$1,600 Main Event
Days:
1a1b1c2
$1,600 Main Event
Day 1a Completed

Jesse Lonis Leads 17 Surviving Players From Day 1a of the $1,600 MSPT Venetian Main Event

MattHansen • Level 16: Blinds 3,000-6,000, 6,000 ante
Jesse Lonis
Jesse Lonis

Day 1a of the $1,600 MSPT Venetian Main Event has come to an end and Jesse Lonis is the chip leader after play came to an end with 32 minutes left in Level 16.

The first of three flights in the $750,000 guarantee attracted 153 entries and 17 players made the money by surviving to see Day 2.

Lonis is the chip leader with 816,000 thanks to a late run that included a big pot against Michael Rossitto and the elimination of Steve Wilkie to end the evening. Lonis is followed on the leaderboard by Jared Jaffee with 688,000, who made a big jump up the leaderboard with the late elimination of Francis Anderson.

Michael Wang finished in the third spot with 526,000 and Alexander Nachtwey is fourth with 523,000. Jared Strauss rounds out the top five with 326,000.

$1,600 MSPT Venetian Main Event Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

RankNameChip CountDay 2 Big Blinds
1Jesse Lonis816,000136
2Jared Jaffee688,000115
3Michael Wang526,00088
4Alexander Nachtwey523,00087
5Jared Strauss326,00054
6Darren Rabinowitz262,00044
7Peter Lynn216,00036
8Connor Stuewe178,00030
9Dan Bekavac168,00028
10Spencer Champlin167,00028

Also bagging for Day 2 was Dan Bekavac after battling adversity throughout the day. Bekavac clashed with Nachtwey several times over the late levels, including a pot where the former lost with aces full to the latter's four of a kind. He ultimately ended with a healthy stack of 168,000 and he will return tomorrow to continue his quest for the MSPT Player of the Year title.

Also in the hunt for the Season 13 points race is CJ Peake. Peake bagged just 53,000, but he will return on Sunday with the opportunity to catch some points and catch Bekavac, who sits in second behind Josh Reichard on the season-long leaderboard.

CJ Peake
CJ Peake

Joining Peake and Bekavac with a bag were Darren Rabinowitz, Peter Lynn, Connor Stuewe, Hyo Joo, John Riordan, and Michael Rossitto. Rossitto ended the night with 131,000 after running up a stack in the middle levels, but he clashed with Lonis late and lost a lot of chips.

Several players made their second appearance of the week after playing in the $1,100 MSPT Main Event that started on Tuesday. Among those that stopped by for Day 1a but didn’t survive were Landon Tice, Angela Jordison, Kenny Huynh, Jim Collopy, Tyler Patterson, Eric Baldwin, Jesse Yaginuma, Jordan Cristos, and MSPT regulars Rob Wazwaz and Justin Barnum.

All 17 surviving players are in the money and they will return for the Sunday finale at 11:00 a.m. local time to play down to a winner. Day 1b kicks off on Friday at 11:10 a.m. and Day 1c will follow on Saturday at the same time.

Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all weekend long for live updates from the floor of the $1,600 MSPT Main Event at Venetian Las Vegas.

Tags: Alexander NachtweyAngela JordisonCJ PeakeConnor StueweDan BekavacDarren RabinowitzEric BaldwinFrancis AndersonHyo JooJared JaffeeJared StraussJesse LonisJesse YaginumaJim CollopyJohn RiordanJordan CristosJosh ReichardJustin BarnumKenny HuynhLandon TiceMichael RossittoMichael WangPeter LynnRob WazwazSpencer ChamplinSteve WilkieTyler Patterson

End of Day 1a Chip Counts (full)

