The Venetian

The $600 buy-in, $1 million guarantee MSPT Venetian Main Event attracted 2,779 runners over three flights, and only 382 of them (57 from 1A, 75 from 1B, and 250 from 1C) bagged for Day 2 action. After fifteen levels of play, just seventeen players remain, with Longsheng Tan (pictured, left) leading the way with a stack of 5,805,000, just barely ahead of Christian Nilles (pictured, right) and his 5,715,000 stack. Lurking in twelfth-place with 2,525,000 is former WSOP November Niner Jeremy Ausmus, who finished 5th in the 2012 WSOP Main Event, and also boasts a bracelet from the 2013 WSOPE in PLO.

297 players got paid, meaning 85 players were heading home empty-handed. Among those to fall short of the money were Gerald Cunniff, Barbara Sargent, and Ray Kondler, just to name a few. Once the bubble burst the in-the-money finishes mounted and included Randy Perkins (27th - $6,986), last week’s MSPT $1,100 Venetian Event sixth-place finisher Tyreem Williams (31st - $4,990), Day 1C chip leader Nick Quraishi (36th - $4,990), MSPT Season 8 Canterbury Park Regional champ Paul Cross ($3,279), Day 1B chip leader Ed Miller (53rd - $3,279), last week’s MSPT $1,100 Venetian Event third-place finisher Lou Garza (59th - $2,994), MSPT Season 6 POY Mark Hodge (120th - $1,996), 2016 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Championship Andy Rubinberg (165th - $1,782), former November Niner Jake Balsiger (183rd - $1,568), and 2013 WSOP National Champion Jonathan Hilton (200th - $1,568).

Day 3 will kick off at Noon local time on Wednesday and play down to a winner. Not only will we capture the action here in the live updates, we will be live streaming the action on our RFID table complete with hole cards and commentary. Be sure to tune in and catch all the action as the remaining seventeen players shoot for the $202,456 first-place prize!

The remaining nineteen players will play five more hands before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for updated chip counts and a recap of today’s action.

Onorfre Vega raised to 200,000 from the lojack, and Alexandre Mantovani called in the small blind.

Both players checked a flop, and Mantovani led for 250,000 on the turn. Vega called.

The fell on the river, and Mantovani cut out a large chunk of chips and placed 1.4 million in front of Vega, enough to put him all-in. Vega didn’t take long to release his hand, and Mantovani took down the pot.

Alexandre Mantovani - 3.6 million (36 bb)
Onofre Vega - 1.2 million (12 bb)

Narunat Pansuntorn jammed for 520,000 from the button, and Marcelo Drumm three-bet shoved for 1.075 million from the small blind. After some thought, Jeremy Ausmus made the call.

Pansuntorn:
Drumm:
Ausmus:

Drumm looked prime to double with the rockets, but the flop brought some hope for Ausmus, as he could now win with a king or queen. The turn eliminated Pansuntorn from the tournament, but the river gave Ausmus kings-up and sent Drumm to the rail with a cracked pair of aces.

Jeremy Ausmus - 3.6 million (45 bb)
Narunat Pansuntorn - Eliminated in 25th place for $6,986
Marcelo Drumm - Eliminated in 24th place for $8,554

Award-winning spirit maker Kimo Sabe Mezcal is once again sponsoring the highly-competitive MSPT Player of the Year (POY) race.

The player that finishes atop the Season 9 (2018) MSPT POY leaderboard at the end of the season will be awarded a package worth more than $10,000. That’s in addition to being featured on the cover of MSPT Magazine.

The winner of the MSPT Season 9 POY race will win:

- 4 MSPT Main Event seats ($4,400 value)

- $1,100 MSPT Venetian seat with $400 toward travel costs

- $250 at each Main Event stop they attend up to $4,250*

In addition, poker tax specialists Kondler & Associates, CPAs will provide the MSPT Season 9 Player of the Year with free tax services for the 2018 tax year ($800 value). This includes preparation of all tax forms (1040, 1099, etc.) as well as year-long tax planning and guidance.

A Sonorian Indian phrase that translates to “trusted friend,” Kimo Sabe is an award-winning mezcal, a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave plant native to Mexico. Unlike tequila, which can only be made with the Blue Agave plant, mezcal can be made with up to 42 varieties. Mezcal, like a multi-color picture, has more ways to create complex depth of flavor than the black and white picture of tequila.

