MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event Day 1a | 2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian $1,600 Main Event

11-20-2020 10:05 UTC-7

End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)

Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Salim Admon	293,000
Brett Reiss	248,000
Rafael Reis	237,000

Jeff Trudeau	227,500 1,000	1,000
Sergio Sanchez	225,000 500	500
Daniel Jones	216,000
Len Clementi	213,000 136,500	136,500
Stephen Brown	185,000
Kane Lai	181,500
Matthew Leecy	177,000
Jordyn Miller	175,000 31,000	31,000
Dan Matsuzuki	167,500

Michael Rossitto	166,500
Ark Onikul	159,500
Nikolaos Platis	155,000
Daniel Sepiol	153,500 500	500
Toby Price	143,500
Jerry Brown	141,500
Wilbern Hoffman	137,500
Roman Shainiuk	137,000 500	500
Louise Francoeur	135,000
Jong Kim	133,000
Jeremy Ausmus	130,000

Gina Stagnitto	129,000
Vyacheslav Stoyanov	128,500

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MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event

Day 1a Completed

11-20-2020 00:45 UTC-7

Admon In Front After Day 1a of the 2020 MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) 2020 Venetian $1,600 Main Event drew 252 entries and played 10 one-hour levels to reach the end of the night. When play finished on all tables, 68 players were left in contention and Salim Admon (293,000) was the one to call himself chip leader.

Admon flew under the radar through the majority of the day and was spotted with a stack near his end-of-night total in the final level of the evening. He looks to enter Day 2 with the hopes of continuing to fly under the radar against the rest of the field, which is already plenty full of recognizable faces.

Among those recognizable faces to also finish with large stacks were Jeff Trudeau (226,500), Sergio Sanchez (225,500), Daniel Jones (216,000), and Kane Lai (181,500). Other notables to punch their tickets to Day 2 included Raman Afanasenka (125,000), Nick Pupillo (122,000), and a pair of MSPT Hall of Famers in Richard Alsup (68,500) and Kou Vang (51,000).

Plenty more fell short, with last weekend's $1,100 Main Event winner Landon Tice being among several to find the rail during the middle of the day. Blake Whittington, Bryant Miller, John Sun, and Tim Reilly also were among those to bust long before the end of the night loomed near.

Two more shots exist for all who either have not yet bagged or wish to try their hand at a larger Day 2 stack in the Venetian's best-stack-forward format, with the next one being Friday at 11:10 a.m.

PokerNews will be back at it then to bring you all the Day 1b action. See you in the morning.

Tags: Blake Whittington Bryant Miller Daniel Jones Jeff Trudeau John Sun Kane Lai Kou Vang Landon Tice Nick Pupillo Raman Afanasenka Richard Alsup Salim Admon Sergio Sanchez Tim Reilly

11-20-2020 00:09 UTC-7

Assorted End-of-Day Chip Counts

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Play has finished on all remaining tables and an unofficial 68 players have put chips into bags and advanced to Sunday's Day 2 with Salim Admon leading the way after bagging 293,000.

An assortment of chip counts has been provided, while a complete list will be posted once it has been received. A recap of the day's action will also be posted shortly.

Player	Chips	Progress
Salim Admon	293,000 500	500
Jeff Trudeau	226,500 500	500
Sergio Sanchez	225,500 5,500	5,500
Daniel Jones	216,000 156,600	156,600
Kane Lai	181,500 5,500	5,500
Matthew Leecy	177,000 101,000	101,000
Michael Rossitto	166,500 73,500	73,500
Ark Onikul	159,500 25,500	25,500
Daniel Sepiol	153,000 64,000	64,000
Toby Price	143,500 48,500	48,500
Roman Shainiuk	137,500 137,500	137,500
Jeremy Ausmus	130,000 26,000	26,000

Raman Afanasenka	125,000 5,700	5,700
Nick Pupillo	122,000 16,000	16,000

Brent Hart	121,500 34,500	34,500

Sung Kim	120,000 32,000	32,000
David Moses	79,500 28,500	28,500

Luis Rosa	78,000 78,000	78,000
Rick Lee	76,500 22,500	22,500
Richard Alsup	68,500 43,500	43,500
Alan Findlay	66,500 23,500	23,500
Ken Rawlinson	51,500 8,000	8,000
Kou Vang	51,000 3,500	3,500

11-19-2020 23:52 UTC-7

Onikul Gets A Chunk Before Bagging

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Ark Onikul opened the action with a raise to 3,000 on the button and received calls from both Toby Price in the small blind and Kane Lai, who defended his big blind.

The flop dropped and action checked to Onikul, who made a continuation-bet of 3,200. Price check-raised to 15,000 and Lai called. Onikul then called as well.

