2021 MSPT Showdown Series

MSPT Sycuan $360 Regional Event
Day: 1c
Event Info

2021 MSPT Showdown Series

Final Results Event Info
Buy-in
$360
Prize Pool
$312,600
Entries
1,047
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 150,000
Ante
30,000
Players Info - Day 1c
Entries
467
Players Left
59

Welcome to Day 1c of the MSPT Sycuan $360 Regional Event

Sycuan Casino
Sycuan Casino

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 as Sycuan Casino Resort will play host to an 11-event series deemed the “MSPT Showdown Series.”

The series will be bookended by two premier events. Continuing today is the $360 buy-in, $100K GTD MSPT Regional Event, which will feature three starting flights. Today marks Day 1c, the third and final starting flight, which will get underway at 2 p.m. local time.

The following weekend, the series will culminate with a $1,100 buy-in, $200K GTD MSPT Main Event, which will also feature three starting flights. PokerNews will be on hand to offer live updates from both events.

In between, there are 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 are also both pot-limit Omaha and pot-limit Omaha 8 or Better Championships.

Click here for a look at all tournament structures.

As for this Regional Event, players will start with 25,000 in chips and play 30-minute levels. Day 1c plays through the end of Level 15 or until approximately 12 percent of the field remains. Late registration closes at the start of Level 13 (approximately 8:30 p.m. local time).

On Friday's Day 1a, 305 runners turned out in force and set the stage for what’s sure to be a busy weekend. After 15 levels of play, the field was whittled down to 37 players with Happy Spaulding and his stack of 786,000 leading the pack. On Friday, Day 1b attracted 275 runners, which brought the total field up to 580 entries with Day 1c still to go. After 15 levels of play, the field was whittled down to 32 players with Benjamin Moon and his stack of 560,000 leading. Hot on his heels was Harold Singleton, with 551,000.

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

DateTime (PST)EventGTDTotal Chips
Saturday, May 12 p.m.Event #1: $360 Regional Event Day 1c$100,00025,000
Saturday, May 18 p.m.$135 Nightly Deep Stack-12,000
Sunday, May 211 a.m.Event #1: $360 Regional Event Day 2$100,000-
Sunday, May 2NoonEvent #3: $250 Sunday Feast NLHE-15,000
Sunday, May 24 p.m.Event #4: $200 Ladies Event powered by PLON-15,000
Sunday, May 26 p.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Sunday, May 28 p.m.$135 Nightly Deep Stack-12,000
Monday, May 310 a.m.$80 Sunrise NLH-10,000
Monday, May 3NoonEvent #5: $360 Seniors (50+) NLHE-10,000
Monday May 34 p.m.Event #6: $250 Turbo Super Stack NLHE-25,000
Monday, May 38 p.m.$135 Nightly Deep Stack-12,000
Tuesday, May 410 a.m.$80 Sunrise NLH-10,000
Tuesday, May 4Noon$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Tuesday, May 42 p.m.Event #7: $360 PLO 8 of Better-15,000
Tuesday, May 45 p.m.Event #8: $250 MSPT Tag Team Championship ($125/player)-$10,000
Wednesday, May 510 a.m.$80 Sunrise NLHE-10,000
Wednesday, May 5NoonEvent #9: $250 Hump Day Showdown NLHE-15,000
Wednesday, May 57 p.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Thursday, May 610 a.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Thursday, May 63 p.m.Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1a$200,00025,000
Thursday, May 68 p.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Friday, May 710 a.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Friday, May 73 p.m.Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1b$200,00025,000
Friday, May 78 p.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Sautrday, May 810 a.m.$265 satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event-15,000
Saturday, May 83 p.m.Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 1c$200,00025,000
Saturday, May 88 p.m.$135 Nightly Deep Stack-12,000
Sunday, May 911 a.m.Event #10: $1,110 MSPT Main Event Day 2$200,000-
Sunday, May 9NoonEvent #11: $360 Last Chace Showdown NLHE-15,000
Sunday, May 94 p.m.$135 Nightly Deep Stack12,000 

MSPT & PLON Join Forces for Sunday's Ladies Event

Level 1 : 100/100, 100 ante
MSPT Ladies Event
MSPT Ladies Event

This Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, the MSPT Showdown Series at Sycuan Casino will play host to a $200 Ladies Event powered by Poker League of Nations (PLON).

PokerNews recently caught up with PLON founder Lena Evans, who will be in attendance to compete in the tournament as well as other MSPT tournaments.

PokerNews: How did the opportunity to host a ladies event at the MSPT Sycuan come about?

Lena Evans: The opportunity to host an MSPT PLON Powered Ladies Event at Sycuan in San Diego was originally suggested by PLON Executive Committee member Allen Kessler. Allen connected me with MSPT President Bryan Mileski. Bryan and I then organized the details of our partnership together, and the first MSPT PLON event was born! This will be PLON's first live event back since March 2020.