You may also see poker pro Phil Hellmuth sipping Kimo Sabe Mezcal as he has been named a “Celebrity Trusted Friend” of the spirit, which is currently available in nine states and expected to be nationwide by the end of the year.

Kimo Sabe, which is currently available in two different alchemical expressions of Reposado and Joven, makes you ask – why settle for tequila when you can enjoy mezcal?

In Kimo Sabe, the MSPT knows you will find a trusted friend. For more on Kimo Sabe Mezcal, check them out online at kimosabemezcal.com. You can also follow them on Twitter @kimosabemezcal, like them on Facebook, and find them on Instagram.

_{*POY winner will not receive $250 at stops in which they opt to use credit toward a $1,100 Main Event seat.}

If you’ve ever wanted an excuse to see Niagara Falls, you’ll have the opportunity come September. That’s because the MSPT has added a new stop in Season 9.

From September 15-23, the MSPT will visit New York for the first time. A series of satellites will feed into a $1,100 buy-in, $200K GTD Main Event at Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, New York, which isn’t far off from Buffalo.

The official schedule will be released in the future, but it’s never too early to mark out the dates for what’s sure to be a great stop.

Seneca Niagara Casino has a rich poker history and has hosted events like the Western New York Poker Challenge, Summer Slam, and a Fall Poker Classic. It’s there that a number of players have risen to prominence including Andy Spears, Dan Wagner, and Kimo Sabe Mezcal MSPT Season 8 Player of the Year Chris Meyers.

“I’m very excited the MSPT is coming to my home casino,” Meyers said of the announcement. “There are a lot of great players as Seneca Niagara Casino, and I can’t wait until they get to experience one of the country’s best poker tours.”

MSPT President Bryan Mileski echoed those sentiments: “I had the opportunity to visit Seneca Niagara Casino in December and was thoroughly impressed with the property, especially the recently-expanded poker room. Not only will this stop offer great poker action, there’s plenty to see and do with Niagara Falls minutes away. It’s a destination experience.”

Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino is a full-amenity resort featuring 604 rooms and suites. With ten restaurants, seven shops, more than 3,000 slots and over 80 table games, live poker, keno, a full-service spa, flexible meeting facilities, rewarding promotions, superstar entertainment and exciting nightlife, Seneca Niagara is consistently rated as a must-see Niagara Falls casino.

Every year, the prestigious gaming magazine, Casino Player, recognizes the top performers in the gaming industry based on player feedback. Among the awards Seneca Niagara has won are Best Hotel Rooms, Best Spa, Favorite Casino Resort to Vacation at, and Best Dealers.

For more information, visit senecaniagaracasino.com or follow them on Twitter @SNFPoker and @SenecaCasinos. Continue to check out msptpoker.com or follow @msptpoker for updates on this event.

Randy Perkins jammed for 610,000 from the hijack, and Jeremy Ausmus three-bet jammed for 1.45 million in the cutoff, chasing out the rest of the field.

Perkins:
Ausmus:

Perkins picked up extra outs on the flop, but he bricked his ten-outer on the turn and river.

Jesus Cabrera was eliminated at another table just before Perkins’ exit, so we now redraw to three tables with twenty-six players remaining.

Jeremy Ausmus - 2.1 million (26 bb)
Randy Perkins - Eliminated in 27th place for $6,986
Jesus Cabrera - Eliminated in 28th place for $4,990

Nataliya Iakovleva jammed her last 370,000 from the cutoff, and Preecha Taepakdee called in the small blind.

Iakovleva:
Taepakdee:

Iakovleva fell behind on the flop, and never recovered on a turn and river, and she and her pine cone chip protector headed for the payout desk.

Preecha Taepakdee - 3.5 million (58 bb)
Nataliya Iakovleva - Eliminated in 30th place for $4,990

Longsheng Tan jammed for 800,000 from the hijack, and Preecha Taepakdee called from the hijack.

Tan:
Taepakdee:

Tan survived the flop, but the turn gave Taepakdee some counterfeit outs. The was safe for Tan, thought, and he doubled up.

Preecha Taepakdee - 3 million (50 bb)
Longsheng Tan - 1.75 million (29 bb)

Gahhh KQ <88 turn Q river 8. Early celebrated when the Q hit. Karma said nah bruh

— Ross Bryant (@Rbrzy89) June 13, 2018

Ross Bryant - Eliminated in 32nd place for $4,990