The MSPT returned to the beautiful Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the fourth time this season to host the Season 17 Nevada Poker State Championship!
A total of 402 entries were tallied after three starting flights, and on Sunday, just 46 players returned to action for the final day, in hopes of securing the top prize from the $385,920 prize pool.
When the dust finally settled, it was South Carolina native Greg Secord who seized the moment, earning a career score in his first-ever MSPT to capture the 2026 Nevada Poker State Championship trophy!
“It feels great,” Secord said after his victory. “This was a field of accomplished professionals, and for me to come and have some fun while being able to compete against some of the best, and get lucky enough to win, it's amazing.”
Secord considers himself a recreational player, but he walked away on top of the tough field with a career score, along with 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 all 46 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with Victoria Livschitz losing in the first hand of the day against two-time bracelet winner Shannon Shorr, while two-time MSPT Champ Peixin Liu had his aces cracked to follow her to the payout cage shortly after in the first batch of eliminations.
After Liu 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 three-time bracelet winner Ryan Leng (38th Place – $2,282), Ben Palmer (36th Place – $2,282), WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Laplante (35th Place - $2,560), three-time bracelet winner Jesse Yaginuma (33rd Place - $2,560), and Ricky Landais (31st Place - $2,560) all hit the deck before the three table redraw.
The final three tables were stacked with crushers, but for Spencer Champlin (24th Place – $2,913), Justin Young (14th Place – $4,664), WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson (13th Place – $5,607), two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman (11th Place – $6,831), and fellow bracelet winner Gary Bolden (10th Place – $6,831), all had their hopes fall short of making the final table.
Final Table Action
Once the final table was set, Valentyn Shabelnyk and Kelly Mahana sat at the top of the chip counts, but they had a couple of big run-ins with soon-to-be champ Secord to become the first two final table eliminations.
Secord would continue his final table hot streak with a double elimination of Sye Hickey and MSPT Champ Veerab Zakarian to take a massive chip lead, while Jesse Whittemore lost a big race against two-time bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz to take a fifth-place exit for $22,273.
The fast-paced action continued with Robyn Alvis making two big calls, with the first being a double against Secord, while the second sent Yang Li home in fourth place ($29,234), giving her the chip lead.
Unfortunately for Alvis, she lost two crucial hands to Rabinowitz, which ultimately saw her take a third-place finish for $38,903, and Rabinowitz found himself heads-up once again for the Nevada Poker State Championship.
This time around, Rabinowitz started the heads-up match with the chip lead over Secord, but it was a back-and-forth battle that saw the duel last over two full hours before Secord handed Rabinowitz another runner-up finish for $52,394, while Secord went home with the title, along with a best score of $71,406.
This concludes our coverage for the 2026 Nevada Poker State Championship, but the MSPT is headed back to the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, WI, to host the Wisconsin Poker State Championship, September 22nd - 25th, and the MSPT team will be on hand providing updates for the $1,000,000 GTD $1,110 Main Event, so make sure to come back and tune in!