$207,056,543

Awarded to date

The Venetian

June 5 - 9, 2017

 
  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 1500 / 3000
  • Ante: 500
FireKeepers Champ Mike Shanahan Leads as 117 Players Advance from Day 1B of MSPT Venetian
Created (6/7/2017 2:15:01 AM by Admin System)

Day 1B of the MSPT Venetian $1,100 buy-in, $2.5 million guarantee Main Event attracted 1,002 runners, which along with Day 1A’s 839 brought the total field up to 1,841 entries. That means the tournament is still shy of the $2.5 million guarantee, but with Day 1C still to go, there’s little doubt the prize pool will end up being closer to $3 million.

After 15 levels of play, Indiana’s Mike Shanahan bagged up the chip lead among the 117 survivors with 377,500. That is just ahead of Day 1A chip leader Ludovic Riehl, which advanced with 370,000. Rounding out the top five Day 1B chip counts are Frankie Flowers (361,500), Daniel Wendorf (355,500), Mike Hack (352,500), and Cristian Castro Martinez (318,500).

Shanahan is riding a heater as he is just a couple weeks removed from winning the largest poker tournament in Michigan state history. He defeated poker pro Aaron Massey heads up in the MSPT FireKeepers Casino – a tournament that attracted 1,066 entries – and took home a $216,829 first-place prize.

Others who advanced to Day 2 were November Niner Jerry Wong (254,000), Iowa’s Jeff Fielder (187,500), MSPT Season 8 bestbet Jacksonville champ Jermaine “Lion” Gerlin (138,000), Todd Breyfogle (131,000), 2016 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Champ Andy Rubinberg (119,000), Patrick Serda (104,000), Gennady Shimelfarb (78,000), and 2001 WSOP Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen (38,500).

Among those to fall throughout the day were poker lawyer Mac VerStandig, 2012 PCA winner John Dibella, PokerStars employee Garry Gates, bracelet winners Ronnie Bardah and Kathy Liebert, and former host of Marriage Boot Camp Jim Carroll. In addition, a slew of former MSPT champs hit the rail including Luke Arora, Brett Blackwood, John Sun, and defending champ Thomas Boivin.

All of those players will have the opportunity to try again on Day 1C, which will kick off at Noon local time on Wednesday. In addition, any player that bagged can give it another go, to try and improve as this is a best-stack-forward tournament.

Registration for Day 1C will remain open through the night, so if you want to avoid waiting in lines or possibly being an alternate, we recommend you get to The Venetian and register early. Don’t worry, your stack won’t be blinded off; in fact, it won’t be put into play until you show up.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for all the latest and greatest straight from the floor of the MSPT Venetian.

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 1500 / 3000
  • Ante: 500
Day 1B Chip Counts
Created (6/7/2017 2:09:37 AM by Admin System)

Mike Shanahan 377,500
Frankie Flowers 361,500
Daniel Wendorf 355,500
Mike Hack 352,500
Cristian Castro Martinez 318,500
TM Williams 296,500
Ivan Holmes 285,500
Julian Parmann 272,000
Tyler Joyner 258,500
Jerry Wong 254,000
Aleks Dimitrov 252,500
Chris Barrett 251,000
Wen Zhang 248,500
Jeffrey Kaplan 246,000
Jeffrey Pringle 243,000
Andres Garcia 237,500
Bryden Baxter 218,000
Tom Lutz 210,500
Gabriel Andrade 210,000
Matt Schultz 201,500
Mark Dube 196,500
Seth Fischer 188,500
Jeff Fielder 187,500
Steven McCartney 183,500
Antonio Buonanno 179,000
Masoud Tavangari 173,000
Timothy Vu 166,000
Will Joyner 162,500
Charles Gomez 162,000
Jeffery Kester 161,000
Lawrence Masi 153,000
Nicholas Grippo 150,000
Ben Palmer 150,000
James Salmon 148,000
Kento Inami 147,500
Artem Metalidi 144,500
Vincent Moscati 142,500
Charalampos Lappas 141,500
Sterling Savill 139,000
James Calderaro 138,000
Jermaine Gerlin 138,000
Dylan Thomassie 138,000
Comel Sebastien 137,000
Joseph Rothway 135,500
Patrick Chan 132,500
Todd Breyfogle 131,000
Richard Saine 130,000
M. Kirschenbaum 130,000
Randy Perkins 127,500
John Lee 126,500
Michael Aron 125,000
David Poces 123,500
John Zioulas 122,500
Andrew Rubinberg 119,000
David Levi 117,500
Mike Finstein 116,500
Steven Ayoub 116,000
Prozan Melech 114,500
Elias Travis 113,000
Thomas Muhlocker 112,500
Josh Jiinmerson 109,000
Chris Donaldson 108,000
John Morgan 105,000
Patrick Serda 104,000
Zach Graneberg 103,000
Jeffrey Soffer 101,000
Mickey Stuefen 100,000
Cliff Goldkind 99,500
Alexander Lilagan 98,000
Anthony Spinela 97,000
Ahmmed Maniar 95,500
Julie Cornelius 91,000
Evan Young 89,500
Uri Laor 88,500
Carlos Lima 85,000
Chris Moon 83,000
Charles Welch 82,500
Jacob Rich 78,000
Gennady Shimelfarb 78,000
Michael Martin 76,000
Tim Fimm 75,500
Brian Leblanc 75,000
Danny Womb 75,000
Carlos Loving 72,000
Hung Le 70,500
Ryan Wince 69,000
Michael Azria 68,500
Toby Boas 67,500
Sara Hall 65,500
David Forster 64,500
Paulyuchuk Oleg 63,000
Marcello Campbell 62,000
Scott Ziebarth 61,000
Richard Spirra 60,000
Sascha Walter 59,500
Matt Davenport 58,500
Jason Corrigan 58,000
David Mowery 57,500
Ben Eilers 57,500
Dejuante Alexander 57,000
Alex Rocha 55,500
Shawn Sanford 54,500
Dan Ozenzo 51,500
David Levy 51,000
Steve Leahy 50,500
Jacob Balsiger 49,500
Jackson White 48,000
Derek Bowers 43,000
Christopher Malica 41,000
Paul Gini 39,000
Carlos Mortensen 38,500
Ryan Johnson 37,000
Reginald Roberts 36,500
Paul Figarotta 29,000
Cody Brim 28,000
Steve Trizis 25,000
Peter Murphy 17,000