All three players checked the turn and the river fell . Price and Lai checked once more and Onikul put out a bet of 43,000. Price quickly shot his cards to the muck, sending action onto Lai.

Lai thought for several minutes and eventually found a call. Onikul showed for a full house and took down the pot as Lai sent his cards to the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Toby Price	192,000 45,200	45,200
Kane Lai	187,000 37,500	37,500
Ark Onikul	185,000 103,000	103,000

Tags: Ark Onikul Kane Lai Toby Price

11-19-2020 23:38 UTC-7

Five More Hands

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

The tournament clock has been stopped with 10 minutes remaining in Level 10 and five more hands will be played to their completion on all remaining tables before play concludes for the evening with the celebratory bag 'n tag.

11-19-2020 23:27 UTC-7

Jaka's Night Falls Short of a Bag

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

There was around 30,000 in the middle from preflop action in a pot between Sergio Sanchez in the hijack and Faraz Jaka, who was on the button. The flop read and Sanchez checked to Jaka, who bet 20,000. Sanchez check-shoved to put Jaka all in and Jaka wasted no time calling.

Faraz Jaka:
Sergio Sanchez:

The turn came to leave just one card between Jaka and a double, but one of the five cards in the deck that could end his night fell on the river and he was eliminated from the tournament with less than 20 minutes of play remaining in the evening.

Player	Chips	Progress
Sergio Sanchez	220,000 220,000	220,000
Faraz Jaka	Busted

Tags: Faraz Jaka Sergio Sanchez

11-19-2020 23:14 UTC-7

Most MSPT Main Event Final Tables in Single Season

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 years on they have one of the best player databases in the industry.

On their "Leaderboards" page, the MSPT tracks such things as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Final Tables, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, and much more.

Here's a look at the top ten MSPT Main Event final table in a single season:

Player	Hometown	Season	Final Tables
Patrick Steele	Chelsea, Michigan	4	4
Brett Kuznia	Stephen, Minnesota	4	4
Dan Sun	Cedar Rapids. Iowa	3	3
Christian Pham	St. Paul, Minnesota	4	3
Everett Carlton	St. Paul, Minnesota	1	3
Kou Vang	Maplewood, Minnesota	5	3
Michael Deis	Ann Arbor, Michigan	5	3
Nick Pupillo	Addison, Illinois	5	3
Mark Hodge	Fernandina Beach, Florida	6	3
DJ Buckley	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	6	3

11-19-2020 23:05 UTC-7

Afanasenka Eliminates Yu

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

Raman Afanasenka opened to 3,000 on the button and was three-bet to 10,000 by Sean Yu, who was in the big blind. Afanasenka called.

The flop fell and Yu made a continuation-bet of 10,000, which Afanasenka called. The turn came and Yu checked. Afanasenka bet 13,000 and Yu called, bringing the river . Yu checked to Afanasenka once more, and Afanasenka shoved all in for around 25,000 effective. Yu went into the tank for a bit and then found a call for his remaining chips.

Afanasenka tabled for the second-nut flush and Yu mucked his hand. It was not shown and the pot was sent to Afanasenka while Yu was eliminated from the tournament.

Meanwhile, Lee Markholt was also recently eliminated from the tournament, and on the other side of things, Jeff Trudeau and Salim Admon have just been spotted with stacks of around 225,000 and 290,000, respectively, making them among the largest stacks in the room as the minutes on the clock continue to wind down.

Player	Chips	Progress
Salim Admon	292,500
Jeff Trudeau	226,000 226,000	226,000
Raman Afanasenka	119,300 53,300	53,300
Lee Markholt	Busted

Sean Yu	Busted

Tags: Raman Afanasenka Sean Yu

11-19-2020 22:54 UTC-7

Price Flops the Nuts and Gets Paid

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Hill Kerby

Level 10 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

A player raised to 3,000 under the gun and received calls from Ben Klier in the cutoff, Toby Price in the small blind, and Kane Lai, who defended his big blind.

The flop fell and action checked to the original raiser, who went all in for 13,000. Klier raised to 35,000 to send action over to Price, who called. Lai then got out of their way and the two continued with chips already in the side pot.

The turn came and Price led out with a bet of 27,000. Klier thought for about half a minute and then announced he was all in. Once the dealer confirmed his announcement, Price immediately called.

Under the Gun:
Toby Price:
Ben Klier:

Price faded the paired board on the river and saw both pots shipped his way. His remaining stack was counted to 70,000 and Klier paid it off, bringing Price's stack up to 237,000 with less than 50 minutes left of play in the night.

Player	Chips	Progress
Toby Price	237,200 237,200	237,200
Kane Lai	224,500 43,500	43,500
Ben Klier	18,500 143,600	143,600

Tags: Ben Klier Kane Lai Toby Price