MSPT Sycuan $1,110 Main Event
Day 1a Started
MSPT Sycuan $1,110 Main Event
Day 1a Started
The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT), which has awarded more than $110 million in prize money since its debut in December 2009, is in Southern California for the first time! For the past week, the tour has partnered with Sycuan Casino Resort to play host to an 11-event series deemed the “MSPT Showdown Series.”
Last weekend, things kicked off with the $360 buy-in, $100K GTD MSPT Regional Event, which saw 65-year-old Armando Mesia top a massive 1,047-entry field to win the tournament for a career-high score.
This weekend, the $1,100 buy-in, $200,000 GTD Main Event will play out starting with today's Day 1a field at 3 p.m. local time. The tournament, which will also offer Day 1b and 1c flights at the same time on Friday and Saturday respectively, will start players with 25,000 in chips and play 15 levels. Those who survive will then return at 11 a.m. local time on Sunday to play down to a winner.
The tournament offers a max of one reentry per starting flight. There will be a 10-minute break after every three levels, each lasting 40 minutes. This tournament will play 8-handed throughout. This tournament will transition from Big Blind Ante to Standard Ante when 24 players remain.
In between the two bookend tournaments, there have been nine other trophy events including a $200 MSPT Ladies Event powered by Poker League of Nations (PLON), a $360 Seniors (50+) tournament, and a $250 MSPT Tag Team Championship. There were also both pot-limit Omaha and pot-limit Omaha 8 or Better Championships. We will be sprinkling in mini-recaps for all those events throughout this weekend's coverage of the Main Event.
Click here for a look at all tournament structures.
Sycuan Casino Resort, which requires players to be 21+, is situated just 30 minutes outside downtown San Diego. Sycuan Casino Resort proudly boasts world-class accommodations, including live world-class entertainment venues and gaming. Test your luck at casino gaming with over 2,500 slot machines, bingo, baccarat, blackjack, and in their poker room
Date | Time (PST) | Event | GTD | Total Chips |
---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, May 6 | 3 p.m. | Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1a | $200,000 | 25,000 |
Thursday, May 6 | 8 p.m. | $265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event | - | 15,000 |
Friday, May 7 | 10 a.m. | $265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event | - | 15,000 |
Friday, May 7 | 3 p.m. | Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1b | $200,000 | 25,000 |
Friday, May 7 | 8 p.m. | $265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event | - | 15,000 |
Sautrday, May 8 | 10 a.m. | $265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event | - | 15,000 |
Saturday, May 8 | 3 p.m. | Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1c | $200,000 | 25,000 |
Saturday, May 8 | 8 p.m. | $135 Nightly Deep Stack | - | 12,000 |
Sunday, May 9 | 11 a.m. | Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 2 | $200,000 | - |
Sunday, May 9 | Noon | Event #11: $360 Last Chace Showdown NLHE | - | 15,000 |
Sunday, May 9 | 4 p.m. | $135 Nightly Deep Stack | 12,000 |
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 100
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Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Andrew Moreno | 25,000 | |
Veronica Daly | 25,000 | |
Armando Mesina | 25,000 | |
Rich Alsup | 25,000 | |
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Faris Fetouhi | 25,000 | |
Robert Keeling | 25,000 | |
Adam Demersseman | 25,000 | |
Brad Sailor | 25,000 | |
Tim Daly | 25,000 | |
Chad Bjorkman
|
25,000 | |
Alan Wentz | 25,000 | |
Marty Gorenc | 25,000 | |
Nick Yunis | 25,000 | |
Jeff Grimes | 25,000 |
In addition to the $1,100 Main Event happening here at the MSPT Sycuan Casino, there were 10 other side events that awarded trophies.
One of them was Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha, which played out Friday, April 30. The tournament attracted 75 entrants and offered up a $25,125 prize pool reserved for the final table of eight.
The local San Diego contingent comprised 75% of the final table, but one-by-one they fell to the wayside leaving two "out of towners" to battle heads-up.
After a long day of play, it was Aaron Wallace of North San Juan, California emerged victorious to win the tournament for $8,543 while Tristan Ziemann finished in second place for $5,301.
Event #2 Final Table Results
Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Aaron Wallace | North San Juan, California | $8,543 |
2 | Tristan Ziemann | New Brighton, Minnesota | $5,301 |
3 | Cobi Vu | San Diego, California | $3,467 |
4 | Jon Bergston | San Diego, California | $2,437 |
5 | Eric Bradford | San Diego, California | $1,809 |
6 | Mike Souza | San Diego, California | $1,407 |
7 | Mark Nguyen | San Diego, California | $1,156 |
8 | Alphonso Herdeia III | San Diego, California | $1,005 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 200
The MSPT Sycuan Showdown Series has attracted players from all over the country, and that is evidenced by one experienced player who has traveled all the way from Illinois. That is none other than Brad Sailor, who has more than $523K in lifetime tournament earnings.
Sailor’s career-high score of $111,311 came when he finished third in the 2015 Chicago Poker Classic $2,000 Main Event. The year before that, he made a run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event placing 167th for $44,728, which came just a few months after he finished third in the 2014 Chicago Poker Classic Event #2: $500 NLHE for $42,219.
On the MSPT, Sailor has $66,294 in career earnings from a single regional cash and eight Main Event cashes, including two final table appearance. His best MSPT score to date was $21,738 for finishing fifth in the MSPT Meskwaki in March 2019. His other final table was the 2014 MSPT Majestic Star when he finished third for $20,992.
Only time will tell if the Midwest player can find success out west!
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Brad Sailor | 25,000 |
Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event #1: $360 Regional Event | 1,047 | $312,162 | Armando Mesina | Chula Vista, CA | $33,329 |
Event #2: $400 PLO | 75 | $25,125 | Aaron Wallace | North San Juan, CA | $8,543 |
Event #3: $250 NLHE Sunday Deast | 251 | $50,200 | Fadi Yakou | San Marcos, CA | $7,221 |
Event #4: $200 NLHE Ladies Event | 79 | $13,825 | Victoria Davidson-Castillo | West Covina, CA | $4,701 |
Event #5: $360 Seniors | 175 | $51,900 | Joseph Szegedy | Winnetka, CA | $7,981 |
Event #6: $250 NLHE Turbo Super Stack | 200 | $40,000 | Bob Chow | Las Vegas, NV | $6,098 |
Event #7: $360 PLO8 | 93 | $27,900 | Ken Po | Seven Hills, OH | $8,369 |
Event #8: $250 NLHE Tag Team | 418 | $41,800 | Lena Evans & Tavish Margers | Beverly Hills, CA & Santee, CA | $9,798 |
Event #9: $200 NLHE Hump Day | 161 | $32,218 | Jennifer Craddock | Ocala, Florida | $8,531 |
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Ken Baime | 25,000 | |
Ben Moon
|
25,000 | |
Adam Friedman | 25,000 | |
|
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Laurette Thurber | 25,000 | |
Kyle Frey | 25,000 | |
Happy Spaulding | 25,000 | |
Hannah Spaulding
|
25,000 |