For the second time this season, the MSPT traveled to Bally’s Casino to host the Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship, and the turnout did not disappoint.
A total of 875 entries were tallied and generated an $847,250 prize pool.
On Sunday, 98 players returned for Day 2 action, and after roughly 12 hours of action, it was start-of-day chip leader, Antonio Vargas, who battled his way through the challenging final day field en route to a career-best $141,255 first-place prize after a heads up deal and his first MSPT title!
“It’s truly amazing”, Vargas said after his victory, “I came very close in this event last year, so to be able to close this one out, words can’t describe it.”
The overwhelmed Vargas was filled with emotion after a heartbreaking third-place finish in last January’s Main Event, Vargas came back intending to walk away champion, and he did just that, as he is the new Colorado Poker Stat Champion!
Day 2 Action
The final day came back with 98 players already in the money, and action kicked right into gear with John Palermino being the first elimination of the day while Andrew Peragallo and Miguel Navarro followed him to the payout desk as part of the first batch of eliminations.
Players then continued dropping like flies while other making moves to gain chips as MSPT champ’s Beau "Don K. Nado" Wilshire (61st Place - $2,490), Justin Lynch (56th Place – $2,656) & Anthony Scarborough (52nd Place - $2,656), all fell in quick succession, along with two-time MSPT champ Timothy Thorp (39th Place - $2,988).
Only two former champs would remain in the field after Thorp’s departure, with Eric Maier falling in 15th place for $9,960, while January’s runner-up finisher Zach Gutierrez (18th Place - $8,300), Isaiah Easter (11th Place - $11,620), and Colin Gordon (10th place - $11,620) all fell before the final table.
Final Table Action
Once the player took their seats, action picked right up with Erik Macias getting his short stack in the middle holding an ace, only to run into Cody Mondeau’s pocket aces to become the first final table elimination.
A few hands later, final table chip leader Andrew Dea saw his chips deplete after a failed bluff against Zack Whitney saw him ultimately take a disappointing eighth-place exit.
Next up on the chopping block was Mondeau, who got flushed out on the river by Rich Dixon to take a seventh-place finish, while the last former champ standing, John Schroer departed shortly after in sixth place for $31,539.
After Schroer’s elimination, Thomas Fuller found a strong hand in the big blind to risk his remaining stack only to have Rich Dixon roll over a pair of aces to end his run in fifth place for $41,499.
With four players remaining, Rahul Lal found a spot in a battle of the blinds against Whitney to get his short stack in the middle, only to be flopped dead to take a fourth-place departure for $54,779.
The chips were then pretty evenly dispersed between the three remaining players until Vargas got paid on a flopped flush against Dixon to take the chip lead, and then finished him off in third place for $73,371.
After Dixon hit the deck, it didn’t take long for the final two to agree upon an ICM deal, which saw Whitney take home a second-place finish for $120,190, while Vargas secured the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship for his first career title and score of $141,255.
This wraps up our coverage of this year’s ColoradoPoker State Championship, but Season 16 of the MSPT continues as we head to Grand Falls, Iowa, next (August 6th-10th), and our reporting team will be on hand providing updates for the $300K GTD $1,110 Main Event, so make sure to come back!