PokerNews: What is the female poker community like in San Diego?

Lena Evans: We have nine casinos located within San Diego County, and multiple card rooms, making the poker community in San Diego extremely dynamic. Being the founder of PLON, and living in San Diego, you can imagine our female poker community is very active. Pre-pandemic, we had a San Diego PLON League, which played for seats to the top tours in San Diego and Las Vegas, including $10k events. During the pandemic, we stayed in action online in friendly games.

PokerNews: What can participants expect from the upcoming event?

Lena Evans: Participants in our PLON Powered Ladies Only MSPT event will enjoy a pre-event meet-up at 2 p.m. with PLON hosted beverages and bites so our ladies from around the USA (including Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, and other states) can enjoy socializing and getting re-acquainted with one another. The $200 ladies event begins at 4 p.m., with 20-minute levels, and late registration through the ninth level.

The winner receives the beautiful MSPT trophy, along with the PLON signature Tiffany & Co. sterling bracelet valued at $400. All final tablists receive a PLON backpack with gifts including apparel from Flop the World (FTW) and PLON merchandise, "The Biggest Bluff" book signed by Maria Konnikova, Solar Rain Water, Spades Sunshades sunglasses, Poker Elephant chips, and other goodies!

Lena Evans
PLON founder Lena Evans

Get to Know Poker Pro Bob Chow

Level 1 : 100/100, 100 ante
Bob Chow
Bob Chow

Did you know there’s a poker millionaire in today’s field?

Robert “Bob” Chow, originally from Illinois but now residing in Las Vegas, has more than $1.1 million in lifetime tournament winnings. That includes a career-best $393,584 for winning the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Horseshoe Hammond $1,600 Main Event.

Not only is he a three-time WSOPC gold ring winner, he’s also both a Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) and America’s Poker Tour champion. Regarding the former, he won the 2013 HPT Gary for $171,534, and the latter he took down the 2016 America’s Poker Tour Chicagoland Event #1: $210 Deepstack for $24,310.

As for the MSPT, Chow has $22,440 in lifetime earnings from a pair of Main Event cashes. Of that, $17,017 came when he took fourth place in the 2014 MSPT Majestic Star.

Only time will tell if Chow can add a MSPT title to his impressive poker résumé.

Tags: Bob Chow

Popular Poker Vlogger Johnnie "Vibes" Moreno Enters the Field

Level 3 : 200/300, 300 ante
Johnnie Moreno
Johnnie Moreno

If you're familiar with poker vlogs, you've no doubt heard of Johnnie Moreno, better known to many as “Johnnie Vibes."

While he has been a full-time cash game poker pro for more than a decade, Johnnie Vibes has opted to try his hand in today's tournament.

Usually splitting time between Las Vegas and San Diego, Moreno has won more than $1 million grinding mid-stakes cash games. In addition, he's amassed $114,480 in live tournament winnings including a career-best $29,400 for finishing 385th in the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

For more on JohnnieVibes follow him on Twitter and YouTube @JohnnieVibes, and also check out his website JohnnVibes.com.

Here's a look at the most recent vlog from Johnnie Vibes:

Player Chips Progress
Johnnie Moreno us
Johnnie Moreno
25,000
25,000
25,000

Tags: Johnnie Moreno

Aaron Knapp Gets Lucky to Score Knockout

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante
Aaron Knapp
Aaron Knapp

The preflop action escaped us, but we do know that a player got their stack all in and was at risk, albeit primed to double, through Aaron Knapp.

Aaron Knapp: {q-Hearts}{q-Spades}
Opponent: {k-}{k-}

Knapp was on the wrong end of the cooler but got lucky when the flop came down {q-Diamonds}{2-Spades}{7-Spades} to give him a set.

Neither the {9-Spades} turn nor {a-Diamonds} river changed a thing and Knapp collected the pot while sending an opponent to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Aaron Knapp us
Aaron Knapp
30,000

Tags: Aaron Knapp

Ramon Reyes on "Sick" Run, Up to 240K Already

Level 5 : 300/500, 500 ante
Ramon Reyes
Ramon Reyes

A clear chip leader has emerged here in the early levels of Day 1c, and that man is Ramon Reyes, who has worked a 25,000 starting stack all the way up to 240,000!

"Sick," was the simple response from Reyes when asked if he'd been on a run.

Another player at the table elaborated that for a while Reyes was basically eliminating an opponent in every orbit.

That would explain how he's already managed to amass nearly 10 starting stacks!

We'll be keeping an eye on Reyes as Day 1c progresses to see how he fares.

