Matthew Waldt and Jeff Heiberg tie for the Chip Lead in Day 1a of MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl IV Main Event
Day 1a of the Season 11 MSPT Poker Bowl IV came to a successful close with a total of 141 entrants and 18 remaining advancing to Saturday's Day 2. An MSPT first occurred Wednesday night when two players bagged the exact same amount to tie for the chip lead. Both Matthew Waldt of Las Vegas, Nevada and Jeff Heiberg of Buffalo, Wyoming bagged 441,000 of the approximate 3.5 million chips in play. The two chip leaders get the spotlight and two days off to prepare for the eventual Day 2 on Saturday, February 1st.
Some notable players who didn't make it through Day 1a include Scott Clements, Ashley Sleeth, Ryan Laplante, Jeremy Ausmus, and Mike Del Vecchio.
Sorel Mizzi and Joseph Cheong both bagged and are looking forward to a few days off before Day 2 begins on Saturday. There are still two more flights in the $1,100 Main Event, which features a hefty $1,000,000 guarantee.
Day 1b starts at 12:10 p.m. PT on Thursday, while 1c will be at the same time on Friday, and PokerNews will be there to cover the action as the field grows and we get closer to Day 2 and an eventual winner.
on the flop led to a check from the early-position player. Laplante continued his aggression with a bet of 800. The big blind quickly called and the turn card was presented.
turn brought a check from both the early-position player and Laplante.
river brought a long pause to Laplante's opponent. After a few moments of thought, he checked. Laplante was not quick to act while looking over the board. A bet of 3,500 (about a pot-size bet) was pushed towards the center by Laplante. His opponent quickly called and saw the bad news. 
for a rivered straight. His opponent held onto his cards for a lingering moment before throwing them into the muck.
