The Venetian

Carl Oman Secures First MSPT Venetian $1,100 Main Event Title!

The MSPT returned to the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the third this season, hosting an $1,100 buy-in, $500K GTD Main Event for the 2024 NFL kickoff.

A total of 612 entries (97 from Day 1a; 182 from 1b; 333 from 1c) were tallied and on Sunday, 69 players returned to Day 2 action to take their stab at the $590,580 prize pool.

Of those 69 players, only one was able to claim the top spot and that was WPT champ Carl Oman who navigated his way through the tough field to claim the $90,000 first place prize along with his first MSPT title!

“I love it”, Oman said after being asked what’s like to be an MSPT Champion, “I missed out on this trophy a twice before so I’m glad to be taking it home with me this time.”

With over $700,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, the score wasn’t the largest of his career, but it sure helps his retirement plan, which he has his sights on doing soon.

“I’m still working full time now but plan on retiring soon and start playing full time and when I do, you guys will be seeing a lot more of my ugly mug then you wish”, Oman jokingly said in his closing statement.

MSPT Season 15 Venetian Final Table Results

*denotes chop

Day 2 Action

The final day came back with 69 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with top poker vlogger Jaman Burton flushing out Sungwoo Tae for the first elimination of the day.

After Tae hit the deck, a flurry of “payouts” could be heard throughout the room, as handfuls of players were walking to the payout table which included the likes of DJ Buckley (51^st Place – $2,769), MSPT champ “Scary” Terry Fleischer (50^th Place - $2,769), MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Massey (49^th Place – $2,348), two-time bracelet winner Shannon Shorr (48^th Place - $2,769), and six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (45^th Place - $2,769).

Buckley was able to notch another cash in the record book while MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz did the same by extending his lead in both the GOAT Rankings & ICON Standings with his 40th place exit ($3,092).

While those players fell by the wayside, it was around this time MSPT champ Gerald Cunniff made a huge call to take the chip lead from WSOP bracelet winner Michael Liang, and was able to outlast the likes of Taylor Black (35th Place - $3,498), WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson (31st Place - $3,498), fellow bracelet winner Giuseppe Pantaleo (29th Place - $3,498), and Ben Palmer (14th Place - $6,517) before taking a 13th place exit of his own for $7,856.

The cash marked Cunniff’s 24th in a Main Event as he inched his way closer into the coveted MSPT Hall of Fame and he only needs one more cash to join the decorated group.

Final Table Action

Once the final table was set, Liang found himself holding sizeable chip lead over the rest while fellow bracelet winner Joey Couden sat towards the bottom of the counts and found a premium made hand of queens to roll his chips with.

Unfortunately for Couden, he would run his ladies into Anderson Barbosa Rocha Silva’s better pair of aces and ended up as the first final table elimination.

After Couden hit the rail, the chips started to shuffle around the table which saw Matt Paradis catapult to the top of the chip counts after he cracked MSPT champ Veerab Zakarian’s pocket aces while Liang lost back-to-back all in battles against Thai Dinh to take a disappointing eighth place finish.

A full level of poker was played before the next body would fall which sparked an elimination spree that would see Oman dismantle his remaining opponents one-by-one.

It all started when he tussled with chip leader Paradis which saw Oman turn a flush to crack Paradis’ trip jacks, sending him to the bottom of the chip counts as he took seventh place exit shortly after the loss.

Next on Oman’s hit list was former champ Zakarian who got his chips in ahead holding ace-jack off only to come-up short on the runout, ending his run sixth place for $23,957.

Oman would continue putting in work as he looked at a made hand of jacks to send Andrew Rodgers home in fifth place for $41,941 and then picked-up a dominating ace to eliminate Silva shortly after in fourth place for $40.064.

With Oman holding a sizeable chip lead over his final two opponents, an ICM chop was discussed and agreed upon which saw him take home the title while Triet Nguyen made $63,228 for his thrid place finish while Dinh finished runner-up for a career best $70,000.

This concludes our coverage for this event, but Season 15 of the MSPT continues this week as we head San Diego's Sycuan Casino for their third Showdown Series of the season which is headlined by the $1,110 buy-in, 300K GTD Main Event and as always, that will be reported by our live reporting team starting Thursday, September 19th so make sure to tune in!

Thai Dinh Eliminated in 2nd Place ($70,000)

After an ICM deal was struck, Thai Dinh held 3,315,000 in chips to take a second place finish for a career best $70,000.

Triet Nguyen Eliminated in 3rd Place ($63,228)

After an ICM deal was struck, Triet Nguyn held 2,165,000 in chips to take a third place finish for $63,288.

Anderson Barbosa Rocha Silva Eliminated in 4th Place ($40,064)

Anderson Barbosa Rocha Silva raised all in for 1,220,000 from the cutoff and Carl Oman called from the button.

