For the third and final time this season, MSPT returned to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to host the 2026 Wisconsin Poker State Championship, and another impressive field came to play.
The 11-Gold Card Series was headlined by $1,110 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD Main Event, and it was one to remember as a total of 1,568 entries were tallied, generating a $1,519,460 generated prize pool.
After a long road to crown a new champion, it was MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz who navigated his way through to the finish, earning himself a payday of $253,521 and his second career MSPT title!
“Feels amazing”, said WazWaz after his victory. “Its been so long and you know, I make the final tables and I’d just be so exhausted to the point where I would make mistakes and not be focused the way I should, so it feels really good to close this one out.”
WazWaz holds the tour record for most final table apperances with 22, with 17 of them coming after he won his first title back in 2018, but its been almost a decade since he found himself back in the winner’s circle.
“I was really focused this time around,” WazWaz stated, “I’ve made a bunch of mistakes in the past at final tables, and I really wanted to make sure I didn’t this time, so I made sure to step up my game, and of couse have the cards fall my way.”
From the moment the final table started, WazWaz was locked in, making the correct decisions one after another, as he sent home four of his eight opponnets enroute to his second career MSPT title.
“I just want to give a big thanks to all the support I get from the players. You know, I’m pretty well known and have alot of respect for a lot of people, but having the core around me like Steve (WazWaz) and Rich (Alsup), who is the best traveling partern there is, it’s just honestly the best.”
While it’s been eight years since the Hall of Famer has found his way to another MSPT title, it couldn’t have come at a better time, as the victory secured him his largest score on the tour, bringing his career MSPT earnings over $1,000,000, making him the fifth person in tour history to do so, and cementing his legacy as one of the top GOATS.
With the win, WazWaz also secured himself 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 each of the 173 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with Dillon Ellis being the first body to drop, while Charlie Reichard, and WSOP winner Chad Holloway fell in quick succession as part of the first batch of eliminations.
The first batch of eliminations sparked a fire in the field as the MSPT’s top casher DJ Buckley (136th Place - $2,119), Kelly Mahana (112th Place - $2,422), two-time MSPT Champ Mike Estes (103rd Place - $2,573), and fellow two-time Champ Jeremy Dresch (87th Place - $2,876) all fell in quick succession making their way to the payout desk.
Players rapidly continued to make their way down to the Poker room to get paid as MSPT Champ Jeff Copeland (83rd Place - $2,876), Season 16 Poker Bowl Champ Anthony Scarborough (76th Place - $3,027), Missy Bartelme (63rd Place - $3,784) and two-time MSPT Champ Mark Sandness (53rd Place - $4,541) all made their way down to the payout cage taking a much earlier exit than anticipated.
The fast-paced action continued as MSPT Hall of Famer’s Gerald Cunniff (49th Place - $4,541), Josh Reichard (45th Place - $4,541), Aaron Johnson (42nd Place - $5,146) & Rich Alsup (26th Place - $7,568), and the last lady standing Brittany Spain (10th Place - $19,676) all fell on the way to the final table.
Final Table Action
The stacked final table started off with a bang, with eight double-ups happening before MSPT Champ Travis Young became the first body to drop after he was out-flopped by Mark Cahill, and Cahill followed that up by sending John Almanzar home in eighth-place the very next hand.
Next on the chopping block was two-time MSPT Champ Ken Baime, who started the final table at the bottom of the chip counts, but found a couple of double-ups before ultimatley running his pair of tens into Alex Doroshko’s pocket queens, as he took a seventh-place exit for $40,866. The exit marked Baime’s 29th Main Event cash and seventh final table appearance, bringing his MSPT Carrer earnings over $407,000.
Unfortantley for Doroshko, he would be the next body to drop after his pocket jacks fell short to WazWaz’s king-ten to end his run in sixth place for $51,461, while Vincent Kuriakose was set up by WSOP bracelet winner Mike Wilklow for most of his chips and ended up following Doroshko to th epayout desk shortly after in fifthplace for $68,110.
After Kuriakose hit the deck, WazWaz scored a double against William Stringer to climb to the top of the chip counts, leaving Stringer short as he was finished off by the Hall of Famer a few hands later, taking a fourth-place exit for $90,662.
Stringer’s exit then propelled WazWaz to a massive chip lead over his final two opponents, and he continued with his final table elimination spree, sending Wilklow home in third place for $118,057, while Cahill took a runner-up finish for $154,066.
Wilklow’s finish wasn’t all for nothing, as he was able to reclaim the top spot in the POY standings, while WazWaz secured his long overdue second MSPT title, and a $253,521 payday, taking his career MSPT earnings over $1,000,000.
This wraps up our coverage for this event, but Season 17 of the MSPT continues as we head to San Diego's Sycuan Casino for the 100 Grand Stack Series September 29th - October 4th, and as always, that will be reported by our live reporting team starting Thursday, October 1st, so make sure to tune in!