Welcome To Day 1b of the 2020 MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event
Saturday marks the second of two starting flights in the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian $1,100 Main Event.
Day 1b looks to build on the momentum from Friday's Day 1a, which drew 485 entries and surpassed the tournament's guaranteed prize pool of $200,000 in the first level of play. Given an increased table capacity on the weekend, an even higher number is expected show and look to add their name to the list of 63 players that have already advanced to Sunday's Day 2.
Cards are scheduled to fly at 11:10 a.m. local time with masks required for everybody who joins. All players receive starting stacks of 25,000 and blinds will start at 100/100, increasing every 40 minutes throughout the tournament. There will be 15-minute breaks at the end of every three levels and a 45-minute dinner break at the end of Level 9 (approximately 6:25 p.m.).
All players may enter or re-enter as many times as they wish until the end of the dinner break, which will mark the last chance to compete for what could end up being a total prize pool of more than $1 million. At that time, tournament registration will officially end and prize pool information will be released. From there, play will continue until the end of Level 15 unless 11% of the field is reached before that time.
Of the 63 who advanced on Day 1a, Alan Findlay (612,500) is the one to catch. Findlay was well clear of his next-closest finisher in Benjamin Craig (425,000), bagging a stack that may or may not be contested in the final starting flight. Other MSPT mainstays like Nick Pupillo, Steve Wilkie, and Ralph Massey were among those to find themselves dry on chips before the end of the night and are expected to be back in on the action from the get-go.
Once again, PokerNews will be providing coverage from beginning to end, so make sure to follow along.
and Stephen Shanks continuation-bet 700 after the small blind checked to him. The cutoff folded to put action onto Joshua Szczur, who was on the button and raised to 2,300.
and river 
completed the runout to earn him the double.
. The small blind made a continuation-bet of 1,500 and Yu called.
and Yu called again, bringing the river 
to display trips on board. The small blind quickly checked over to Yu, who put in a bet of 7,500.
, showing sevens full of aces as the dealer sent the pot his way.
.
and earned the double as a result.
and the under-the-gun player made a continuation-bet of 3,000. Jackson raised after the player in between folded, making it 9,000, and the under-the-gun player three-bet jammed for around 20,000. Jackson called.
add an open-ended straight draw to Jackson's total number of outs, which ultimately proved to be too much for the all-in player to fade as the river 
, resulting in McDaniel earning the triple while the other two players took back their remaining stacks.
. Three players were in the hand, with the big blind checking to Mike Foley, who bet 2,500 under the gun. The cutoff raised to 8,500 and the big blind check-jammed over the top for 18,000. Foley four-bet shoved and the cutoff folded.
and Nguyen checked again. Hinde continued, firing another 14,000 forward. Nguyen studied Hinde a bit and then put out matching chips to call. 
and river 