MSPT Sycuan $1,110 Main Event Day 1c | 2021 MSPT Showdown Series

05-08-2021 17:39 UTC-7

What You Need to Know About San Diego's Sycuan Casino

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

Are you familiar with Sycuan Casino? If not, fear not as we're ready to let you know everything you need to know.

Sycuan Casino is located in the Dehesa Valley just 30 minutes from downtown San Diego, Sycuan Casino Resort began as a one-room Bingo Palace in 1983. Over three decades later, they've grown into a community landmark and one of San Diego’s premier casino resort destinations that offers something for everybody.

They recently completed a 260 million dollar expansion project featuring a 12-story luxury hotel with over 300 guest rooms and 57 suites. Guests have several new onsite amenities to enjoy like expanded casino floor space, bars and restaurants, a full-service spa and salon, over 80,000 square feet of customizable meeting and event space, and a state-of-the-art pool area.

The casino floor now includes 2,200 diverse slot machines and 50 classic table games like poker, blackjack, craps, and roulette.

And the fun extends well past the gaming. From A-list concerts and comedy shows to sports viewing parties and San Diego’s only country pool party, their featured live entertainment is always a world-class guest experience.

With over 15 bars and restaurants ranging from casual to upscale, dining at Sycuan Casino Resort is an experience in itself. Whether it’s a laidback tap house, an upscale steakhouse, or a fast-casual eatery featuring several of San Diego’s favorite restaurants, their full-service resort offers dining for every taste.

They also created their very own oasis with two pools, a lazy river, a swim-up bar, and cabanas. Their full-service spa and salon offers a wide array of wellness treatments ranging from facials to massages, saunas, and steam rooms, to even a complete hair salon.

For more on the venue, visit sycuan.com.

05-08-2021 17:30 UTC-7

A Round of Chip Counts

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Brad Sailor	45,000	45,000
Jason Kapoor	40,000	40,000
Adrian Lopez	30,000	30,000
Tavish Margers	26,200	1,200
Laurette Thurber	25,000
Andy Rogowski	22,500	-2,500
Tim Garles	22,000	22,000
Jared Griener	22,000	-3,000
Scott Stewart	20,000	20,000
Cody Brinn	19,500	-5,500
Nick Yunis	17,000	17,000
Tim Daly	11,000	-14,000
Benjamin Moon	9,000	-16,000

Level: 4

Blinds: 200/400

Ante: 400

05-08-2021 17:01 UTC-7

First Break of the Day

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

Three levels have come and gone on Day 1c of the MSPT Sycuan Casino Main Event, and that means it's time for the first 10-minute break of the day.

05-08-2021 16:51 UTC-7

Aaron Wallace Wins MSPT Sycuan Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

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

Tags: Aaron Wallace

05-08-2021 16:40 UTC-7

Dan "DQ" Hendrickson Looking to Keep MSPT Stream Alive

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante

Headed into the MSPT's 11th Season in 2020, just two players had cashed every season of the tour. Kou Vang and Dan "DQ" Hendrickson. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic severely altered the schedule, and as a result, Vang failed to cash. Fortunately for Hendrickson, he finished runner-up to Derek McMaster in February 2020's MSPT Canterbury Park for $61,948.

As a result, Hendrickson became the only player to have cashed every single season of the MSPT. It all started back in Season 1 when he finished 10th in the MSPT Jackpot Junction for a modest $1,856. As the tour grew, so did Hendrickson's list of cashes. To date, he has 19 Main Event cashes, including seven final tables and a win, and one Regional Event cash totaling $250,129 in career MSPT winnings.

"DQ" Dan as he's known for being a franchisee of Dairy Queen back in Minnesota, is looking to extend his streak by notching his first cash in Season 12. Only time will tell if he can get it done here in San Diego.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dan Hendrickson	30,000	30,000

Tags: Dan Hendrickson

Level: 3

Blinds: 200/300

Ante: 300

05-08-2021 16:29 UTC-7

Nick Lackman Takes It on the River

Chad Holloway

Level 2 : 100/200, 200 ante

Right before Level 2 expired, the player on the button raised to 600 and Nick Lackman three-bet to 1,900 from the small blind. The button called and it was heads-up to the flop.

Lackman check-called a bet of 1,700 and then one of 4,000 on the turn.

When the paired the board on the river, Lackman shifted gears and led out for 8,500. That did the trick as his opponent released his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nick Lackman	30,000

Tags: Nick Lackman

05-08-2021 16:07 UTC-7

Poker Commentator Jeff Platt Playing First MSPT Outside Las Vegas

Chad Holloway

Level 2 : 100/200, 200 ante

Jeff Platt is no stranger to PokerNews as he's a co-host of the weekly PokerNews Podcast, which you can listen to here.

In addition to his work with us, Platt is an industry professional doing commentary work for PokerGO events such as the Poker Masters and U.S. Poker Open as well as the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Platt, who hails from Texas and previously covered both the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs as a sports journalist, was also a commentator for Friday Night Poker and host of The Big Blind trivia/poker strategy show.

As a player, Platt has amassed nearly $300K in live tournament winnings according to The Hendon Mob. That includes a career-high $113,764 for finishing 60th in the 2015 WSOP Main Event. That came on the heels of a 203rd-place finish in the 2014 WSOP Main Event, good for $44,728.

It was also at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino that Platt has had success in the Daily Deepstacks. In 2014, he finished runner-up in a $235 NLHE tournament for $31,913, and then in 2017 took one down for $35,437.

Last summer, Platt also final tabled the WSOP.com Event #7: $800 NLHE Knockout Deepstack for $15,057.

Platt is here today competing in his first MSPT event outside The Venetian Las Vegas, and he's seeking his first cash on the tour.

For more on Platt, follow him on Twitter @jeffplatt.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jeff Platt	28,000	3,000

Tags: Jeff Platt

05-08-2021 15:51 UTC-7

Most MSPT Main Event Cashes in a Single Season

Chad Holloway

Level 2 : 100/200, 200 ante

Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 12 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.

Place	Player	Season	Cashes
1	Mike Shin	10	12
2	Aaron Johnson	10	10
3	Aaron Johnson	9	10
4	Kou Vang	5	8
5	Mark Hodge	6	8
6	DJ Buckley	9	7
7	Kou Vang	9	7
8	Patrick Steele	10	7
9	Brian Hou	10	7
10	Alex Winter	10	6