MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event
Day 1a Completed
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian $1,100 Main Event
MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian $1,100 Main Event
Buy-in
$1,100
Entries
1,123
Level
33
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
485
Players Left
62
Findlay In Pole Position For Day 1a of the MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian $1,100 Main Event Friday has just played to its conclusion with a total 485 entries more than doubling the $200,000 guaranteed prize pool on the first of two initial starting flights and surpassing the guarantee in Level 1. When chips went into bags, 62 players were remaining and Alan Findlay was out in front with a stack of 612,500.
Findlay was spotted with a monster stack shortly before the final break of the night, experiencing a heater that mowed down anyone in his way before coasting to the end-of-day chip lead over the last two hours of play. He finished well clear of the next closest stacks in Benjamin Craig (425,000), Siddharth Siddharth (412,500), and Frank Funaro (380,500).
Other notables to find a bag at the end of the day were 2020 MSPT Canterbury Park champion Derek McMaster (301,000), Kyna England (273,000), Jason Seitz (235,500), and 2019 MSPT Player of the Year Mike Shin (112,500). Players such as Faraz Jaka, Jeff Madsen, Tim Reilly, Nick Pupillo, and Ryan Phan were among the list of players who fell short of a bag on Day 1a.
All who did not advance in Friday's flight will have another opportunity on Day 1b Saturday morning at 11:10 a.m. PT. Once again, unlimited re-entries will be available through the first six hours of play plus breaks; and with Day 1a drawing nearly 500 entries, the possibility of a seven-figure prize pool is very real.
How many more will try their hand on Saturday, and will anyone challenge Findlay's chip lead? Come back to PokerNews on Saturday and find out.
End-of-Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Day 1 has finished with an unofficial 65 players advancing to Day 2 at the end of Level 15. An assortment of chip counts have been provided below. An end-of-day recap will be provided shortly, and a complete and official list of chip counts for all who advanced will also be posted in the near future.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
612,000 | 61,000 |
|
425,000 | 425,000 |
|
412,500 | 62,500 |
|
380,000 | 72,000 |
|
|
379,000 | 199,000 |
|
339,500 | 149,500 |
|
312,500 | -42,500 |
|
311,500 | 311,500 |
|
301,000 | 301,000 |
|
|
289,500 | 289,500 |
|
284,000 | 284,000 |
|
|
283,000 | 283,000 |
|
273,000 | -77,000 |
|
270,000 | 270,000 |
|
245,000 | 245,000 |
|
242,500 | 242,500 |
|
239,000 | -91,000 |
|
239,000 | 208,000 |
|
237,000 | 237,000 |
|
235,000 | 63,000 |
|
228,000 | 228,000 |
|
|
225,000 | 225,000 |
|
|
221,500 | 221,500 |
|
211,000 | 51,000 |
|
209,000 | 94,000 |
Five More Hands
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
The tournament clock has stopped with 10 minutes remaining and the floor has just announced that five more hands will be played to their completion on all remaining tables. With 66 players remaining, tables will not be broken or re-balanced during that time, even if two eliminations occur to bring about eight full tables.
England Wins at Showdown
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
There was around 25,000 in the middle from preflop action between Kyna England in the cutoff and Siddharth Siddharth, who was on the button. The two saw a flop of 
and England bet 12,000. Siddharth called.
The turn came 
and both players checked, bringing the river 
. England checked again and Siddharth bet 20,000. England thought for a few moments and matched the call to take the hand to showdown.
Upon calling, England tabled 
. Siddharth acknowledged it was the best hand and sent his hand to the muck, earning England the pot. When all was said and done, both players found themselves with 350,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000 | 223,000 |
|
|
350,000 | 350,000 |
Top Set No Good Despite the Drama
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Table 31 was just the center of a very vocal floor ruling that wound up with David Somers eliminating a player from the tournament for a sizeable pot. He caught up to share the details when the dust settled.
On the final hand of the previous level, David Somers raised to 7,000 in the hijack and was three-bet to 17,500 by his opponent in the small blind. Somers called.
The flop dropped 
and his opponent made a continuation-bet of 10,500. Somers called, bringing the turn 
where both players checked. The river fell 
and Somers' opponent bet 45,000. Somers shoved all in for 105,000 effective.
Facing a shove for his tournament life, the big blind tabled his hand for top set. Somers immediately asked the dealer if the player had called, and the dealer echoed the question to the player who had just shown his set of aces. The player nodded affirmatively, and thus Somers showed 
.
Upon seeing Somers' wheel, the all-in player claimed that he had never called. The floor was called over to take stock of the situation, and it was ruled that a call was confirmed by the player, and thus binding. All the chips were sent to Somers for his wheel, and he now finds himself with a stack of 355,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
355,000 | 190,000 |
Last Level of the Night Begins
Level 15
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Level 15 has begun with blinds of 2,000/4,000 and a big-blind ante of 4,000. This 40-minute level is the final level of the evening, with the tournament clock still displaying 80 players left. All who remain when Level 15 ends will bag and tag their chips and advance to Sunday's Day 2.
Level: 15
Blinds: 2,000/4,000
Ante: 4,000
Kroh Wakes Up With Aces at the Right Time
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
A player raised to 6,500 under the gun and Paul Kroh three-bet to 21,500 in middle position. The cutoff cold four-bet shoved for around 110,000 and action folded back to Kroh, who quickly committed his remaining chips.
Paul Kroh: 
Cutoff: 
Kroh was five cards away from delivering a cooler to his opponent for stacks, and the runout complied as it came 
to win him the pot. His stack was totaled to be 92,500, which his opponent paid, and the pot was shipped Kroh's way. Kroh now finds himself just shy of 200,000 while his opponent is left with only a couple of big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
199,000 | 199,000 |
Funaro Shoots Down an Opponent
Level 14
: 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
A player went all in for 37,000 in middle position and Frank Funaro announced a call on the button. Both players in the blinds folded and hands were tabled in preparation for the runout.
All-In Player: 
Frank Funaro: 
Funaro found himself with a sweat as the flop came 
, but the turn and river came clean to earn him the pot and the knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
308,000 | 308,000 |