The Venetian

Day 1a of the MSPT $1,100 Main Event at the Venetian Resort is officially in the books with 114 total entries tallied during the first flight, and the talented field that entered came to play as action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.

Almost a full 15 levels were needed to reach 11% of the field as the hard stop was reached with 13:38 remaining in the level, with New York native Fausto Valdez finding his way to the top, ending the night with a whopping 1,120,000.

Valdez started building a stack early in the day and finished the night on a hot streak by hitting a runner-runner flush to burst the bubble to lead the 13 surviving players by a wide margin.

Finishing the night behind Valdez was Nicholas Poulos, who found a late-night double to take 477,000 into Day 2.

Paul Vang finished the night third in chips with 448,000 while “Wild” Bill Romer (419,000) and Justin Arnwine (376,000) rounded out the top five stacks after the first flight.

Others who found a Day 2 berth included two-time bracelet winner Scott Bohlman (308,000), Thijs Hilberts (307,000), Rene Cifuentes (220,000), Jose Lopez Fibla (214,000), and Jack Salter (172,000).

Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night.

Among those to fire and fall included Bonnie Weitzel, WSOP bracelet winner Ian OHara, MSPT Champ Anthony Kastelic, Tanner Pray, and Jason Hoffman, as they were just a few who took their shot at a bag on Day 1a only to come up short.

All who have yet to advance will have four more starting flights to jump back into the action, with Day 1c getting underway bright and early tomorrow at 10:10 a.m., followed by Day 1d at 6:10 p.m.

The final two starting flights will then take place on Monday, July 13^th, with Day 1e starting at 10:10 a.m. and Day 1f (turbo) starting at 6:10 p.m.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14^th, and will play down to a winner.

MSPT Venetian Remaining Schedule

This wraps up coverage for Day 1a, but you can follow along with updates for Day 1b here.

Photo: Daniel Preciado

Daniel Preciado opened with a raise and found two callers, which included Fausto Valdez from the big blind.

The flop saw two check-calls, bringing about the turn.

Valdez checked once again, which led to Preciado firing out a 40,000 bet, and he found one call before Valdez chec-raised all-in.

Only Preciado called off his shorter 280,000 stack, and the two hands were tabled.

Daniel Preciado:
Fausto Valdez:

Preciado was ahead holding a set of sevens, but unfortunately for him, he couldn’t fade the river, ending his night on the bubble.

Fausto Valdez - 1,120,000
Daniel Preciado - 0

Photo: Matt Franklin

Matt Franklin raised all-in for 73,000 from the hijack, and Jimmy Lee looked him up from the button.

Matt Franklin:
Jimmy Lee:

Franklin rolled over a dominating hand, and the flop didn’t change a thing.

The turn did bring a little sweat as it brought chop possibilities, but the completed the board on the river and secured Franklin his double-up.

Matt Franklin - 150,000
Jimmy Lee - 101,000

After the elimination of Mark Camarra, just 14 players remain, meaning the hand-for-hand process has now begun as only 13 of them will be making Tuesday’s Day 2.

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Full Leaderboard

There was all-in action Dominic Brazier from late position and chip leader Fausto Valdez from the button.

Dominic Brazier:
Fausto Valdez:

Brazier found himself in a race, but wasn’t able to take the lead on the runout, as Valdez added the chips to his stack.

Fausto Valdez - 650,000
Dominic Brazier - 0

Photo: Mohamed Serry

There was three-way action after a flop when Jack Salter led out from the small blind, only to have Mohamed Serry raise all-in from the big blind.

Only Paul Vang called from under the gun, and the two players tabled their hands.

Mohamed Serry:
Paul Vang:

Both players had flopped top pair; only Serry saw he had kicker issues.

The turn did bring some possible chop possibilities as it paired the board, but the fell on the river and sent Serry packing.

Paul Vang - 440,000
Mohamed Serry - 0

Photo: Mark Camarra

Justin Arnwine raised from early position and then called Mark Camarra’s 70,000 three-bet jam next to act.

Mark Camarra:
Justin Arnwine:

Camarra rolled over a dominating hand, and had to sweat the runout to collect a double-up.

Mark Camarra - 150,000
Justin Arnwine - 114,000