Hollywood Casino St. Louis

The MSPT returned to the Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, Missouri, and hosted a nine-trophy event series which was headlined by its $1,110 buy-in, $300K GTD Main Event.

A total of 631 entries were tallied through three starting flights, generating a $612,070 prize pool and on Sunday, 67 players returned for Day 2 action in hopes of claiming the title.

After a long 11 hours of action, only one was able to claim the top spot and that was local hero Chris Audrain who walked away the victor to win the $125,626 top prize, along with his first MSPT title!

“It feels great”, Audrain said ecstatically after his victory, “The field was unbelievably tough this time I feel like and especially on Day 2, there were tons of crushers left which didn’t leave any weak spots, so it feels great to take this one down”.

Audrain came into the final day just under the chip average, and had to make a big fold early in the day with a made hand of tens which would have flopped a set to crack a pair of aces, but he was able to keep his composure after the hand which ultimately led to him making the precise decisions at the right time leading him to his first MSPT title.

The victory comes after a fifth place finish he took here at the beginning of the season, and he has now positioned himself in second place in the Player of the Year standings with nine events remaining on the schedule.

MSPT Season 15 Hollywood Casino Main Event Final Table Results

Day 2 Action

The final day came back with 67 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with MSPT champ Frank Covich getting off to a hot start after he dropped Micah Logan for the first elimination of the day.

After Logan’s elimination, players started catching doubles like they were outfielders for the Cardinals, as Season 15 top casher Brad Sailor found his first with a pair of aces, while inaugural Hollywood Casino winner Umut Ozturk cracked a pair of kings for his first double as well.

Unfortunately for the pair, both of their days ended shorter than the deep runs they were hoping as Ozturk made an exit in 58th place ($2,293) for his 12^th cash of the season, while Sailor fell in 43rd place ($2,538) to bring his Season 15 earnings to $244,258.

The fast-paced action kept rolling, and players like MSPT Hall of Famer’s Aaron Johnson (34^th Place - $2,844) & Rob WazWaz (31^st Place - $2,488), Cedrric Trevino (24^th Place - $4,558), Gabe Neighbors (21^st Place - $5,415), two-time MSPT champ Bobby Noel (17^th Place - $6,272), and three-time MSPT champ Carl Carodenuto (10^th Place - $9,332) all fell by the wayside setting up the stacked final table.

Final Table action

Once the final table was set, Trey Bartlett sat at the bottom of the counts and got it in good holding the two best cards in poker only to have Paul Fehlig flop the case king to make a set of cowboys, making him the first final table elimination.

After that action hand, another occurred after MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard’s pair of kings were set up by Joe DeRousse’s pocket kings, sending him to the bottom of the chip counts.

With Reichard sitting at the bottom of the chip counts, MSPT champ Keith Heine wasn’t too far ahead of him and got in a race against Mark Lafata for his tournament life.

Unfortunately for Heine, he wasn’t able to take the lead and made his departure in seventh place, but it wasn’t all grim for the former champ as it marked 23^rd Main Event cash as he only needs two more to make it into the coveted MSPT Hall of Fame.

After Heine’s race was over, Reichard was able to find a double before getting set-up by soon to be champ Audrain’s made hand of queens as he took a sixth place finish for $18,513.

The exit marked Reichard’s 47th Main Event cash bringing his total MSPT earnings to $480,859 and now has a sizable 975-point lead in the Icon standings.

Following Reichard to the payout desk was the last lady standing, Janelle Jacobson, who’s roller coaster of a day came to an end after she called the wrong side of a flip against DeRousse’s pair of deuces,

Play would then slow down for a few levels before Paul Fehlig’s pair of snowmen were melted in the heat by Audrain’s Big Slick as was able to top his eighth place finish from last year with a fifth place exit for $31,979.

With four players remining, the chips were shuffling around the table and Lafata was able to pick-up a few raised pots by shipping his short stack in the middle, which basically accounted for a double-up without ever showing a card.

After a level went by, Lafata got his remaining stack in the middle in a three-way pot after flopping a middle pair of tens and was snap-called by DeRousse which sent Audrian deep into the tank.

