Bally's Black Hawk Casino

For the second time this season, the MSPT traveled to Bally’s Casino to host the Season 17 Colorado Poker State Championship, and the turnout did not disappoint.

A total of 757 entries were tallied after three starting flights, generating a $732,790 prize pool and on Sunday, 84 players returned for Day 2 action, and after roughly 12 hours of action, it was Andrew "Hunter" Willis, who battled his way through the challenging final-day field en route to a career-best $134,066 first-place prize and his first MSPT title and Gold Card!

“It’s incredible,” Willis said after his win, “I haven’t played live poker in over a year because I had my first child (a baby boy) last spring, so I’ve been pretty focused with family, but Thursday was my birthday and I kind of used that as an excuse to come and play, so I’m excited to add this trophy to his shelf.”

Not only was it the perfect excuse for a weekend getaway, but Willis was able to add the cherry on top by walking away with a career payday and the MSPT Season 17 Colorado Poker State Championship.

With the victory, Willis also earned himself a $3,500 seat into the MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO), which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, Nov. 18 – Dec. 2, a $2,000,000 GTD Main Event in which he is very excited to attend.

“It’s awesome,” Willis said after finding out he won the seat, “I used to live down in South Florida, and it’s actually where I cut my teeth in poker, at The Seminole Hard Rock, so I’m super excited, and it should be a very cool experience.”

MSPT Season 17 Colorado Poker State Championship Final Table Results

Day 2 Action

The final day came back with 84 players already in the money, and action kicked right into gear with Randy Nguyen finding a triple-up in the very first hand, while Dan Pope was the first person to walk to the payout desk, and MSPT Champ Steve Wilkie followed him to the line as part of the first batch of eliminations.

Players then started dropping like flies in the dense Mountain air as MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk (51^st Place - $2,464), 2023 Black Hawk Champ Alex Cruz (49^th Place – $2,464), January’s Main Event Champ Vincent Moscati (43^rd Place - $2,681), and defending champ Antonio Vargas (33^rd Place - $3,189) all fell in quick succession of each other.

After Vargas hit the deck, there were no former champs left in the field and the race to the title continued with Barb Visher (29^th Place - $3,189), the MSPT’s top casher DJ Buckley (20^th Place - $6,087), Sergio Martinez (14^th Place - $8,696), and Anthony Bublitz (10^th Place - $10,798) all falling before the final table.

Final Table Action

Once the player took their seats, action picked right up with Stefan Berkower’s set of eights being wheeled out the door by Keith Love’s ace-four offsuit, making him the first final table elimination, while Randy Nguyen got caught on Erik Macias’ fishing line to follow him to the payout desk.

A few hands later, Justin Dreiling rivered a full house for a triple-up, only to become the next final table fatality after he was straightened out by Diego Rodriguez on the river, while Rodriguez was next up on the chopping block after he lost back-to-back races to take a sixth-place exit for $28,262.

After Rodriguez’s departure, Luan “Soy” Do found a pair of sixes to get his remaining stack in the middle, only to have Eddie Apodaca roll over a pair of cowboys to end his run in fifth place for $36,958.

With four players remaining, Apodaca was starting to run away with the chip lead until Keith Love rivered Broadway to eliminate Erik Macias in fourth place for $48,915, evening out the top of the leaderboard.

The chips were then pretty evenly dispersed between Love and Apodaca, with Willis needing to make a move, and he did as he set up Apodaca to take the chip lead, sending him to the bottom of the totem pole.

After receiving a double, Apodaca found a strong ace-queen to try and find another, only to have Willis wake up with Big Slick in the big blind, ending his run in third place for $65,221.

After Apodaca hit the deck, it didn’t take long for the final two to agree upon an ICM deal and battle it out for the title, and the duel wouldn’t last long, as Willis picked-up back-to-back pocket pairs to send Love home a second-place finish for $100,000, while Willis secured the MSPT Season 17 Colorado Poker State Championship for his first career title and score of $134,066.

