MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day 2 Completed
MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)
MSPT Grand Falls $1,100 Main Event ($200K GTD)
Day: 2
Nicholas "grizpoker" Smith Wins MSPT Grand Falls for First Title and a $110,633 Payday
Level 30
: 100,000/150,000, 30,000 ante
The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) returned to Iowa's Grand Falls Casino, just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for an $1,100 Main Event and it set another high bar with 532 entries over two days with 73 players finding their way into Sunday's with their eyes set on the title.
After 12 hours of play, it was Nicholas "grizpoker" Smith who navigated his way through to the finish line was for a $110,633 first-place prize along with his first MSPT title.
"It's an amazing feeling", Smith said after his win, "I've worked for this for years, all I want to do is play poker".
Smith, also know as "grizpoker", had quite the weekend here at Grand Falls, as he left his home early Thursday morning and traveled 12 hours from Indianapolis just to play in the Main Event.
"I left home at 4:00 in the morning, played the Thursday night satellite, won that, sold the ticket, then played the Friday morning satellite, won that as well, busted my first bullet, and then rebought on Day 1a".
Smith finished with a top five stack in the first flight and now has future plans on continuing his poker endeavor.
"I've been playing poker for a very long time but this was my fist time playing in a big buy-in event, and after tonight I definitely plan on playing a lot more".
Smith continued, "I love this game and this is what I'm made to do, it's all I want to do."
Smith wears a passion for poker on his sleeve and we look forward to see much more of him in the future.
2021 MSPT Grand Falls Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize | MSPT POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas "grizpoker" Smith | Fishers, IN | $110,633 | 1,600 |
| 2 | Kenneth Johnson | - | $67,971 | 1,400 |
| 3 | Larry Wagner | Middleton, WI | $48,984 | 1,300 |
| 4 | Graham Beynon | Sioux Falls, SD | $37,047 | 1,200 |
| 5 | Tyler Kolness | Hendrum, MN | $27,785 | 1,100 |
| 6 | Joe Osterbauer | Minneapolis, MN | $21,096 | 1,000 |
| 7 | Jason Crews | Clive, IA | $16,465 | 900 |
| 8 | Taylor Howard | Altoona, IA | $12,864 | 800 |
| 9 | Saad Ghanem | Bloomington, MN | $9,776 | 700 |
With 54 slated to get paid, more than a dozen players needed to exit before players reached. Among those to leave empty-handed were William Reynolds, Nicola DiTrapani, and MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson, just to name a few.
After John Menapace bubbled in 55th place, the march to the final table began. Among those to fall along the way, albeit with a payday, were John Orfonos (10th - $7,718),Dan Grossman (16th - $5,145), Joe Matheson (21st - $4,682), MSPT Season 12 point leader Cy Church (44th - $2,521), and James Pupillo (54th - $2,315).
Final Table action
Kenneth Johnson entered the final table with the chip lead with a stack of 2.5 million and once players returned from their dinner break, it didn't take long before Saad Ghanem dropped in ninth place after waking up with aces only to be out-flopped by Graham Beynon holding a suited jack-ten.
A few hands later, two-time MSPT Main Event Champ Taylor Howard hit the rail holding a king-queen offsuit only to be called by Tyler Kolness holding a dominating ace-king. The next player to be sent home was Jason Crews, whose flopped two-pair came up just short after Smith rivered a better two-pair.
Joe Osterbauer was next on the chopping block after his ace-four suited failed to crack Smith's pair of ladies. Shortly after, Kolness departed in fifth place after his king-jack suited was crushed against Smith's ace-jack.
Four-handed play went on for almost another two levels until Beynon hit the rail losing a race with Big Slick against Johnson holding a made hand of tens.
Three-handed action saw Smith and Johnson hold almost identical stacks with Larry Wagner sitting at the bottom and it was Wagner who found the exit in third place after his pocket threes came up short to Johnson's nine-six offsuit.
From there, the heads-up match proved to be a battle as Smith secured an early double to take the chip lead but Johnson won a few pots to even out the stacks. After another level passed, the two got stacks all in preflop with Smith holding a dominating ace-ten to Johnson's ace-six to earn him the MSPT trophy and payday good for $110,633.
The MSPT will be heading back to the Venetian in Las Vegas and PokerNews will be on hand providing updates for the $1,100 Main Event being held September 2nd-4th so make sure to come back to find out who will be crowned the new MSPT Venetian Main Event Champion!
Kenneth Johnson Eliminated in 2nd Place ($67,971)
Level 30
: 100,000/150,000, 30,000 ante
Kenneth Johnson raised to 400,000 and then called off his stack after Nicholas Smith three-bet all in.
Nicholas Smith: 
Kenneth Johnson: 
Johnson was dominated and things got worse after a ten appeared in the window on the 
flop.
