With the Mid-States Poker Tour gaining popularity across the nation, the stop at Downstream Casino Resort in Quapaw, OK for Season 3, Event 7, marked the third consecutive event at a new location in a new state.
The prior two stops for the MSPT were first time stops in South Dakota and Wisconsin.
On Sept. 28 – Oct 7, the MSPT rolled into Oklahoma for the first time and drew a large number of new MSPT players spanning several states including Oklahoma, Missouri Arkansas, Kansas and several more.
The entire final table of ten players were all MSPT rookies making their first appearance on the worldwide MSPT broadcast. Chris “Fox” Wallace came close to back-to-back final tables, he was sent to the rail in 11th place. Wallace also final tabled Event 6 at Ho-Chunk Gaming in Wisconsin, finishing 7th.
When the dust settled in Quapaw, Dennis Robinson of Neosho, Missouri was the last man standing, taking home $42,856 and the RF Moeller Diamond Championship bracelet valued at over $5K.
Robinson also plays regularly at Downstream in the weekly tournaments. “I play here quite a bit,” Robinson said. “I’ve played a couple of major tournaments here in the past but didn’t have much success. This event definitely went much better for me!”
This was Robinson’s first ever cash in a major event but he played the part of a regular shark. He was aggressive throughout the final table including heads-up play where he defeated Evan Carver of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“I’ve played a lot of lower level buy-in events where I’ve made a lot of final tables,” Robinson stated. “My wife calls me the wild card ‘cause there’s no telling what I’m going to do.”
Runner-up Evan Carver is a student at the University of Arkansas who plays poker tournaments regularly and has a few nice cashes on his resume. He also spent six months volunteering in Thailand teaching English to students.
Robinson arrived at the final table 9 of 10 in chips with only 158,000. He was able to hit to double up and put his foot on the gas after that.
Robinson worked his way into the Main Event on only $120. He played in a $120 satellite where he finished in the top 10% earning his $1,100 Main Event seat. He clearly took advantage of the opportunity.
Joe Illingworth of Newton, Iowa claimed the most recent MSPT title at Ho-Chunk Gaming for $66K by playing in one $90 satellite – Illingworth and Robinson’s wins have set an exciting trend for those looking to earn huge stacks of cash for a small investment.
When asked about his plans for the money, Robinson answered, “We’ll probably take a vacation to relax.”
The MSPT is looking forward to being back at Downstream Casino Resort - -March 8-17, 2013.
The next MSPT stop is in Tama, Iowa at Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel for another $300,000 Guaranteed event, Oct. 27 – Nov. 4, 2012.