Meskwaki Casino

Taylor Howard Wins #MSPT136 at Meskwaki Casino for $89,939

The third and final MSPT Meskwaki stop of Season 9 began with 423 entries but after a full weekend of play it was 28-year-old Taylor Howard, an RV salesman from Altoona, Iowa, who walked away with the title and $89,939 first-place prize.

“I’m on top of the world,” Howard said after the win. “I’ve been close to some big, big scores on tours before. I got fourth in this event a few years back. I’ve been close online. It feels good to win one.”

Prior to the win, Howard had $37,189 in live tournament earnings including a prior career-best of $24,423 for finishing fourth in a 2014 MSPT Meskwaki Main Event.

“The MSPT brings out some grinders and it was a tough final table,” said Howard, who had to contend with 21-year-old up-and-comer Ian Matakis for the title. “I don’t have an insane amount of live heads-up experience. I felt like he was a little bit better than me as a heads-up player so I just started ripping. He was a great player.”

As for the money, Howard has a couple of ideas: “I said I’d take my girlfriend on a trip. I need a new car, so we’ll go look at cars too.”

Final Table Results
1 Taylor Howard (Altoona, IA) $89,939
2 Ian Matakis (Faribault, MN) $55,598
3 Ryan Phan (Omaha, NE) $40,472
4 Casey Johnson (Bondurant, IA) $29,843
5 Ron McMillen (Cambridge, IA) $22,485
6 Mo Nuwwarah (Omaha, NE) $17,170
7 Pierce Acuff (West Des Moines, IA) $13,491
8 Jerry Moore (USA) $10,629
9 Zac Campbell (Memphis, MO) $7,767
10 Frank Helm (Montezuma, IA) $6,541

Day 2 saw 61 players return to action but with only 45 getting paid a bunch left empty-handed including MSPT Season 9 Canterbury Park champ Rob Wazwaz, Wisconsin’s Nik Stone, and bubble boy John Sun, who you might recall was the 2016 MSPT Iowa State Poker Champion.

Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were MSPT Season 6 POY Mark Hodge (12^th - $6,541), MSPT Season 2 Running Aces champ Jason Seitz (19^th - $3,843), 10-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Josh Reichard (28^th - $2,453), and DJ Buckley (42^nd - $2,248).

One of the big stories at the final table was that of Zac Campbell, who was at back-to-back MSPT Meskwaki final tables (he finished eighth in July’s 2018 MSPT Iowa State Poker Championship for $10,997). On Day 1A of the tournament, Campbell bagged 791,500, an unprecedented chip lead after a Day 1 flight on the MSPT.

The monster stack carried him all the way to the final table, but by that point, his lead had evaporated. He wound up busting ninth place for $7,767 after losing queen-nine to queen-three all in preflop against Matakis.

Another good story at the final table was that of veteran poker reporter Mo Nuwwarah, who some may remember as the PokerNews reporter who covered the MSPT in Seasons 5 and 6. As a player, Nuwwarah was fresh off winning a WSOP Circuit gold ring in Chicago in a H.O.R.S.E. event. His first MSPT final table resulted in a sixth-place finish for $17,170, which was a career-high score for the man from Omaha.

Finishing the tournament in third place was Omaha-based pro Ryan Phan, who currently sits second on Nebraska’s all-time money list. Fans might remember Phan from this summer’s WSOP Main Event where he finished 11^th for $725K. Back in August, he finished runner-up in the WSOPC Harrah’s Cherokee Main Event for $182,990, and two seasons ago took second to Keith Heine in the MSPT Meskwaki for $58,296.

As for the game-changing hand for Howard, it came in his heads-up match against Matakis. The duo got it in with the former holding a flush draw and the latter top two pair. The flush came in on the turn, and Matakis was left with crumbs after the hand. He busted a few hands later and took home $55,598 for his runner-up finish.

Congrats to all those who cashed at the #MSPT136 at Meskwaki Casino!

Just three stops remain in Season 9 of the MSPT starting with the $1,100 MSPT Denver Poker Open at Golden Gates in Black Hawk, Colorado starting Thursday. The weekend after that is the 2018 MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Championship at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, and then the Season 9 finale will take place at Minnesota’s Canterbury Park December 6-9.

Ian Matakis Eliminated in 2nd Place ($55,598)

Ian Matakis managed a double but his comeback stalled after that.

