The MSPT is heading back to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota for the second time in Season 8. From August 5-13, the MSPT will host a series of satellites that will culminate in a $350 buy-in, $100,000 guaranteed Regional Event August 10-13.
It marks the first time a MSPT Regional Event has ever been held at the venue, which requires players be just 18 years old to play. There will be three starting flights, and players are allowed a max of one reentry per flight during the standard registration process.
The Regional Event will feature four starting flights beginning with Day 1A at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 9. Day 1B will take place at the same time on Thursday, August 10, while Days 1C and 1D will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 12 respectively. The surviving players from each flight will then return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 13 to play down to a winner.
Satellites for the MSPT Canterbury Park Regional Event will begin on Thursday, July 6. Click here for a look at both the satellite and Canterbury Park weekly tournament schedule.
The Regional Events were introduced in January 2016 to offer recreational players an affordable opportunity to play our lauded “Chainsaw Approved” structure. The only differences from our $1,100 Main Event, which play 14 40-minute levels on Day 1, is that Regional Events starting flights play 16 levels and last 30 minutes each.
The tournament at Canterbury Park will mark the 20th Regional Event in MSPT history. To date, the largest Regional Event ever held took place back in January at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in downtown Milwaukee. That event drew 1,228 entries – then the largest poker tournament ever held in Wisconsin – and saw Craig Trost come out on top to take home a $63,252 top prize.
The MSPT last visited Canterbury Park in late April, which marked the 13th Main Event held there. It ended up being the largest ever held at Canterbury Park with 475 entries, which surpassed the 470 entrants from December 2015.
After two long days of play, 56-year-old business development manager Mark Wadekamper emerged victorious to capture a $110,220 first-place prize. He did so by stopping reigning champ Jon Kim from defending his title. Back in December, Kim topped a field of 464 entrants to win the MSPT Canterbury Park for $107,659, but his title defense came up just one spot short. He took home $66,593 for finishing runner-up to Wadekamper.
While Canterbury Park does not have a hotel on sight, there are plenty of accommodation options nearby. For a list of hotels and how to contact them, visit Canterbury Park’s dedicated “Hotel Accommodations” page here.