After some careful thought, Audrain said, “I think I’m ahead, but I’m going to fold”, and tossed away the winning hand as DeRousse rolled over an inferior top pair and kicker to send Lafata home in fourth place for $42,384.

Two-time MSPT champ Chris Meyers sat atop the final table chip counts for majority of the night but couldn’t get much going after three-handed action began.

Meyers then fell to the bottom of the counts and got it in good holding a dominating ace only to have DeRousse pull away after flopping a three-outer to go with his nut flush draw.

Meyers was unable to pull ahead on the turn and river, taking a third place finish for $57,074 which catapulted him into the top spot of the POY standings.

The heads-up battle started with DeRousse holding a slight chip advantage, but Audrian was able to take the top spot after a few short hands.

Once in the lead, Audrain brought up an ICM chop, but DeRousse quickly shot it down as he was ready to play for the title.

“I was a little surprised he turned down the offer so quick”, Audrian stated in his interview, “I did a little research on him and knew he wasn’t really a tournament player so I thought he would go for it but I’m glad he didn’t do it now”.

After DeRousse declined the deal, Audrian chipped away until he picked-up a pair of rockets in back-to-back hands to send DeRousse home with runner-up finish for $76,660 while Audrain secured his first MSPT trophy and career payday good for $125,626!

This wraps up our coverage of this event but Season 15 of the MSPT continues as we head to Grand Falls next (April 9^th - 11^th) and our reporting team will be on hand providing updates for the $200K GTD $1,110 Main Event so make sure to come back!

Chris Audrian raised and then called Joe DeRousse’s three-bet jam.

Joe DeRousse:
Chris Audrian:

Audrian woke-up with aces in back-to-back hands and the flop left DeRousse needing running cards to stay alive.

The turn did give DeRousse a glimmer of hope but it faded after the completed the board on the river, ending his Main Event run in second place for $76,660.

Chris Audrain - 18,930,000
Joe DeRousse - Eliminated

Two-time MSPT champ Chris Meyers raised all in for 1,600,000 from the small blind and Joe DeRousse looked him up from the big blind.

Chris Meyers:
Joe DeRousse:

Meyers rolled over a dominating ace but fell behind after the flop paired DeRousse’s deuce while also giving him the nut flush draw.

The turn left Meyers needing a four on the river to stay alive, but the paired the board and ended his Main Event run in third place for $57,074.

Joe DeRousse - 10,405,000
Chris Audrian - 8,525,000
Chris Meyers - Eliminated

For the third time this season, the MSPT is headed to JACK Cleveland, August 13th - 18th!

A $400 No-Limit Hold'em Tag Team Event will award the first trophy of the series starting at 4:15 on Tuesday, August 13th, followed by Event #2: $300 NLH Seniors on Wednesday, August 14th at 11:15 a.m.

A series of $70 and $265 satellites will then feed into the headlined $1,110 MSPT262 Main Event, which requires players to be 21+ to play.

The Main Event, which will offer a $500K GTD, will offer three starting flights with Day 1A beginning at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 15th.

Day 1B will follow at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, August 16th with the final starting flight beginning at the same time on Saturday, August 17th.

The surviving players from all starting flights will then return at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, August 18th to play down to a winner.

Also, held that Sunday will be a $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament beginning at 2:15 p.m.

In addition, the entire Main Event will be live reported in the MSPT live blog.

Chris Audrain raised from the cutoff and was called by Mark Lafata from the small blind, along with Joe DeRousse from the big blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, Lafata moved all-in for 1,925,000 and was snap-called by DeRousse, sending Audrain deep into the tank.

After some careful thought, Audrain said, “I think I’m ahead, but I’m going to fold”, and tossed into the muck.

Mark Lafata:
Joe DeRousse:

Audrain’s gut feeling was correct, but it was now DeRousse who held the best hand as the turn followed by the river sent Lafata home in fourth place for $57,074.

Joe DeRousse - 8,050,000
Mark Lafata - Eliminated

For the second time season, the MSPT made its way to St. Louis, MO and players have been duking it out over the past week inside the Hollywood Casino for its nine-trophy event series!