Player Chips Progress
Ramon Reyes us
Ramon Reyes
240,000

Tags: Ramon Reyes

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

Level 5 : 300/500, 500 ante
Aaron Wallace
Aaron Wallace

In addition to the $360 Regional and $1,100 Main Events happening here at the MSPT Sycuan Casino, there are nine other side events awarding trophies.

One of them was Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha, which played out Friday night. 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

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Aaron WallaceNorth San Juan, California$8,543
2Tristan ZiemannNew Brighton, Minnesota$5,301
3Cobi VuSan Diego, California$3,467
4Jon BergstonSan Diego, California$2,437
5Eric BradfordSan Diego, California$1,809
6Mike SouzaSan Diego, California$1,407
7Mark NguyenSan Diego, California$1,156
8Alphonso Herdeia IIISan Diego, California$1,005

Tags: Aaron Wallace

Industry Veteran Mark Napolitano Looks to Cruise to Victory

Level 6 : 300/600, 600 ante
Mark Napolitano
Mark Napolitano

When it comes to poker experience, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone in today's field with more of it than Mark Napolitano, who along with his wife, Tina Napolitano, are veterans of the poker world.

They broke into the industry after establishing one of the game’s first successful sites in PokerPages.com, helped grow the game through various endeavors, and nowadays find themselves sailing around the world (pre-pandemic of course) running CardPlayer Cruises alongside Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher.

As for poker, it’s been a lifelong love affair for Mark after he was first exposed to 7-Card Stud in his younger days.

“I started in poker in 1975. I was 15 years old. I used to play a game of snooker in a snooker hall, and those places were full of gambling,” Napolitano explained. It was at that snooker hall that he discovered a game in the back, and before long he became an errand boy of sorts, fetching tea and sandwiches for tips.

According to HendonMob, Napolitano has nearly $200K in tournament earnings dating back to 1997, which was the first year he paid a visit to Las Vegas. While staying downtown at Golden Nugget, he walked across the street to Binion’s Horseshoe, which was hosting the World Series of Poker.

“They were playing 2-7 no-limit with big stacks of $100 bills,” Napolitano said of his first taste of poker in Sin City. “It turned out, I didn’t know at the time, it was Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, Steve Zolotow, they were playing six-handed. I stood on that rail for 12 hours and just watched it. I was fascinated.”

Napolitano made his way to San Diego from Las Vegas and plans to compete in MSPT Sycuan tournaments all week long. Time will tell if he has any success, perhaps starting here in the $360 Regional Event.

Learn More About Mark Napolitano Here

Mark and Tina Napolitano on a CardPlayer Cruise.
Mark and Tina Napolitano on a CardPlayer Cruise.
Player Chips Progress
Mark Napolitano us
Mark Napolitano
30,000
5,000
5,000

Tags: Mark Napolitano

Josh Vlahos Adds to Chip Lead

Level 11 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Josh Vlahos
Josh Vlahos

Josh Vlahos appears to be the chip leader as Level 12 approaches.

In a recent hand, a short-stacked player moved all in and was looked up by Vlahos.

Josh Vlahos: {j-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}
Opponent: {q-Diamonds}{j-Spades}

The at-risk player was a heavy favorite and paired up on the {k-Diamonds}{7-Spades}{q-Spades} flop, which also gave Vlahos an up-and-down straight draw.

Well, when you're running good, you are running good. That was evidenced by the {9-Hearts} that spiked on the turn to give Vlahos his straight.

The meaningless {5-Clubs} was run out on the river and Vlahos was pushed the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Josh Vlahos us
Josh Vlahos
320,000
20,000
20,000

Tags: Josh Vlahos

Nguyen Sets Up Navarro to Double Into the Chip Lead

Level 14 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Tiffany Nguyen
Tiffany Nguyen

Just before the level went up, Valentin Navarro had been playing an aggressive game, often over-betting pots by moving all in, and for a while it was working like a charm. That all came to a sudden halt however at the hands of Tiffany Nguyen.

There was around 30,000 in the pot and a flop of {9-Hearts}{2-Spades}{6-Clubs} when Nguyen checked from the big blind. Another player did the same before Navarro bet 25,000. Nguyen called and the other player got out of the way.

Nguyen then checked for the second time on the {3-Clubs} turn. Navarro went for his patented over-bet shove but this time Nguyen snapped him off putting in her remaining 281,000.

Tiffany Nguyen: {2-Diamonds}{2-Hearts}
Navarro: {a-}{8-}

Nguyen had flopped bottom set and was guaranteed to double as Navarro was drawing dead with ace high. The {4-Spades} river made it official, and Nguyen pulled in a chip-leading pot worth 645,000.

Navarro was left with 120,000 after the hand but went bust a short time later.

Player Chips Progress
Tiffany Nguyen us
Tiffany Nguyen
640,000
320,000
320,000
Valentin Navarro us
Valentin Navarro
Busted

Tags: Tiffany NguyenValentin Navarro