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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
To date, the MSPT has awarded $110,657,533 in prize money.
Here's a look at the current MSPT All-Time Money List:
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.
.
turn.
river. The player in the cutoff did the same and tabled the 
. It was good as Mitchell sent his hand to the muck.
