MSPT $1,100 Venetian
Day 2 Completed
MSPT $1,100 Venetian
Day 2 Completed
After three exciting days of poker at the Venetian Poker Room, Cole Keenan of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania outlasted 671 total entrants and 75 Day 2 players to win the MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event for the Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian trophy and $123,722. Keenan claims part of a $647,515 prize pool that paid 72 players and exceeded the $500,000 guarantee.
Keenan was still processing the win after taking his winner’s photo. “This is insane. Wow,” he said while looking at the beautiful MSPT Venetian trophy. “I got here two minutes before late registration and I had to go get a Grazie card so I almost didn’t make it in.”
This was the second tournament that Keenan has played, the first being last week when he arrived in Las Vegas. Keenan considers himself a cash player and he doesn’t have the opportunity to play tournaments back in Pennsylvania.
Place | Player | Hometown | Payout |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cole Keenan | Gilbertsville, PA | $123,722 |
2 | Michael Williams | Mound, MN | $101,227 |
3 | Thu Nguyen | Fountain Valley, CA | $62,938 |
4 | Tsz Shing | Las Vegas, NV | $45,974 |
5 | Dave Ouellette | Dickinson, ND | $34,509 |
6 | Rohan Long | Windsor, CT | $25,447 |
7 | Francis Anderson | Las Vegas, NV | $19,296 |
8 | Michael Berk | Chesterton, IN | $14,699 |
9 | Saad Ghanem | Burnsville, MN | $11,332 |
Keenan came into the final table as the chip leader and was a factor early, eliminating Michael Berk in eighth place with jacks and Rohan Long in sixth with three fives. The two big pots helped Keenan take advantage of several quick eliminations once action kicked off at the final table. Saad Ghanem went out on the first hand of final table action, followed closely by Berk in eighth and Francis Anderson in seventh, all within about 20 minutes of one another.
Dave Ouellette and his dog Jack were knocked out in fifth place by eventual runner-up Michael Williams. Ouellette was the Day 1a chip leader and carried that to a strong finish.
With four players left, Keenan found himself down to less than two million in chips when he picked up kings to eliminate Tsz “Phil” Shing in fourth place.
The final three players fought for over an hour until Williams eliminated Thu Nguyen in third place with three eights. Williams and Keenan then cut a deal to play for the trophy and $22,495 while splitting the rest of the pot to guarantee themselves $101,227 each.
Williams had a significant advantage in chips to begin heads-up play, but Keenan quickly turned it around and took the lead before finally eliminating Williams with ace-king to claim the championship trophy.
Other notable cashing players on Day 2 include Kathy Liebert, Ralph Massey, Ryan Laplante, and Christopher Carey.
This wraps up PokerNews live coverage of the MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event from the Venetian Poker Room. Be sure to join us again from September 16-26, when the MSPT visits Sycuan Casino in San Diego, California for the United States Poker Championship.
Michael Williams got it in with after losing the chip lead shortly after heads-up play started. Cole Keenan made the call with .
The board ran out and Williams was eliminated in second place.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Cole Keenan |
16,775,000
12,275,000
|
12,275,000 |
Michael Williams | Busted |
Michael Williams opened for 400,000 and Thu Nguyen shoved for just over 3,000,000. Williams made the call.
Thu Nguyen:
Michael Williams:
The board ran out and Nguyen was eliminated in third place.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Michael Williams |
10,400,000
3,100,000
|
3,100,000 |
Thu Nguyen | Busted |
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Michael Williams |
7,300,000
2,100,000
|
2,100,000 |
Cole Keenan |
4,500,000
-1,800,000
|
-1,800,000 |
Thu Nguyen |
3,800,000
-1,000,000
|
-1,000,000 |
Level: 30
Blinds: 100,000/150,000
Ante: 30,000
The remaining three players are now on a 15-minute break.
Cole Keenan raised to 300,000 from the button and Thu Nguyen made the call.
The flop was and Nguyen shoved for 2,025,000. Keenan went into the tank briefly but made the call. Nguyen showed for a flush draw and Keenan turned over for the lead with a pair of jacks.
The turn was and the river brought a flush for Nguyen to earn the double.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Cole Keenan |
6,300,000
-1,300,000
|
-1,300,000 |
Thu Nguyen |
4,800,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
Michael Williams shoved from the small blind and Thu Nguyen made the call for his last 2,200,000 chips.
Thu Nguyen:
Michael Williams:
The board ran out and Nguyen found the jack he needed on the flop to double up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Michael Williams |
5,200,000
-1,900,000
|
-1,900,000 |
Thu Nguyen |
4,500,000
1,900,000
|
1,900,000 |
Level: 29
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 20,000