Anderson Barbosa Rocha Silva:
Carl Oman:

Silva rolled oved over an ace but had kicker issues and it proved to be vital as the runout eliminated him in fourth place.

Carl Oman - 9,820,000
Thai Dinh - 3,315,000
Triet Nguyen - 2,165,000
Anderson Barbosa Rocha Silva - Eliminated

Andrew Rodgers Eliminated in 5th Place ($31,012)

Andrew Rodgers got his 900,000 stack in the middle from the hijack and was called by Carl Oman.

Andrew Rodgers:
Carl Oman:

Rodgers was at risk needing some help, but the runout wasn’t enough to get the job done as he made his exit in fifth place.

Carl Oman - 8,000,000
Andrew Rodgers - Eliminated

Veerab Zakarian Eliminated in 6th place ($23,957)

After losing ace-king to aces, MSPT champ Veerab Zakarian got his remaining 1,575,000 stack in the middle from the button and Carl Oman looked him up from the big blind.

Veerab Zakarian:
Carl Oman:

Zakarian was ahead holding an ace, but it was Oman who connected with the flop to take the lead.

The turn left Zakarian needing a king or non club ace on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board and ended his tournament.

Carl Oman - 7,300,000
Veerab Zakarian - Eliminated

Matt Paradis Eliminated in 7th Place ($18,722)

There was heads-up action between after a flop between Carl Oman from the button and Matt Paradis from the small blind.

With over 1,100,000 already in the middle, a series of raises led to Oman calling off his 1,945,000 stack, and the two players tabled their hands.

Carl Oman:
Matt Paradis:

Paradis rolled over trip jacks only to have the dealer turn the completing Oman’s flush.

Paradis was hoping to get some help on the river, but the completed the board and secured Oman the massive double.

After the hand was over, Paradis was left with just 25,000 and was eliminated the very next hand.

Carl Oman - 4,100,000
Matt Paradis - Eliminated

Final 7 Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Matt Paradis	2,970,000	1,050,000
Thai Dinh	2,705,000	2,325,000
Anderson Silva	2,600,000	3,300,000
Carl Oman	2,400,000	1,985,000
Andrew Rodgers	1,300,000	1,835,000
Triet Nguyen	1,145,000	1,100,000
Veerab Zakarian	1,100,000	1,550,000

MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz Holds Top Spot in Tight Icon Race

Over the past 15 years, the MSPT has been keeping track of our player's stats on our "Leaderboards" page creating one of the best player databases in the industry.

The list includes things such as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, GOAT Rankings, and now MSPT Icons!

This magnificent group of players have accomplished significant feats on the MSPT felt since the Tour launched in December of 2009 to separate themselves from their peers.

MSPT Icons are players currently ranked in the Top 10 of the MSPT GOAT Leaderboard or have earned their way into the MSPT Hall of Fame by achieving significant milestones.

Each MSPT season, Icons will have the opportunity to compete against other Icons for a prize.

This season, the prize will be a $10,400 entry into the World Poker Tour® (WPT) World Championship this upcoming December at Wynn Las Vegas as well as an award for MSPT Icon of the Year.

The competition for Season 15 (half season this year) started after the Vegas Summer Series at Riverside Casino (July 18-21) and will end on December 15, 2024.

The MSPT Icon Leaderboard will be based on the current MSPT Player of the Year point system, with each Icon starting at zero points as of today.

There are 16 eligible Icons this season. Going forward, the reigning Player of the Year will get a 1-year Icon status as well.

Next season (Season 16), the Icon competition will start on January 1, 2025. Players with a Top 10 GOAT status as of December 15, 2024, or are currently in the HOF, will be eligible to compete next season.

Should a player enter into the Top 10 GOAT Leaderboard in the middle of a season, they are not eligible to compete until the following season if they are still in the Top 10 on December 15.

Should a player fall off the Top 10 GOAT Leaderboard in the middle of a season, they still remain in the competition for that particular season but will not be eligible the following year should they not regain their Top 10 status by December 15 of that year.

2024 MSPT ICONS:

Aaron Johnson

Aaron Massey

Blake Bohn

“DQ” Dan Hendrickson

DJ Buckley

Jason Seitz

Josh Reichard

Kou Vang

Mark Hodge

Matt Kirby

Nick Pupillo

Pat Steele

Rich Alsup

Rob Wazwaz

Rodger Johnson

Umut Ozturk

MSPT 2024 Icon Standings

Michael Liang Eliminated in 8th Place ($14,802)

Action folded to WSOP bracelet Michael Liang winner who raised all in for 1,000,000 from the small blind and Thai Dinh looked him up from the big blind.

Michael Liang:
Thai Dinh:

Just after being straightened out by Dinh for a double-up in a previous hand, the two players got the chips in the middle against each other once again and Liang ended up on the wrong end once again as the runout eliminated him in eighth place.

Thai Dinh - 2,325,000
Michael Liang - Eliminated