MSPT Poker Bowl V Main Event
Day 1b Started
MSPT Poker Bowl V at Venetian Las Vegas
MSPT Poker Bowl V Main Event
Day: 1b
Welcome to Day 1b of MSPT Poker Bowl V at Venetian
One day is in the books with 45 players having advanced to Day 2 at Mid-States Poker Tour Poker Bowl V at Venetian. That means one starting flight still remains, and Day 1b is set for another 11:10 a.m. kickoff here in Las Vegas.
One order of business has been taken care of as the $350,000 guarantee was surpassed on the first day. The 412 entries made sure of that, and if Day 1a is any indication, this prize pool could push close to the $1 million mark.
The big question for Day 1b will be, can anyone match the towering 1,157,000 bagged by Jesse Vilchez? Meanwhile, merely big stacks were bagged by the likes of Ryan Riess, Blake Whittington and a former winner of this event, Kfir Nahum.
Once again, 15 levels of 40 minutes apiece with unlimited reentries are on the docket for the players. As a reminder, everyone gets 25,000 in their starting stacks with 100/100 no ante poker kicking off the first level and progressing all the way to 2,000/4,000/4,000.
Stick around with PokerNews for live updates throughout the day.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 0
Full House to Start
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
There's already a full house here at MSPT Poker Bowl V, but it's not one at showdown.
All 224 available seats have been paid for to start the day, and there's a list of alternates waiting for seats when players bust out.
Faces New and Old
Level 1
: 100/100, 0 ante
Many Day 1a players have predictably returned for Day 1b. There are also a few new but recognizable faces in the field, like that of Dan Lowery.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
History of MSPT Poker Bowl at Venetian
Level 1
: 100/100, 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
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
More Recognizables
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Jordan Cristos just lost a pot where a full house was on board — 
— but his opponent had 
for kings full, so he's down to less than half of a starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
29,500 | 29,500 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
21,000 | |
|
17,200 | 17,200 |
|
|
9,300 | -15,700 |
Steele Avoids Paying Off
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Patrick Steele opened under the gun for 500 and got one caller in the hijack before the player in the cutoff made it 1,400. Both Steele and the hijack called to bring a 
flop three ways. Everyone checked to bring the 
on the turn. Action checked to the cutoff, who bet 1,500. Only Steele continued to the 
river. Steele check-folded to a final bet of 2,000.
The cutoff showed 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
24,000 | -1,000 |
Miller Doubles
Level 2
: 100/200, 0 ante
Bryant Miller was all in for 11,800 out of the small blind on a completed board of 
. That was a bit more than the 9K or so in the pot, but his opponent under the gun decided to look him up. Miller showed 
for flopped trips.
"That's kinda what I thought," the other player said with a sigh.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
33,000 | 8,000 |