
Carodenuto then knocked out a pair of local players. First, he got lucky with A♥9♥, turning an ace against Bobby Garcia's kings. Then, he held with ace-king against the ace-jack of a short-stacked Brian Gallegos.
Then, a key hand materialized at blinds of 25,000/50,000/5,000. Chip leader Wilbur opened the action for 100,000 and got two calls. He checked the 6♣K♦Q♠ flop and called 200,000 from Carodenuto. Wilbur check-called a further 400,000 on the 2♣ then jammed 1.08 million effective on the 8♦ river. Carodenuto called with king-queen and saw his opponent show king-eight for inferior two-pair.
Wilbur ended up out in fifth, followed by Norman Straughn in fourth, leaving a three-handed duel between Carodenuto, Turner and Rich Alsup, another Minnesotan with an MSPT title and a runner-up finish.
The average stack was about 50 big blinds, but Turner soon found himself coolered by Carodenuto after both players flopped kings up but Carodenuto's king-queen was again the ticket against king-ten.
That meant either Alsup or Carodenuto would add another trophy to the case. The heads-up match was a short one. Carodenuto raised and called a ship of almost 30 big blinds with A♥10♠ and saw he was up against 6♥4♦. Alsup paired his six on the flop, but an ace on the river sent the pot and the tournament to Carodenuto.
Image courtesy of MSPT
