Robert Noce Wins MSPT Hollywood St. Louis; Long & Umut POY Battle Rages
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Over the weekend, the Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) hosted a stop at Hollywood Casino in St. Louis. The 10-event schedule culminated with an $1,110 buy-in Main Event, a tournament that attracted 676 runners and awarded a $655,720 prize pool, more than double the $300K guarantee.
On Sunday, the surviving 76 players from the three starting flights returned to battle to a winner on Day 2. It took approximately 12 hours of play, and when the dust settled, it was Missouri native Robert Noce, an attorney by profession, coming out on top to win the title and the $131,258 top prize.
“It feels great”, Noce told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson after the win, “I’m still taking it in, but this was only the second tournament I got to play in this year, and I tripled by Hendon Mob totally, so that feels awesome.”
MSPT Hollywood St. Louis Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Noce | $131,258 | 1,700 |
| 2 | Jared Mohesky | $80,775 | 1,500 |
| 3 | Jeff Kenny | $59,136 | 1,400 |
| 4 | Jake Long | $43,989 | 1,300 |
| 5 | Umut Ozturk | $33,563 | 1,200 |
| 6 | Dino Galic | $25,694 | 1,100 |
| 7 | Gerald Cunniff | $19,793 | 1,000 |
| 8 | Brian Craig | $15,203 | 900 |
| 9 | Ethan Jaggie | $11,924 | 800 |
Others to cash the tournament were Saad Ghanem (10th - $9,891), Jason Mendoza (15th - $7,990), John “Farmboy” Kurfman (19th - $5,629), Lee Rzentkowski (27th - $3,924), Josh Reichard (31st - $3,006), Brett Reichard (38th - $2,547), and Rob Wazwaz (51st - $2,350).
POY Leaders Both Final Table
One of the more interesting stories to come from the stop was that of both Jake Long and Umut Ozturk making the final table. Coming into the stop, the duo sat first and second respectively atop the MSPT Season 16 Player of the Year leaderboard.
Ozturk, the reigning back-to-back MSPT POY, ended up finishing in fifth place for 1,200 POY points, putting him at 6,167 points on the season, while Long did one spot better, taking fourth for 1,300 POY points and putting him at 6,931 points total. So, in the end, Long extended his lead by just 100 points from when the pair entered the tournament. That said, both are well ahead of Anthony Scarborough (4,934 points) and Josh Reichard (4,455 points).
MSPT Hollywood St. Louis Side Event Winners
When it comes to side event news, one of the most accomplished players in the St. Louis poker scene, Jeff Copeland, topped a 325-entry field to win $300 Seniors (50+) Monster Stack for $18,315.
Likewise, two-time MSPT Main Event champ Taylor Howard came out on top of a 98-entry field to win Event #10: $250 Monster Stack NLH for $5,879 and his first gold card.
| Tournament | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $250 Monster Stack Turbo NLH | 118 | Trey Bartlett | $7,079 |
| Event #2: $400 Tag Team NLH | 325 | Nathan Jones & Matthew Preston | $12,358 |
| Event #3: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 160 | Matt Civili | $6,515 |
| Event #4: $300 Seniors (50+) Monster Stack | 325 | Jeff Copeland | $18,315 |
| Event #5: $300 Pot-Limit Omaha | 136 | Brayden Smiley | $9,331 |
| Event #4: $1,110 MSPT Main Event | 676 | Robert Noce | $131,258 |
| Event #7: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 163 | Joseph Brunette | $4,613 |
| Event #8: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 152 | Aaron McIntosh | $8,206 |
| Event #9: $300 Black Chip Bounty Monster Stack NLH | 234 | Brandon Dirnberger | $6,034 |
| Event #10: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 98 | Taylor Howard | $5,879 |
What’s Coming Up?
The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) will head to Cleveland, Ohio, from August 26 through September 1 for a six-event festival at JACK Cleveland that’ll include a $1,110 buy-in, $750K GTD Main Event.
That tournament will feature a trio of starting flights, starting with Day 1a at 3:15 p.m. local time on Thursday, August 28. Day 1b will follow at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, August 29, and Day 1c at the same time on Saturday, August 30. The surviving players from all three flights will then combine to play to a winner on Day 2 at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday.
In addition to a full offering of satellites, there are five side events, including Event #1: $400 Tag Team NLH at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, August 26. At 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, August 27, there will be Event #2: $300 Seniors (50+), which is a part of the MSPT Senior Tour. Then, at 6:15 p.m., Event #3: $300 Monster Stack will take place.
Here’s a look at the remaining MSPT Season 16 schedule.
| Date | Location | Event | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 26-Sept. 1 | JACK Cleveland Casino | MSPT Festival | $750,000 |
| August 28-Sept. 7 | Sycuan Casino Resort San Diego | 100 Grand Stack Series | $400,000 |
| Sept. 25-28 | Venetian Las Vegas | Nevada Poker State Championship | $300,000 |
| Sept. 30-Oct. 5 | Potawatomi Casino Milwaukee | Wisconsin State Poker Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 7-12 | FireKeepers Casino Battle Creek, Michigan | MSPT Spade Poker Championship | $1,500,000 |
| Oct. 9-19 | Playground Montreal, Canada | Canadian Poker Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 28-Nov. 2 | Riverside Casino Iowa | MSPT Festival | $500,000 |
| Dec. 4-14 | Running Aces Casino Minnesota | Winter Poker Classic Series | $600,000 |
*Images courtesy of MSPT photographer Tyler Abrams.
