MSPT Poker Bowl V Main Event
Day 1a Started
MSPT Poker Bowl V at Venetian Las Vegas
MSPT Poker Bowl V Main Event
Day: 1a
Welcome to Day 1a of MSPT Poker Bowl V at Venetian
Just a month after it awarded a pair of six-figure prizes right here at Venetian, the Mid-States Poker Tour is back in action with another big $1K event.
This time around, a $350,000 guarantee has been attached to MSPT Poker Bowl V, the tour's annual stop pairing up with the Super Bowl, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday to allow for everyone to enjoy the festivities and the game on Sunday.
Last year, 1,093 entries packed the poker room here when Bob Whalen topped a five-way to scoop up more than $140K where the smallest payout was $85K. However, that was before the pandemic considerably decreased room capacity.
MSPT Poker Bowl V kicks off at 11:10 a.m. local time with Day 1a, the first of two starting days.
Day 1a will see the field play down to 11% or through 15 levels lasting 40 minutes apiece. Registration and reentry is allowed through the first nine of those levels, up until the start of 600/1,200/1,200. PokerNews will be on hand for all those levels and the ones following to provide live updates, so keep an eye on this space to follow the action.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Early Runners
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
James Carroll, who won the last MSPT event here at Venetian just last month, is right back in action here in Level 1 looking for another six-figure win.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 |
Trudeau Doubles Early
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
On a completed board of 
, Jeff Trudeau was all in for about 12,500. The pot already contained more than 20,000, and Trudeau's opponent was in the tank playing with chips. He sighed and leaned forward then tossed them in.
Trudeau turned over 
for two pair. His opponent tossed 
into the middle in disgust.
"Runner-runner huh?" he asked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
35,000 | 35,000 |
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
History of MSPT Poker Bowl at Venetian
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Back in 2017, the Mid-States Poker Tour expanded its deal with Venetian to include an early February event coinciding with the Super Bowl. Dubbed the Poker Bowl, the tournament built on a relationship that already included a series of monstrous summer events that built some memorable prize pools.
The Poker Bowl began with a somewhat modest $300,000 guarantee, one that proved to be quite a bit smaller than the actual turnout. More than double the required number of entries turned up (695) and it came down to well-known pros Jordan Young and Ankush Mandavia. The two struck a deal that saw both players earn more than $100K, with Young as the official winner.
In 2018, the Poker Bowl returned with an expanded guarantee of $500K. The number would be easily beaten again with 827 entries, and this time, the final four came to a deal. Kfir Nahum and Matthias De Cercq would get the lion's share with $108,410 apiece — the former took home the title via the slightest of chip leads — and John Ploski ($84,743) and Bob Shao ($76,926) got the rest.
The guarantee was upped once again for 2019 with $650,000, but it was again easily surpassed with more than 1,000 entries and a prize pool just shy of $1 million. This time, the last three made a deal, with Eli Ross and Pedro Mendes each getting about $119K but Canada's Brian Wilson snagging $143,929 and the title.
Venetian bumped to number to an even $1 million for 2020 and they finally had a mild sweat with the turnout, but 1,093 entries still made for a prize pool of $1,060,210. Another deal ended play, with five players this time divvying up the remaining monies. Bob Whalen had the most chips by a fair amount, so he secured $140,152 while three European players (Grachia Minasian, George Brady, Thomas Lust) and one other American (Oluwashola Akindele) got between $85K and $100K.
MSPT Poker Bowl at Venetian Event History
| Year | Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner (Prize) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | MSPT Poker Bowl | 695 | $681,100 | Jordan Young ($117,381)* |
| 2018 | MSPT Poker Bowl II | 827 | $806,325 | Kfir Nahum ($108,410)* |
| 2019 | MSPT Poker Bowl III | 1,022 | $996,450 | Brian Wilson ($143,929)* |
| 2020 | MSPT Poker Bowl IV | 1,093 | $1,060,210 | Bob Whalen ($140,152)* |
*reflects final table deal
Federspiel on a Nub
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Cards were on their backs between Steve Federspiel in the hijack and a player in the cutoff on a flop of 
. Federspiel had 
turned over but was in big trouble against 
. The 
turn and 
river didn't bring in Federspiel's straight draw and the former MSPT champ set off to reenter.
However, he did have his opponent's 12K or so covered, so he'll have to first try to run up those last few blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,000 | -22,000 |
Level: 3
Blinds: 100/300
Ante: 0
Kings Take it Slow
Level 3
: 100/300, 0 ante
The cutoff opened for 600 and was called in the next seat before the small blind made it 2,600. Big blind Joris Springael cold-called and the others let it go. The dealer rolled out a board of 
that saw five checks before Springael bet 5,100. The small blind called pretty quickly but had an inferior hand to 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
31,000 |