The 
turn kept Johnson's tournament hopes alive with a gutshot straight draw but the 
river gave Smith trip tens and ended Johnson's tournament in second place for $67,971.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
13,300,000 | 4,520,000 |
|
Busted |
MSPT Season 12 Race for Player of the Year
Level 30
: 100,000/150,000, 30,000 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.
Cy Church extended his lead adding 50 points with his cash here at Grand Falls while Jason Crews climbs into second place with his seventh place finish and Taylor Howard will sit in fourth place with his eighth place finish.
Here's a look at the top ten point leaders of this season:
| Place | Player | Hometown | Season 12 Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cy Church | East Lancing, MI | 3,775 |
| 2 | Kyna England | Northbrook, Illinois | 2,800 |
| 3 | Daniel Sepiol | Michigan City, IN | 2,350 |
| 4 | Jordan Cristos | Las Vegas, NV | 2,100 |
| 5 | Jason Crews | Clive, Iowa | 2,100 |
| 6 | Chance Kornuth | Las Vegas, NV | 2,000 |
| 7 | Harlen Miller | Bismark, ND | 2,000 |
| 8 | Raman Afanasenka | Minsk, Belarus | 2,000 |
| 9 | Kfir Nahum | Henderson, NV | 2,000 |
| 10 | Taylor Howard | Altoona, IA | 1,933 |
Johnson Rivers Wheel to Stay Alive
Level 30
: 100,000/150,000, 30,000 ante
Kenneth Johnson raised all in for 2,260,000 and Nicholas Smith snap-called.
Nicholas Smith: 
Kenneth Johnson: 
Smith was ahead but had a sweat after the 
flop gave Johnson the club flush draw.
Johnson found another helpful card with the 
on the turn, giving him the Wheel draw and luckily for him, the 
fell on the river to keep his tournament hopes alive.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,780,000 | 80,000 |
|
|
4,250,000 | -350,000 |
MSPT United States Poker Championship Comes to Sycuan Casino September 16-26
Level 30
: 100,000/150,000, 30,000 ante
The Mid-States Poker Tour will play host to the United States Poker Championship September 16-26 at Sycuan Casino in San Diego, California.
A total of 11 trophy events will take place including a $360 Regional $100K Guarantee during the opening weekend (September 16-19) and the $1,110 Main Event running from Thursday, September 23 through Sunday, September 26, which will feature a $300K Guarantee for its three starting flights.
Sycuan's first MSPT stop came back in March and also culminated with a $300K Guarantee Main Event. That time, Alesandro Jauregui claimed victory and the accompanying $140,665 first-place prize after topping a field of 676, which more than doubled the tournament's guaranteed prize pool.
PokerNews will be returning to Sycuan alongside MSPT to bring you live updates of both the $360 Regional and $1,110 Main Events.
Level: 30
Blinds: 100,000/150,000
Ante: 30,000
Smith Turns the Tide
Level 29
: 60,000/120,000, 20,000 ante
Kenneth Johnson raised and Nicholas Smith defended his big blind bringing the 
flop.
Smith check-raised to 650,000 after Johnson continued for 200,000 and was called. The 
turn saw Smith quickly jam for 3,485,000 and Johnson called.
Nicholas Smith: 
Kenneth Johnson: 
Smith was was after turning a pair of sixes but had a sweat as Johnson held the spade flush draw.
Luckily for Smith, the completed the board on the river and secured his double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,700,000 | 4,500,000 |
|
|
4,600,000 | -4,500,000 |
Larry Wagner Eliminated in 3rd Place ($48,984)
Level 29
: 60,000/120,000, 20,000 ante
There was heads-up action between Larry Wagner from the button and Nicholas Smith from the big blind.
The board read and with 1,600,000 already in the middle, he led out for 400,000. Wagner took a moment and then moved all in for 690,000 more and Johnson called.
Larry Wagner: 
Kenneth Johnson: 
Johnson made the correct call and the river ended Wagner's tournament in third place for $48,984.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,100,000 | 3,242,000 |
|
|
4,200,000 | -600,000 |
|
Busted |
Most MSPT Main Event Cashes in History
Level 29
: 60,000/120,000, 20,000 ante
Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 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. Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.Click here for a look at all the leaderboards.
Here's a look at the top ten MSPT Main Event cashers:
| Place | Player | Hometown | Main Event Cashes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Johnson | Red Wing, Minnesota | 40 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 33 |
| 3 | Richard Alsup | New Hope, Minnesota | 31 |
| 4 | DJ Buckley | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 31 |
| 5 | Mark Hodge | Fernandina Beach, Florida | 26 |
| 6 | Patrick Steele | Chelsea, Michigan | 26 |
| 7 | Jason Seitz | Shakopee, Minnesota | 25 |
| 8 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 25 |
| 9 | Phil Mader | Grand Island, Nebraska | 25 |
| 10 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 24 |