In Event #9: $150 No-Limit Hold'em Last Chance, a final 74-player field was tallied and in the end, it was St. Louis native Alvin Evan who claimed the top spot to take home the final Spadey trophy of the series!

Results

Over the past 15 years, the MSPT has been keeping track of our player's stats on our "Leaderboards" page creating one of the best player databases in the industry.

The list includes things such as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, GOAT Rankings, and now MSPT Icons!

This magnificent group of players have accomplished significant feats on the MSPT felt since the Tour launched in December of 2009 to separate themselves from their peers.

MSPT Icons are players currently ranked in the Top 10 of the MSPT GOAT Leaderboard or have earned their way into the MSPT Hall of Fame by achieving significant milestones.

Each MSPT season, Icons will have the opportunity to compete against other Icons for a prize.

This season, the prize will be a $10,400 entry into the World Poker Tour® (WPT) World Championship this upcoming December at Wynn Las Vegas as well as an award for MSPT Icon of the Year.

The competition for Season 15 (half season this year) will start this week at Riverside Casino July 18-21 and end on December 15, 2024.

The MSPT Icon Leaderboard will be based on the current MSPT Player of the Year point system, with each Icon starting at zero points as of today.

There are 16 eligible Icons this season. Going forward, the reigning Player of the Year will get a 1-year Icon status as well.

Next season (Season 16), the Icon competition will start on January 1, 2025. Players with a Top 10 GOAT status as of December 15, 2024, or are currently in the HOF, will be eligible to compete next season.

Should a player enter into the Top 10 GOAT Leaderboard in the middle of a season, they are not eligible to compete until the following season if they are still in the Top 10 on December 15.

Should a player fall off the Top 10 GOAT Leaderboard in the middle of a season, they still remain in the competition for that particular season, but will not be eligible the following year should they not regain their Top 10 status by December 15 of that year.

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2024 MSPT ICONS:

Aaron Johnson

Aaron Massey

Blake Bohn

“DQ” Dan Hendrickson

DJ Buckley

Jason Seitz

Josh Reichard

Kou Vang

Mark Hodge

Matt Kirby

Nick Pupillo

Pat Steele

Rich Alsup

Rob Wazwaz

Rodger Johnson

Umut Ozturk

Icon Standings

For the second time season, the MSPT made its way to St. Louis, MO and players have been duking it out over the past week inside the Hollywood Casino for its nine-trophy event series!

In Event #8: $250 No-Limit Black Chip Bounty, 148 hunters took to the tables as bounty collectors, and created a $29,600 prize pool that paid out the top 15 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Jason Aken (10th Place - $303), Troy Courson (11th Place - $303), Joan Jaeger (12th Place - $303), Michael Shumard (13th Place - $252), Haris Delic (14th Place - $252), and Michael Golde (15th Place - $252).

In the end, it was local Josh Frisch who claimed the last bounty to take down the lion's share of the prize pool along with the Sapdey trophy!

Final Table Results

Chris Audrain raised from the hijack and then called Paul Fehlig’s 1,300,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Paul Fehlig:
Chris Audrain:

It was another classic with Fehlig ahead holding a pair of snowmen until the flop fell giving Audrain top pair.

The turn Fehlig needing an eight on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board ending his tournament.

Chris Audrain - 5,800,000
Paul Fehlig - Eliminated

For the second time season, the MSPT made its way to St. Louis, MO and players have been duking it out over the past week inside the Hollywood Casino for its nine-trophy event series!

In Event #6: $200 No-Limit Hold'em Epic Stack, 229 epic players went to the felt and generated a $36,640 prize pool that was paid out to the top 24 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Christopher Martin (10th Place - $660), Bradley Cunningham (15th Place - $550), Michele Boesch (18th Place - $495), Randy Shearer (21st Place - $405), and Najibullah Nazart (24th Place - $352).

In the end, it was hometown legend Mark Lafata who walked away with the epic win to claim the top spot along with the Sapdey trophy!

Final Table Results