$1,110 Main Event ($500K GTD)
Day 1a Completed
2022 MSPT Riverside
$1,110 Main Event ($500K GTD)
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
2022 MSPT Riverside
Buy-in
$1,110
Prize Pool
$1,059,680
Entries
1,094
Level
32
Blinds
150,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
140
Players Left
17
Jason Bender Leads 17 Survivors After Day 1a of MSPT Riverside $1,100 Main Event
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Day 1a of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Riverside $1,100 Main Event is officially in the books with 140 total entries tallied by night's end.
A full 15 levels were played to their completion and when the dust settled, it was Iowa native Jason Bender who bagged the top stack with 437,000. Bender caught momentum at the end of Level 9 when he set-up a double elimination to soar to the top of the counts.
Finishing second in chips was Godson Wright who rivered a four-card straight to eliminate Darren Williams in the last level of the evening to catapult him to 350,000.
Kevin Berthelsen started building his stack in the early stages of the tournament and was one of the first players to eclipse the 100k mark. Berthelsen was able to build off the momentum and finished the night third in chips with 341,000 while Angelo Tsilibiris (274,00), and Rob Chiappone (256,000) round out the top five stacks.
Others to advance included Tim Garles (254,000), two-time MSPT Main Event Champ Taylor Howard (161,000), Phil Mader (118,000), and Joe Landazzi (113,000).
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night. Among those to fire and fall in Thursday’s flight were MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson, WSOP bracelet winner Bradley Jansen, along with MSPT Champion's Ken Baime, and John Sun.
Day 1b will get underway at 3.00 p.m. on Friday, March 18th. Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 12 (approximately 11:40 p.m.)
PokerNews will be on hand all week long bringing you all of the action, so be sure to come back for Friday's Day 1b at 3.00 p.m. local time.
End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
437,000 | 57,000 |
|
|
||
|
350,000 | |
|
|
||
|
341,000 | -39,000 |
|
|
||
|
274,000 | -66,000 |
|
|
||
|
256,000 | 136,000 |
|
|
||
|
254,000 | 14,000 |
|
|
||
|
215,000 | 15,000 |
|
|
||
|
194,000 | 54,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
175,000 | 175,000 |
|
|
||
|
161,000 | -44,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
149,000 | -71,000 |
|
|
||
|
128,000 | 58,000 |
|
|
||
|
118,000 | -2,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
118,000 | 118,000 |
|
|
||
|
113,000 | 13,000 |
|
|
||
|
111,000 | 111,000 |
|
|
||
|
106,000 | 46,000 |
|
|
||
Final Four Hands
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
The tournament director has just announced the final four hands of the evening with 17 players remaining.
Berthelsen Fires Three Streets
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
Action folded to the button who raised to 11,000 and only Kevin Berthelsen called from the small blind.
The 
flop saw Berthelsen lead out for 15,000 and was called bringing the 
turn.
Berthelsen led out for 17,0000 and his opponent called once again to see the 
complete the board on the river.
Berthelsen continued with his aggression and this time fired out an uncontested 31,000 to win the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
380,000 | |
|
|
||
Hall Sets Up Rice for Double
Level 15
: 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante
A series of preflop raises saw Nick Hall call off his 108,000 stack from late position after Loren Rice jammed from the cutoff.
Nick Hall: 
Loren Rice: 
Rice had Hall crushed until the 
flop hit the felt giving Hall a set of jacks.
The turn didn't change a thing nor did the 
river and Hall collected his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
220,000 | 112,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
60,000 | -60,000 |
|
|
||
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/5,000
Ante: 5,000
A Look at the MSPT Hall of Fame
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
The MSPT Hall of Fame, established in 2017, is proud to recognize those individuals who have shown superior skill and achieved specific long-term accomplishments.
The criteria to earn a spot on the MSPT Hall of Fame is as follows:
- Achieve a minimum of 25 MSPT Main Event Cashes and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year; or
- Achieve a minimum of 10 MSPT Main Event Final Tables and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year
To see which players are close to achieving HOF status, refer to the comprehensive MSPT Stats page.
As of today, eight players are currently enshrined in the MSPT Hall of Fame.
Big Slick Does the Trick for Berthelsen
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Kevin Berthelsen raised to 11,000 from late position and was called by Joe Landazzi from the hijack, along with the big blind.
Once the 
flop hit the felt, the big blind moved all-in for 31,000 and only Berthelsen called.
Opponent: 
Kevin Berthelsen:
Both players flopped two-pair, but Berthelsen held the better hand and neither the 
turn nor the 
river changed a thing as he eliminated his opponent.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
280,000 | 50,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
100,000 | |
|
|
||
Sun Jams into Berthelsen's Aces
Level 14
: 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Kevin Berthelsen raised from under the gun and then called the 50,000 three-bet jam John Sun made from the big blind.
John Sun: 
Kevin Berthelsen: 
Sun was way behind needing help but didn't find any from the 
runout and he made his exit from the tournament field.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
230,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
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