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 1500 / 3000
  • Ante: 500
Play Concludes on Day 1B
Created (6/7/2017 1:30:47 AM by Admin System)

Players are in the process of bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for a list of survivors with chip counts along with a full recap of the Day 1B action.

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 1500 / 3000
  • Ante: 500
Nicholas Grippo Sends One to the Rail
Created (6/7/2017 1:18:42 AM by Admin System)

Nick Grippo

A player got his stack of 55,000 all in preflop and found himself at risk against Nick Grippo.

Grippo: ac 5c
Opponent: jd js

An ace in the window on the jc 4s ah flop looked good for Grippo, but as you can see it also contained a jack to give his opponent a set.

The 7c turn gave Grippo a flush draw, and he hit it when the 3c spiked on the river.

Nick Grippo - 150,000

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 1500 / 3000
  • Ante: 500
Matt Vaughn Slow Rolled Out of MSPT Venetian
Created (6/7/2017 1:11:20 AM by Admin System)

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
Mark Dube takes one down
Created (6/7/2017 12:56:40 AM by Admin System)

Mark Dube

With approximately 30,000 in the middle, four players checked a 3d 8h 3h flop.

On the 8d turn, Todd Breyfogle (@sharkslayerrr on twitter) bet 21,000.

Mark Dube, who was next to act, spent two minutes studying Breyfogle, before raising to 50,000.

The other two players folded, and after another minute of contemplation, Breyfogle finally released his hand.

Mark Dube - 180,000

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
Zach Gruneberg Finishes Off Former Marriage Boot C
Created (6/7/2017 12:52:36 AM by Admin System)

Zach Gruneberg

Zach Gruneberg opened for 5,000 and then called when former Marriage Boot Camp host Jim Carroll three-bet jammed for 40,000.

Gruneberg: Jx Jx
Carroll: Qx 9x

Carroll needed some help, but he didn’t get any aside from a nine on the river, which of course was a little too late.

“I’ve got a nine,” Carroll said excitedly. He then wished the table luck and took his leave from the tournament.

Zach Gruneberg - 150,000
Jim Carroll - Busted

  • Level: 14
  • Blinds: 1200 / 2400
  • Ante: 400
2017 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship July 22-30 at Meskwaki Casino
Created (6/7/2017 12:22:08 AM by Admin System)

For the second time in Season 8 the MSPT is headed to Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa, this time for the 3rd Annual Iowa State Poker Championship!

From July 22-30, the MSPT will host a series of satellites feeding into the $1,100 buy-in, $300,000 guaranteed Main Event, which will run the weekend of July 28-30. The event is coming off a record-breaking March event, which saw 466 entrants – the most in MSPT Meskwaki history – turn out for #MSPT100, the 100th Main Event in tour history.

The tournament, which requires players be just 18 years old to play, will kick off with Day 1A at 4 p.m. on Friday July 28 with the plan of playing 14 levels. Day 1B will then take place at the same time on Saturday, July 29. Players who advance from Main Event Flight 1A to Day 2 are not eligible to play in Flight 1B without forfeiting their chips. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, July 30 at 11:00 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

Click here for a look at the schedule.

