A Look Back at the Season 1 MSPT Running Aces Main Event

Running Aces has been a part of the MSPT dating all the way back to Season 1; in fact, the property played host to the third-ever MSPT event back in April 2010. Back then it was called the Minnesota State Poker Tour as each stop was limited to that state, but it eventually morphed into the Mid-States Poker Tour after expanding outside the state's borders. Obviously a lot has changed in the past four years.

That first stop at Running Aces attracted 183 players including Joe Matheson, an electrical engineer from Andover that won his seat via a $90 single-table satellite. Amazingly he turned that small investment into $51,349 when he won the tournament.

“I play up here (at Running Aces) in the $65 tournaments, and the $230 tournament on Saturday once in a while, but that’s it,” Matheson said of the tournament. “That’s the biggest I’ve ever played.”

Here’s a look at the Season 1 MSPT Running Aces final table:

Place	Player	Prize
1	Joe Matheson	$51,349
2	Mario Hudson	$25,321
3	John Alexander	$15,936
4	Darren Hendrickson	$12,395
5	Everett Carlton	$10,624
6	Tony Moses	$7,968
7	Brian Schallhammer	$6,906
8	Kuong Yek	$6,020
9	Matt Leshovsky	$4,958