Created (12/30/2023 1:58:52 AM by Anthony Thompson)
Day 1b of the $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Season 14 Finale at Venetian Las Vegas has come to an end and Byungeun Shin leads 36 surviving players after more than 15 levels of play.
The final stop of the season drew 550 total entries and the 36 returning players from Day 1b will join the 25 runners that bagged on Day 1a for Saturday’s Day 2 finale at 11:00 a.m. local time.
All 61 returning players are guaranteed a min-cash of $2,357, while the winner is slated to take home the top payout of $90,692 from a total prize pool of $530,750.
Once the field was reduced to 11%, it was Shin who soared to the top of the chip counts after he cooled off MSPT champ Ron West in a aces versus kings hand to take the overall chip lead into the final day with 700,000.
Following hot behind Shin is WSOP bracelet winner Jared Jaffee who was able to gradually build a top stack in the later levels and will take 658,000 into Day 2, good for second overall.
Lovell “Da Wiz” Wilkerson saw his fair share of rollercoaster rides throughout the day after falling to just 8,000 before the end of registration but he was able to maintain his composure built up a 596,000 stack to end the night and sits in third overall for Day 2.
MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk learned of his Player of the Year victory early in Level 10 but didn’t slow him down one bit as he still has his eyes set on earning his second MSPT title and will take 483,000 into Day 2 in hopes of doing so.
Others to punch their ticket into Day 2 include Robert Russ (398,000), WSOP bracelet winner’s Stephen Song (201,000), Ankush Mandavia (157,000), & Anthony Spinella (149,000), MSPT champ James Romero (144,000), and MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Massey (101,000).
The final day will get underway bright and early at 11:00 a.m. local time and play to a winner with 61 players returning to the felt so make sure to come back and find out who walks away the newest MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event champion!
The MSPT live reporting crew will be on hand to capture all the action, so be sure to join us then.