In what would be the final hand of the tournament, Matakis moved all in from the button and Taylor Howard called.

Howard:
Matakis:

Matakis was primed for another double but the flop dashed his hopes.

Neither the turn nor helped Matakis and he shook hands with Howard before heading to the payout desk in second place.

We’re sure that we haven’t seen the last of Matakis, who just turned 21 years old.

Ian Matakis – Eliminated in 2nd place for $55,598

Ian Matakis Left with Crumbs After Cooler Flop

Taylor Howard raised to 225,000 from the button and Ian Matakis called to see a flop.

Matakis checked, Howard bet 225,000, and Matakis check-raised to 725,000. Howard moved all in for 4 million and Matakis snap-called.

Howard:
Matakis:

Matakis flopped two pair while Howard went with his flush draw. The turn completed the flush and Matakis failed to fill up on the river.

Taylor Howard - 8,110,000 (81 bb)
Ian Matakis - 350,000 (3.5 bb)

Taylor Howard Closing the Gap

Ian Matakis made it 210,000 to go on the button and Taylor Howard called to see a flop, which both players checked.

When the turned, Howard check-called a bet of 250,000 and then both players returned to checking on the river.

Howard tabled the for two pair and it was good as Matakis flashed just the before folding.

Taylor Howard - 4,055,000 (40.5 bb)
Ian Matakis - 4,405,000 (44 bb)

Heads-Up Chip Counts on Break

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Ian Matakis	5560000	4435000
Taylor Howard	2900000	4025000

Ryan Phan Eliminated in 3rd Place ($40,472)

Ian Matakis raised to 180,000 from the button and Ryan Phan, who made a deep run in this year’s WSOP Main Event, called from the small blind.

Phan check-called a bet of 125,000 on the flop and then led out for 235,000 on the turn.

Matakis called and the completed the board on the river. Phan moved all in for his last 825,000 and Matakis quickly called.

Phan showed the for a missed straight draw and Matakis rolled over the for trip tens and the K.O.

Ryan Phan – Eliminated in 3rd place for $40,472

Casey Johnson Eliminated in 4th Place ($29,843)

Taylor Howard limped the small blind, Casey Johnson checked his option from the big, and the flop came down , which both players checked.

After the dealer burned and turned the , Howard led out for 75,000 and Johnson raised to 200,000. Howard responded by moving all in and Johnson called off for roughly 800K.

Johnson:
Howard:

Johnson was ahead with two pair but not after the spiked on the river to give Howard kings and ducks.

Taylor Howard - 3,585,000 (60 bb)
Casey Johnson - Eliminated in 4th place for $29,843

Ron McMillen Eliminated in 5th Place ($22,485)

Ryan Phan opened for 125,000 under the gun and Ian Matakis called from the small blind. Ron McMillen came along from the big and the three of them saw a flop of , which they all checked.

Matakis then led out for 190,000 on the turn, McMillen moved all in, and Phan got out of the way. Matakis mad a quick call and the hands were turned up.

Matakis:
McMillen:

McMillen went with his draws but failed to get there when the bricked the river.

Ian Matakis - 3,315,000 (55 bb)
Ron McMillen – Eliminated in 5th place for $22,485

Mo Nuwwarah Eliminated in 6th Place ($17,170)

With around 300K in the pot and a flop of , Taylor Howard checked from the big blind and Mo Nuwwarah bet 100,000 from the cutoff. Howard woke up with a check-raise to 400,000 and then snap-called when Nuwwarah moved in for 825,000.

Howard:
Nuwwarah:

The turn left Nuwwarah drawing to either a ten or queen to chop, but it wasn’t in the cards as the bricked on the river to send him out the door in sixth place.

Nuwwarah, who less than a month ago won his first WSOPC gold ring, will take home a career-high $17,170 for his deep run.

Taylor Howard - 2,590,000 (43 bb)
Mo Nuwwarah – Eliminated in 6th place for $17,170

Pierce Acuff Eliminated in 7th Place ($13,491)

Pierce Acuff moved all in for 345,000 under the gun and Mo Nuwwarah re-jammed for 855,000 from the hijack. The rest of the players got out of the way and Acuff discovered the bad news.

Nuwwarah:
Acuff:

Acuff was dominated and failed to get lucky when th board ran out .

Mo Nuwwarah - 1,310,000 (26 bb)
Pierce Acuff - Eliminated in 7th place for $13,491