The Venetian

Another full day of action occurred during Day 1b of the MSPT Season 17 $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship at the Venetian Resort, with over 15 full levels coming to completion when the hard stop was reached.

The second of three flights drew 121 runners, bringing the two-day total to 180 thus far, with one flight remaining.

Of those 121 entries, just 14 players remained when pens went to slips, and it was Jesse Kertland who secured the final elimination of the night with ace-queen to soar to the top of the chip counts, bagging a whopping 725,000, which is good enough for the overall chip lead so far.

Kertland’s tower was almost double that of Rick Green’s 405,000 stack, who ended the night second in chips, while Ben Miller finished right behind him with 402,000.

WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson found himself with a healthy 390,000 stack to put in his bag at the end of the night, while last year’s runner-up finisher Darren Rabinowitz found himself in the top five with 306,000.

Others who will be joining the aforementioned five include Matthew Leecy (287,000), Jesse Whittemore (229,000), Ben Palmer (131,000), three-time bracelet winner Jesse Yaginuma (130,000),Victoria Livschitz (76,000), as they are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the seven who have already advanced from Day 1a.

Among those not as lucky at the felt included Lexy Gavin, WSOP bracelet winner Anthony Reategui, two-time bracelet winner Dan Heimiller, Maggie Fox, and three-time MSPT champ Eric Baldwin, with at least a few, if not all, of them likely to be seen back in action for the final flight.

The final starting flight for the Nevada Poker State Champion is tomorrow, starting at 11:10 a.m. local time.

The surviving players from the three starting flights will then return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, September 13^th at 11:00 a.m. and will play down to a winner.

MSPT Season 17 Nevada Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

We will be back tomorrow for coverage of Day 1c right here on MSPTPoker.com from the Venetian Las Vegas!

Robert Fortuno raised from the hijack, only to call a 38,000 three-bet two-time bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz made from the big blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, Rabinowitz check-called a 20,000 bet from Fortuno, bringing about the turn.

Rabinowitz then check-called Fortuno's all-in bet, holding 91,000 effective.

Darren Rabinowitz:
Robert Fortuno:

Rabinowitz was ahead holding a pair of aces, and faded the river to collect a double-up, while Fortuno was left with just 13,000 after the hand and eliminated shortly after.

Darren Rabinowitz - 275,000
Robert Fortuno - 0

MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz has achieved the most MSPT Main Event Top 10 Finishes in history, with 21

Full Leaderboard

These 23 Players have already earned a $3,500 Seat to the $2M GTD RRPO MSPT Championship Main Event

Matthew Wantman

Kevin Meyers

Zilong Zhang

Vincent Moscati

June 'Oh Geez' Kim

Alex Foxen

Umut Ozturk

Jorden Helstern

Aaron Johnson

Wesley Cannon

Michael Estes

Yuchen "Carson" Chen

Lee Rzentkowski

Hamid Izadi

Sai Mudduluru

Peter Walsworth

Adam Walton

Josh Reichard

Andrew "Hunter" Willis

Mo Nuwwarah

Paul Lampl

Kirby Rogers

Jake Long

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL POKER OPEN (RRPO)

MSPT Championship (MAJOR)

: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Hollywood, FL

: Nov. 18 - Dec. 2, 2026

: $3,500 Main Event (1.5X POY) / $2M GTD (Nov. 27 - Dec. 2)

: MSPT will be ADDING a $3,500 RRPO MSPT Championship Seat to every Main Event 1st Place in 2026

Photo: Michael Rossitto

Michael Rossitto raised under the gun for 10,000 and was called by Ben Miller from the button, along with Jesse Whittemore from the big blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, action was checked to Rossitto, who fired out a 10,000 continuation bet.

Miller then released this hand into the muck while Whittemore check-raised to 25,000, and Rossitto called.

The dealer quickly turned the , and Whittemore moved out a 45,000 bet into the middle. The bet was for Rossitto’s remaining stack, and without hesitation, he called.

Michael Rossitto:
Jesse Whittemore:

It was a cooler for Rossitto, as Whittemore pulled ahead after turning a full house, and the river sent him to the rail.

Jesse Whittemore - 300,000
Michael Rossitto - 0

It’s no surprise that the Josh Reichard currently has the #1 MSPT World Ranking

The Top 64 Players on the World Ranking Leaderboard as of November 9th will compete in an MSPT $20K Heads-Up Freeroll Championship “Winner Take All” during the 2026 MSPT Winter Poker Classic at Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack in December (bracket format).

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Photo: Min Zhang

Min Zhang opened under the gun for 12,000, only to have Ben Palmer fire out a 30,000 three-bet from the big blind.

With action back on Zhang, she decided to four-bet jam, and Palmer snapped off his shorter 119,000 stack.

Ben Palmer:
Min Zhang:

It was a clash of two premium made hands, with Palmer holding the better one, and the runout secured him the double-up.

Ben Palmer - 250,000
Min Zhang - 80,000