Level: 7
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 800
2021 MSPT Showdown Series
MSPT Sycuan $360 Regional Event
Day: 1c
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1c
2021 MSPT Showdown Series
Winner
Buy-in
$360
Prize Pool
$312,600
Entries
1,047
Level
30
Blinds
100,000 / 150,000
Ante
30,000
Entries
467
Players Left
59
Industry Veteran Mark Napolitano Looks to Cruise to Victory
Level 6
: 300/600, 600 ante
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
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 5,000 |
Mitchell Drops One
Level 6
: 300/600, 600 ante
A player in middle position opened for 1,500 and Leo Mitchell called next to act. Eduardo Palmerin did the same the next spot over, and then both the players in the cutoff and big blind called to make it five-way action to a flop of 
.
Two checks saw Mitchell bet 5,000 and only the player in the cutoff called to see the 
turn.
Mitchell down-sized his bet considerably to just 1,500 and that prompted the cutoff to min-raise to 3,000.
Mitchell called and then checked the 
river. The player in the cutoff did the same and tabled the 
. It was good as Mitchell sent his hand to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | -10,000 |
Level: 6
Blinds: 300/600
Ante: 600
Aaron Wallace Wins MSPT Sycuan Event #2: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha
Level 5
: 300/500, 500 ante
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
| 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 |
Ramon Reyes on "Sick" Run, Up to 240K Already
Level 5
: 300/500, 500 ante
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
240,000 |
Join the PokerNews Discord Server Today!
Level 5
: 300/500, 500 ante
We have exciting news for poker fans around the world!
We thought players and fans should have an interactive platform in which to engage with one another, as well as us here at PokerNews. That's why we've created a PokerNews Discord server and are inviting you to join our new community.
Discord specializes in text, image, video, and audio communication between users in a chat channel. It's a digital message board where you can share your thoughts with others who also love poker. The Pokernews Discord will give you a place to get caught up on whats going on in poker today and a place where you can share your thoughts with others.
Think of Discord as a house where different categories within the server are like a different room in the house. You can jump from one to the other to interact, gather information, or just have some fun.
We give you an area to share your bad beats, share your big wins, and talk about what is going on in poker today. We'll share links to live updates, highlight the biggest poker news, and offer special promotions.
Level: 5
Blinds: 300/500
Ante: 500
First Break of the Day
Level 4
: 200/400, 400 ante
Four levels have come and gone here on Day 1a of the MSPT Sycuan $360 Regional Event, and that means it's time for the first 10-minute break of the day.
"I Knew It Was Going to be a 10-High Flop"
Level 4
: 200/400, 400 ante
Mike Souza raised to 1,400 from the cutoff and was met by a three-bet to 3,300 from David Woodworth on the button.
Both blinds folded and Souza put in the additional 1,900 to see a flop of 
.
Souza checked, Woodworth moved all in for 16,500, and the former leaned back in his chair.
"I knew you were going to do that," said Souza, who put together chips as if he was going to call.
He must've though better about it though as he eventually sent his cards, pocket jacks, to the muck face up.
Woodworth obliged him and showed 
for the bigger pocket pair.
"I knew it was going to be a ten-high flop," a relieved Souza said.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
34,000 | |
|
|
25,000 |