The MSPT has visited Meskwaki, which won “Best of Iowa” in Casino Player’s 2016 Best of Gaming awards, 16 times over the years (three times each season). Last year, John Sun topped a field of 451 entries to win the 2nd Annual Iowa State Poker Championship for $104,627.

Other recent winners of the MSPT Meskwaki include Sun’s good friend, Ken Komberec, who bested a field of 405 to win last November’s event for $93,922; Keith Heine topped 409 entries back in March 2016 to win $100,981; and most recently Jason Ramos, who won the aforementioned #MSPT100 for $108,120.

Among the past winners of the MSPT Meskwaki are Season 7 Player of the Year Rich Alsup (November 2015 for $101,229), MSPT Pro Blake Bohn (July 2015 for $101,229), and Chad Willett (March 2015 for $96,760 prize, just to name a few.

The Main Event final table will be broadcast LIVE (15-minute delay) worldwide on msptpoker.com using RFID technology allowing all viewers to see the hole cards. In addition, the entirety of the Main Event will be live reported in the MSPT live blog, which can be found on msptpoker.com once the tournament begins. Simply look for the neon green button that reads "Live Updates."

Located in Tama, Iowa — between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids on Highway 30 — Meskwaki Casino, which was constructed in 1992, features a huge bingo hall, nine different types of table games, off-track betting, active craps tables, more than 1,350 slots, good blackjack games, horse book, indoor pool, exercise room, spa, and 404 hotel rooms.

The property also features the newly constructed Lucky’s Grill & Taproom, which served hearty breakfast entrees in the morning and their famous Shredded Chicken Nachos Grande (and more) in the evening. Other favorites include the 100% Iowa Angus Beef Lucky’s Steak Burger, handmade buttermilk dipped onion rings, Signature Pizzas, hot subs, and Fried Oreos. You can also enjoy a variety of 20 beers on tap (with 10 craft beers that are brewed in Iowa) all while watching your favorite team on one of 13 HDTVs.

Finally, for history buffs out there, the casino lobby features many museum-quality displays of Meskwaki artifacts and photos, showing guests a long and proud Native American heritage.

For players looking to fly to the stop, the airport in Des Moines is the closest option.

For the MSPT hotel rate, click here. Act fast as rooms will sell out.

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 1000 / 2000
  • Ante: 300
Easy Come, Easy Go: Chris Barrett Relieves Jim Car
Created (6/7/2017 12:20:25 AM by Admin System)

Chris Barrett

With a little more than 60,000 in the pot and a board reading 5h 8c ah qd, former Marriage Boot Camp host Jim Carroll bet 50,000 from early position into Chris Barrett, who was in the hijack.

Barrett hit the tank for a bit before moving all in for 103,600, which Carroll snap-called.

Carroll: da 5s
Barrett: ac qh

Carroll had flopped two pair but Barrett pulled ahead on the turn. Carroll called for a five but his request fell on deaf ears as the dealer instead put out the useless 3s.

Chris Barrett - 270,000
Jim Carroll - 45,000

  • Level: 13
  • Blinds: 1000 / 2000
  • Ante: 300
Fielder bullies the button
Created (6/7/2017 12:11:25 AM by Admin System)

Jeff Fielder

It folded around to Jeff Fielder, in late position who announced, “Raise” and slid a 5,000 chip into the middle. The button called, as did the small blind.

Fielder checked the 3h 7s 8d flop, the button bet 7,600, the small blind folded, Fielder called and the dealer put out the 8c on the turn.

Fielder checked again, the button bet 11,000 and after a minute, Fielder made another call.

On the ac river, Fielder stared at his opponent for another full minute, before betting 13,500 - enough to put him all in.

His opponent eventually folded and Fielder couldn’t hold back his smile as he raked in the pot.

Jeff Fielder - 150,000

 
 
LEVEL INFO
Level
15
Blinds
1500 / 3000
Ante
500
TOURNAMENT INFO
Entries
1002
Players Remaining
117
Average Chip Stack
128,461
Total Chips
15,030,000
TOP 10 CHIP COUNT
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
1 
Mike Shanahan
377,500
2 
Frankie Flowers
361,500
3 
Daniel Wendorf
355,500
4 
Mike Hack
352,500
5 
Cristian Castro
318,500
6 
TM Williams
296,500
7 
Ivan Holmes
285,500
8 
Julian Parmann
272,000
9 
Tyler Joyner
258,500
10 
Jerry Wong
254,000
SEASON TOP 10 POY POINTS
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
1 
Anthony Scarborough
3,250
2 
Umut Ozturk
3,075
3 
Caden Coleman
2,250
4 
Clint Wolcyn
2,150
5 
Kevin Berthelsen
2,100
6 
Angela Jordison
1,950
7 
Curtis Vierstraete
1,900
8 
Ryan Eamon
1,800
9 
Renmei Liu
1,800
10 
Ryan Leng
1,800