Potawatomi Casino

Alex Ziskin Continues Hot Streak By Bagging Chip Lead on Day 1B of MSPT Potawatomi

Day 1B of the MSPT Potawatomi $1,100 Main Event officially attracted 262 entrants, which along with Day 1A’s 233 brought the total field up to 495. The prize pool will be distributed to the top 45 players with a min-cash being worth $2,393.

The eventual winner will take home $114,876, and the man best position to make a run at it out of the 49 Day 1B survivors is Alex Ziskin, who bagged up 333,500. That is a little ahead of World Series of Poker bracelet winner John Reading, who led the Day 1A flight with 298,000.

Ziskin currently ranks ninth on Oklahoma’s all-time money list with $690,495 in live tournament earnings. Ziskin has been on fire this past year, first winning a WSOP gold bracelet last summer in Event #29: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $401,494, and then last November taking down the inaugural America’s Poker Tour Main Event for $47,490. He is seeking his second MSPT cash after finishing 25^th in the MSPT Season 6 Meskwaki Main Event for $2,509.

Other who bagged stacks on Saturday night were Patrick McCullough (251,000), MSPT Season 7 Meskwaki champ Keith Heine (227,000), reigning champ Alex Aqel (176,500), 2016 Aussie Millions champ Ari Engel (77,500), MSPT Season 6 Player of the Year Mark Hodge (74,000), 2017 WSOP Circuit Potawatomi High Roller champ Nadya Magnus (68,500), and MSPT Season 6 Canterbury Park champ Dan “DQ” Hendrickson (65,000).

Among those who failed to advance were Mike Holm, David Gutfreund, Robert Edelstein, Kevin Fielder, and former MSPT champs Travis Lauson, David Gonia, Jason Sell, and Craig Trost.

The surviving 43 Day 1A players and 49 from 1B will combine down to a single field tomorrow at 11 a.m. local time. They’ll play down through the money and all the way to a winner. As usual, the final table action will be live streamed worldwide on a 15-minute delay.

Join us at 11 a.m. on Sunday as we bring you all the action straight from the MSPT Potawatomi tournament floor.

End-of-Day 1B Chip Counts

Five More Hands

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play five more hands before bagging and tagging. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chip counts, the Day 1B recap, and of course the Day 2 seat draw.

Goodbye Jim Boone

With less than 30 minutes to bag and tag, the flop read and Yoon Kim led out for 30,000.

Jim Boone raised all in and Alex Ziskin three-bet jammed over the top. Kim finally folded the face up and Boone discovered he’d been coolered on the flop.

Boone:
Ziskin:

Boone had flopped top two pair, but he was way behind as Ziskin had flopped bottom set.

Unfortunately for Boone, the on the turn and on the river did not help him and he headed out the door.

Alexander Ziskin - 260,000
Jim Boone - Busted

Chris Roth Sends MSPT Champ Jason Sell to the Rail

Action folded to Chris Roth on the button and he raised to 4,500. MSPT Season 5 Ho-Chunk champ Jason Sell then three-bet all in for 24,200 more from the small blind, and Roth thought for a bit before making the call.

Sell:
Roth:

Sell got it in ahead, but he fell behind on the flop. The turn left Sell looking for either an ace or four on the river, but neither appeared as the bricked instead.

Chris Roth - 140,000
Jason Sell - Busted

Big Slick Does the Trick for Geno Pingel

A short-stacked Geno Pingel moved all in for 18,200 under the gun and Tim McCarthy, who was next to act, moved all in over the top. Action folded around and it was off to the races.

McCarthy:
Pingel:

Pingel was looking to improve, and he did just that on the flop. Neither the turn nor river changed a thing and Pingel was pushed the pot.

Geno Pingel - 40,000
Tim McCarthy - 25,000

MSPT Venetian to Run June 5-9 and Offer $2.5 Million Guarantee

Mark your calendars for what is sure to be one of the summer’s top poker tournaments in Las Vegas.

From June 5-9, the MSPT will host the Season 8 Mid-Season Championship -- a $1,100 buy-in Main Event – during the Venetian's DeepStack Extravaganza III. What's more, the guarantee has been upped to $2.5 million, up $500,000 from last year!

“For our fourth summer in Vegas, we’re offering players the biggest guarantee in MSPT history, all for just an $1,100 buy-in,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “Tommy LaRosa and his team at The Venetian set the bar on quality poker tournaments in Las Vegas, and we’re thrilled to once again join forces with them to offer players a great event.”

The tournament will start players with 15,000 in chips and offer 40-minute levels. There will be three starting flights beginning Monday, June 5 at Noon. Days 1B and 1C will take place at the same time on Tuesday, June 6 and Wednesday, June 7 respectively. Late registration will remain open until 6:50 p.m. each day.

The survivors from each flight will then combine for Day 2 action on Thursday, June 8 at 11:00 a.m. and play down to a final table of 10, which will then play out Friday, June 9. The entirety of the Main Event will be live reported on msptpoker.com.

The MSPT first visited the Venetian back in 2014 when Chicago's Drake Bronk topped a field of 854 entries to capture a $163,870 first-place prize. One year later, attendance more than doubled as 1,964 entrants took to the felt to crush the $1 million guarantee by creating a $1,964,000 prize pool. Angelina Rich became the first woman in history to win a MSPT title by taking down that event for $215,815.

Last year, the guarantee was upped to $2 million and 2,887 entrants made it the largest MSPT in history. Belgium’s Thomas Boivin defeated poker pro Mukul Pahuja in that event to walk away with a $352,153 prize. More recently, in February of this year, the MSPT teamed with The Venetian for the inaugural “Poker Bowl,” which saw Jordan Young top a field of 695 entrants to capture the $117,381 first-place prize.

The Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza III runs from May 15 through July 23 and will feature 110 different events. For more details, and a full look at the Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza III schedule, click here.

With 37 poker tables spreading games such as no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, and Omaha 8 of Better, as well as charging outlets, a smoke-free environment, tableside service, and a professional and courteous staff, The Venetian has established itself as one of Las Vegas’ premiere poker rooms.

In addition, they offer a poker rate for players interested in staying at either The Venetian or The Palazzo. In order to qualify, players must either play an average of six (6) cash game hours or a $300 buy-in tournament or above per day. Do that, and you can receive a rate of $129 for Sunday through Thursday nights and $179 for Friday and Saturday nights (there is also a $35 resort fee per night stayed). Terms and conditions apply, please visit Venetian.com for full details.

Songjie Zhou Cracks Kings

With around 20,000 in the pot and a flop of , Frank Cerminara checked from the hijack and Steve Lauson bet 10,000 from the cutoff. Songjie Zhou called from the button and Cerminara woke up with an all-in check-raise. Lauson ditched his hand and Zhou quickly called off for 67,600.

Zhou:
Cerminara:

Zhou had flopped the straight, and he scored the double after the was run out on the turn followed by the on the river.

Songjie Zhou - 170,000
Frank Cerminara - 40,000

Some Shots from the Penultimate Level

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