The Venetian

Mavrick Yoo leads as 28 advance from Day 1B of MSPT Venetian

Day 1B of the MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event drew 206 runners, which along with 1A’s 109 brought the total field up to 315 entries. That means the top 36 will get paid a minimum of $2,150 while the eventual winner will walk away with $70,638.

The man best positioned to make a run at it, at least from the Day 1B field, is Mavrick Yoo (pictured), who bagged 480,000 among the 28 survivors. That is well ahead of Day 1A chip leader Eric Blair, who advanced with 325,000.

Yoo, who hails from Compton, California, has $42,521 in live tournament earnings, almost all of which $39,740) came when he finished third in the 2015 Commerce Poker Series Event #1: $350 NLH. He is seeking his first MSPT cash.

Others who bagged big stacks were 2014 WSOP APAC Main Event champ Scott Davies (411,500), Minh Nguyen (331,500), Cliff Goldkind (274,000), and Corey Hochman (237,000), who round out the top five.

Others to make it were John McClelland (164,000), Darren Rabinowitz (152,000), Vic Peppe (103,000), Dan Jones (99,000), Stan Jablonski (70,500), and Alex Winter (63,000).

Among those who failed to advance were Poker Hall of Famer Jack McClelland, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Ryan Leng, and MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl II champ Kfir Nahum. Likewise, other former MSPT champs to hit the rail were Andy Rubinberg, Peixin Liu, Jason Seitz, Ahmed Taleb, and Paul Cross.

On Sunday, the surviving 41 players (13 from 1A, 28 from 1B) will return at Noon local time for Day 2 action. It won’t take long for the money bubble to burst on the way to playing down to a winner.

Day 1B Chip Counts

Six More Hands

The tournament staff just announced the remaining players will play six more hands before bagging and tagging on Day 1B. Stay tuned for chip counts, a recap of the day’s action, and the Day 2 seat draw.

Jamie Kerstetter Falls to Minh Nguyen

Jamie Kerstetter, co-host of the LFG Podcast, got her last 23,000 all in preflop and was flipping against Minh Nguyen.

Nguyen:
Kerstetter:

Kerstetter needed to improve to stay alive but that proved easier said than done as the board ran out .

Minh Nguyen - 220,000 (92 bb)
Jamie Kerstetter - Busted

Hossein Nosrati Finishes Off Jesse Cohen

Jesse Cohen ripped his last 30,300 from the button, and Hossein Nosrati three-bet shoved for 45,000 from the small blind, chasing out Donald Kimzey in the big blind.

Cohen:
Nosrati:

Cohen couldn’t find an ace on a board and was eliminated.

Hossein Nosrati - 80,100 (33 bb)
Jesse Cohen - Busted

Jesse Whittemore Eliminates Bin Shih

Bin Shih got his last 30,000 or so all in on a flop against Jesse Whittemore.

Shih:
Whittemore:

Shih flopped an open-ended straight draw but unfortunately for him, Whittemore was already there. The turn left Shih looking for an ace on the river to survive, but it wasn’t there as the bricked.

Jesse Whittemore - 200,000 (83 bb)
Bin Shih - Busted

Alvin Wilson Stays Alive With A Five (Two Of 'Em!)

Alvin Wilson raised to 4,500 from the hijack, and Ekrem Bozkurt three-bet to 16,500 from the button. Wilson responded with a four-bet shove for 91,500, and Bozkurt snapped him off, having him covered by just 4,000 in chips.

Wilson:
Bozkurt:

Bozkurt had caught Wilson stealing, but Wilson picked up eight outs on the flop with an open-ended straight draw. The turn took those outs away (though he could now chop with those same outs), but Wilson could still win with an ace or a five. The hit the river, and Bozkurt could only shake his head as the majority of his stack was shipped over to Wilson. Bozkurt busted a few hands later.

Alvin Wilson - 188,000 (94 bb)
Ekrem Bozkurt - Busted

Mike Lang Done In By Mavrick Yoo

We missed the elimination of Iowa’s Mike Lang, who back in February finished fifth in the MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl II. Fortunately, he was kind enough to share some details on his demise.

As he explained, chip leader Mavrick Yoo opened with a raise and Lang opted to just call with aces in the big blind. Lang then called a bet on the flop before jamming over the top of a bet on the turn.

Yoo called with the for a full house. The river failed to help Lang and he took his leave from the tournament.

Mavrick Yoo - 380,000 (190 bb)
Mike Lang - Busted

Donald Kimzey Fades Christopher Hogue's Mega Draw

Donald Kimzey (pictured, left) raised to 7,000 from the lojack and found a lone caller in Christopher Hogue (pictured, right) in the hijack.

Kimzey bet 17,000 on a flop then snapped off his last 64,200 total when Hogue put him to the test with an all-in raise.

Kimzey:
Hogue:

Hogue had plenty of outs with his flush draw and live jacks and aces, but the turn gave Kimzey a set and left Hogue looking for a flush. It was Kimzey who improved again, however, as the river gave him a full house and a full double.

Donald Kimzey - 147,400 (74 bb)
Christopher Hogue - 120,000 (60 bb)

Cliff Goldkind vs. Rotem Chen in Aces vs. Kings Hand

Cliff Goldkind raised o 4,500 from early position and action folded all the way around to Rotem Chen, who three-bet to 13,000 from the big blind. Goldkind opted just to call and the two took a flop of .

Chen check-called a bet of 14,000 and then both players checked the turn.

When the completed the board on the river, Chen bet 22,500 and Goldkind thought long and hard before raising all in for 62,400 total.

Chen hit the tank, asked the dealer for an exact count, and then called with his for kings and jacks. It was no good however as Goldkind held the for a bigger two pair.

Cliff Goldkind - 185,000 (92.5 bb)
Rotem Chen - 100,000 (50 bb)