MattHansen • Level 16: Blinds 3,000-6,000, 6,000 ante
Jesse Lonis us
Jesse Lonis
us 816,000
Jared Jaffee us
Jared Jaffee
us 688,000 361,000
Michael Wang us
Michael Wang
us 526,000 28,000
Alexander Nachtwey us
Alexander Nachtwey
us 523,000 -19,000
Jared Strauss us
Jared Strauss
us 326,000 -7,000
Darren Rabinowitz us
Darren Rabinowitz
us 262,000 262,000
Peter Lynn us
Peter Lynn
us 216,000 216,000
Connor Stuewe us
Connor Stuewe
us 178,000 66,000
Dan Bekavac us
Dan Bekavac
us 168,000 -27,000
Spencer Champlin us
Spencer Champlin
us 167,000 -61,000
Jeff Yarchever us
Jeff Yarchever
us 154,000 154,000
Joe Kuether us
Joe Kuether
us 150,000 150,000
Michael Rossitto us
Michael Rossitto
us 131,000 1,000
Zachary McDiarmid us
Zachary McDiarmid
us 92,000
Hyo Joo us
Hyo Joo
us 90,000 -270,000
John Riordan us
John Riordan
us 60,000 -13,000
CJ Peake us
CJ Peake
us 53,000 -282,000

Read full

Lonis Busts Wilkie to End the Evening

MattHansen • Level 16: Blinds 3,000-6,000, 6,000 ante

Jesse Lonis raised to 19,000 and Steve Wilkie went all in for just over 50,000. Lonis called and the cards were turned up.

Steve Wilkie: {q-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}
Jesse Lonis: {a-Diamonds}{2-Clubs}

The board ran out {j-Diamonds}{5-Clubs}{k-Diamonds}{5-Spades}{5-Hearts} and Lonis held on with the ace to eliminate Wilkie and bring the evening to an end.

Stay tuned for official chip counts and a recap from the PokerNews team.

Jesse Lonis us
Jesse Lonis
us 816,000 121,000
Steve Wilkie gb
Steve Wilkie
gb Busted
Level:
16
Blinds:
3,000/6,000
Ante:
6,000

Time for Another Break

MattHansen • Level 15: 3,000-5,000, 5,000 ante

The remaining 18 players are now on a 10-minute break.

Jaffee Eliminates Anderson in Big Pot

MattHansen • Level 15: 3,000-5,000, 5,000 ante

A player in the small blind raised to 25,000 and it was exactly enough to commit Francis Anderson and the last of his chips. Jared Jaffee and action was three ways.

The flop was {9-Clubs}{2-Spades}{4-Clubs} and the small blind shoved immediately. Jaffee called for his last 98,000 and the cards were turned up.

Francis Anderson: {2-Hearts}{2-Diamonds}
Jared Jaffee: {4-Spades}{4-Diamonds}
Small Blind: {q-Hearts}{q-Clubs}

The board ran out with no help for the small blind and Jaffee held on with a flopped set of fours to secure the big pot and eliminate Anderson.

With 18 players remaining, play will now continue hand-for-hand.

Jared Jaffee us
Jared Jaffee
us 327,000 240,000
Francis Anderson us
Francis Anderson
us Busted

Tags: Francis AndersonJared Jaffee

Lonis Bets Big on the River

MattHansen • Level 15: 3,000-5,000, 5,000 ante
Jesse Lonis
Jesse Lonis

Action was heads up with a big pot near 200,000 in the middle and a full board of {8-Hearts}{j-Clubs}{6-Clubs}{a-Hearts}{10-Clubs} when Michael Rossitto checked and Jesse Lonis bet 160,000. Rossitto went into the tank before he finally emerged with a call. Lonis turned over {a-Clubs}{4-Clubs} and Rossitto mucked the losing hand.

Jesse Lonis us
Jesse Lonis
us 695,000 280,000
Michael Rossitto us
Michael Rossitto
us 95,000 -260,000

Tags: Jesse LonisMichael Rossitto

Wang Takes From Lonis

MattHansen • Level 15: 3,000-5,000, 5,000 ante

Action was heads up with nearly 50,000 in the pot and a full board of {9-Spades}{3-Hearts}{7-Hearts}{8-Spades}{k-Hearts} when Michael Wang bet 47,000. Jesse Lonis went into the tank from the next seat over and considered his options before he tossed out chips to call.

Wang turned over {k-Diamonds}{8-Clubs} for two pair and Lonis mucked the losing hand.

Meanwhile, Michael Rossitto has chipped up to 355,000 at the same table.

Michael Wang us
Michael Wang
us 498,000 63,000
Jesse Lonis us
Jesse Lonis
us 415,000 -45,000
Michael Rossitto us
Michael Rossitto
us 355,000

Tags: Jesse LonisMichael RossittoMichael Wang