The Venetian

Day 1c of the MSPT Season 17 $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship at the Venetian Resort attracted another 222 entries, bringing the total field up to 402 entries.

At the end of the third and final flight, just 25 players bagged and tagged, with Valentyn Shabelnyk finding the overall top stack with 734,000, leading the pack into Day 2.

Others to bag big included James Kasin (620,000), Tracey Hill (585,000), Sye Hickey (572,000), and Andrew Rodgers (452,000) as they rounded out the top five stacks of this flight.

They were joined by WSOP bracelet winner Gary Bolden (430,000), two-time MSPT Champ Peixin Liu (332,000), Kelly Mahana (242,000), MSPT Champ Veerab Zakarian (197,000), and Ricky Landais (124,000).

Among those not as lucky at the felt included Season 12 Player of the Year Kyna England, Matt Affleck, WSOP bracelet winner Jean “Prince” Gaspard, two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Riordan, and fellow bracelet winner Kathy Liebert.

The surviving players from all three flights – of which there are 46 (7 from Day 1a, 14 from 1b, and 24 from 1c) – will return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, September 13^th, and will play until seven players remain.

MSPT Season 17 Nevada Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

Congratulations to everyone who made Day 2, we will be back tomorrow for full coverage right here on MSPTPoker.com from the Venetian Las Vegas!

Photo: Samuel Laskowitz

Samuel Laskowitz was all-in for his last 3,000 from the big blind, and a 25,000 raise saw three players take to a flop.

Action was then checked to Sye Hickey, who fired out an uncontested continuation bet, leaving the two players heads-up.

Samuel Laskowitz:
Sye Hickey:

Laskowitz was behind needing help, but running completed the board on the turn and river, ending his night on the bubble.

Sye Hickey - 572,000
Samuel Laskowitz - Eliminated

After the elimination of Eugenio Cordero, just 26 players remain, meaning the hand-for-hand process has begun, as only 25 of them will be making it to tomorrow’s Day 2.

Photo: Viacheslav Fentisov

Viacheslav Fentisov moved his remaining 36,000 chips into the middle from under the gun, and action quickly folded to Justin Young, who looked him up from the big blind.

Viacheslav Fentisov:
Justin Young:

Fentisov was ahead holding a suited queen, but a jack appeared in the window on the flop, giving Young the lead.

The turn then left Fentisov needing to find a lucky lady on the river, but the completed the board and ended his tournament.

Justin Young - 250,000
Viacheslav Fentisov - Eliminated

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: Jim Collopy

Three-time bracelet winner Jim Collopy moved out his 28,000 stack from early position, and two-time MSPT Champ Peixin Liu looked him up from the big blind.

Jim Collopy:
Peixin Liu:

Collopy was racing for his tournament life and gained some traction after the flop came paired, bringing possible counterfeit options.

The turn then added more outs to Collopy’s arsenal, but the river was a brick, ending his tournament.

Peixin Liu - 200,000
Jim Collopy - Eliminated

MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard continues to lead the Season 17 Player of the Year Leaderboard

The Season 17 POY will earn a $10K Main Event seat

Full Leaderboard