The MSPT returned to the beautiful Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the third time this season, hosting back-to-back $1,000,000 GTD events, and the final day of the Season 17 Heart Poker Championship has come to an end.
After tallying 878 and generating a $1,246,760 prize pool, just 99 players returned for Day 2 action in hopes of hoisting the trophy, and when the dust finally settled, it was local pro Adam Walton who was able to seize the moment and capture his first MSPT title along with the $185,966 first-place prize.
“It feels great,” Walton stated after securing his first MSPT title. “This is the reason why we play game, to close out tournaments, and it feels really good after coming so close a couple of times before.”
The close calls Walton was talking about were when he came in third place back in May of 2023, and then he followed that up with a runner-up finish in November of 2023.
That was a career year for Walton, as he not only had two deep runs on the tour, but he also finished third in the WSOP Main Event for $4,000,000, and he ranks this win right up there with his deep run.
“It’s definitely up there,” Walton stated when asked where this win ranks in his poker accolades, “This is one of the bigger wins of my career, so it’s definitely special and pretty exciting to say the least.”
The win also secured Walton 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, boasting a $2,000,000 GTD Main Event.
Day 2 Action
The final day came back with 99 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with Carlos Guerrero being eliminated in the first hand of the day while WSOP bracelet winners Anthony Marquez and Will Givens followed him to the payout cage shortly after.
After Givens hit the deck, a flurry of “payouts” could be heard throughout the room, as handfuls of players were walking to the payout table which included the likes of MSPT Champ Brad Gafford (83rd Place – $3,602), WSOP bracelet winner’s Stephen Song (73rd Place - $3,872) & Mike Wilklow (69th Place – $4,215) five-time bracelet winner David Peters (35th Place - $5,964), and Jeremy Becker (31st Place - $5,889) as they all hit the deck before the three table redraw.
The final three tables were stacked with crushers, but two-time bracelet winner Justin Lapka (24th Place - $7,722), fellow bracelet winners Joe Serock (23rd Place - $9,029) & Ian O’Hara (19th Place - $10,677), MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang (15th Place - $12,769) and Josias Santos (11th Place - $18,881), all fell before the final table.
Final Table Action
Once the final table was set, things kicked right into gear with long-time pro Justin Young running his ace-queen into Walton’s ace-king, making him the first final table elimination.
The fast-paced action would continue with Atanas Pavlov’s pair of aces getting tripped up by Raminder Singh’s queen-jack, while Elvyn Bello Santos got hooked by Walton to take a seventh-place finish.
Shortly after, short stack Richard Kellett found an ace-three to roll with, only to run into Singh’s superior ace-jack to take a sixth-place finish for $47,014, while Andre Abreu Miranda lost a battle of the blinds match-up against Craig Mason, as he went home with $60,637 for his fifth-place finish.
Mirandar's departure then left Singh sitting with the least amount of chips, and he got into a race with bracelet winner Anthony Reategui, only to lose the lead on the river to take home $79,022 for his fourth-place efforts.
Once Singh hit the deck, the chips were pretty evenly distributed between the three remaining players, with Walton holding the lead, and it took almost a level for Mason’s stack to dwindle down before he became the third-place finisher to take home a healthy $104,041.
The heads-up match started with Walton holding a slight edge over Reategui, but he was able to chip away at the former bracelet winner, sending him home with a second-place finish for $138,375 while Walton took home the $185,966 first-place prize, along with the coveted MSPT Season 17 Heart Poker Championship!
This wraps up our coverage of yet another amazing week at the Venetian Las Vegas. Make sure to join us next time when we make our trip back to Riverside, Iowa, for the Iowa Poker State Championship at the Riverside Casino from July 21st - 26th!