For the second and final time this season, the MSPT traveled west to the beautiful Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon, California, for the 100 GRAND STACK Series!
The 10-Gold Card event series was headlined by the $1,110 buy-in, $100K GTD 100 GRAND STACK Series Main Event, and a total of 220 entries were tallied, generating a $211,900 prize pool.
Sunday saw the final 26 players return for Day 2 action in hopes of claiming the title for themselves, and after a seven-hour day, it was start-of-day chip leader Nicole Lilomaiava who rose to the occasion to secure her first MSPT title, along with a $51,936 first-place prize!
“Feels pretty amazing,” Lilomaiava said about winning her first career title. “I only, realistically, get to play one tournament a month, so to be able to win this one feels really good.”
The victory not only marked Lilomaiava’s first win, but it was also her largest score to date, and she became the first woman to win a Main Event title since Angela Jordison grabbed her second title back in March of 2025.
With the win Lilomaiava, also secured herself a seat into the $3,500 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 all 26 players already in the money, so action kicked into gear when David Leese was the first player to drop, followed by Shun Wakita and Gary Bousquet, starting a spree of eliminations.
The next batch of players that followed to the payout desk included the likes of flim writer & director Matt Salsberg (23rd Place - $2,077), Leo Vaisburg (19th Place - $2,327), Tim Acker (16th Place - $2,708), Rip Fritzer (15th Place - $3,116) and last year’s 100 GRAND STACK Champ Peter Brown (12th Place - $3,302), setting the stage for the final table.
Final Table Action
The final table started with Brad Miller sitting down with only three big blinds, but he was able to ladder up a few spots after Rudy Cervantes became the first final table elimination after his pocket nines were reeled in by Armando Mesina’s pocket jacks, and Daryn Brush followed him staright to the payout desk in eighth place after he lost a flip to soon-to-be champ Lilomaiava.
Shortly after, Miller bowed out in seventh place after he was all-in blind from the big blind, while 2023 Sycuan Champ Derrick Yamada found himself in need to make a move and did, only to be out-kicked by Lilomaiava in sixth place.
The fast-paced action continued as the MSPT’s leading casher, DJ Buckley won a heads-up battle against Luke Richard to send him home in fifth place, only to fall to the same fate against Lilomaiava to take a fourth-place exit.
Buckley not only notched another cash, extending his all-time lead to 95, but also marked his 15th final table appearance, tying for the sixth-most in tour history.
After the back-to-back eliminations, Lilomaiava took a commanding chip lead into three-handed play, holding a 2:1 chip advantage over both opponents, only to double them both and fall to the bottom of the counts.
Only that wouldn’t deter her, as she caught a quick double-up and watched Giovanni Bucciero finish off Mesina with a pair of aces in third place, leaving her heads-up for the title.
The heads-up duel began with Bucciero holding almost a 2:1 chip advantage over Lilomaiava, but she was on the benefit of the tournament-changing cooler to give her a commanding chip lead in the duel, which ultimately led to Bucciero taking a runner-up finish, while Lilomaiava took home a career best finish, along with her first titlle!
This wraps up our coverage of our last event at Sycuan this season, but make sure you join us next when we cross the U.S. border for the second time in tour history, as we are headed to PlayGround in Montreal for the $1,000,000 GTD Canadian Poker Championship, October 15th - 19th, and as always, our live reporting team will be on hand providing updates, so make sure to come back and tune in!