This wraps up our coverage of this year’s Colorado Poker State Championship, but Season 17 of the MSPT continues as we will be making our first-ever trip to Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, IL next (August 4^th - 9^th), and our reporting team will be on hand providing updates for the $750K GTD $1,110 Illinois Poker State Championship, so make sure to come back!

Andrew “Hunter” Willis raised the button and then four-bet jammed after Keith Love fired out a three-bet, and Love called off his shorter stack.

Keith Love:
Andrew “Hunter” Willis:

Willis found another made hand, and unfortunately for Love, he was unable to crack his pair as the runout gave him a runner-up finish.

Andrew “Hunter” Willis - 22,710,000
Keith Love - Eliminated

Andrew “Hunter” Willis was all-in for 6,400,000 and was called by Keith Love.

Andrew “Hunter” Willis:
Keith Love:

It was a classic for all the marbles, and the flop gave Willis a commanding lead with a set of sevens.

The turn came a little too late for Love, as the river secured Willis the double.

Andrew “Hunter” Willis - 14,000,000
Keith Love - 8,710,000

Eddie Apodaca raised to 450,000 from the button and then called off his 3,000,000 stack after Andrew Willis three-bet jammed for more from the big blind.

Eddie Apodaca:
Andrew Willis:

It was a cooler with Apodaca rolling over a dominated hand, and the flop didn’t change much.

The then paired the board on the turn giving Apodaca a glimmer of hope with possible chop outs, but the completed the board on the river, ending his run.

Andrew Willis - 12,000,000
Keith Love - 11,710,000
Eddie Apodaca - Eliminated

After notching his first-ever Main Event cash back in 2014, DJ Buckley has become one of the most consistent players on the tour, earning himself a record 90 Main Event cashes.

With half the season remaining, Buckley will look to keep notching the cashes underneath his belt, as he will look to become the first player ever to earn 100 Main Event cashes and take his seat in the coveted MSPT Hall of Fame.

All-Time Main Event Cashes

Erik Macias was all-in from the big blind for 1,370,000, and Keith Love called from the small blind.

Erik Macias:
Keith Love:

Macias was ahead holding an ace, and the flop kept him out in front.

Things then got interesting after the was turned, and it only got worse for Macias after the fell on the river as it gave Love Broadway, ending his tournament.

Keith Love - 9,900,000
Erik Macias - Eliminated

Eddie Apodaca raised from the cutoff and then called Luan “Soy” Do’s three-bet jam from the small blind.

Luan “Soy” Do:
Eddie Apodaca:

Do rolled over the inferior pocket pair, and things got worse after the flop fell, improving Apodaca to top set.

The turn then sealed Do’s fate, as he was left drawing dead to the river.

Eddie Apodaca - 9,110,000
Luan “Soy” Do - Eliminated

Eddie Apodaca raised from the hijack and then called Diego Rodriguez’s 1,130,000 three-bet jam from the big blind.

Diego Rodriguez:
Eddie Apodaca:

Rodriguez found himself in a race for his tournament, and didn’t mind the flop that gave him more outs with a Broadway draw.

The then paired the board on the turn, bringing counterfeit possibilities, but the river was a brick, ending his run.

Eddie Apodaca - 8,120,000
Diego Rodriguez - Eliminated

Photo: Luan Do

Luan Do tossed out his last 540,000 from the cutoff, and Diego Rodriguez looked him up from the big blind.

Luan Do:
Diego Rodriguez:

Do was at risk, needing help, and found it after a six appeared in the window on the flop, giving him the lead.

The turn did bring a little sweat for Do, but it was wiped away after the completed the board on the river.

Diego Rodriguez - 3,550,000
Luan Do - 1,180,000

: JACK Cleveland Casino - Cleveland, OH

: August 18-23, 2026

: Main Event 321 : $1,110 buy-in / $500,000 GTD
$3,500 MSPT Championship Seat ADDED to Main Event 1st Place

: 5 Gold Card Tournaments

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=715msptpoker.com