Sycuan Casino Resort

Justin Muse Wins MSPT Season 15 Sycuan Main Event for First Title!

The MSPT returned to Sycuan Casino & Resort in San Diego, California to host its third and final Showdown Series this season.

The 15-trophy event series was headlined the $1,110 buy-in, $300K GTD Main Event, and a total of 374 entries (47 from Day 1a; 135 from 1b; and 192 from Day 1c) were tallied, generating a $361,280 prize pool.

On Sunday, 40 players returned for Day 2 action, and after the dust settled, it was El Cajon native Justin Muse who rose to the top securing his first MSPT title, along with his largest career score of $72,130!

Muse came into the final day just outside the top ten chip counts and was able to defeat Bret Eberhart heads-ups-up to keep the title here on his home turf.

MSPT Season 15 Sycuan Showdown Series $1,110 Main Event Final Table Results

*denotes heads-up deal

Day 2 Action

The final day came back with all 40 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with two-time bracelet winner Erick Lindgren being kicked-out the door by John Donnelly, starting a spree of eliminations.

The first batch that followed Lindgren to the payout desk included the likes of Igli Pirgv, Derek Stark, and Minnesota’s Sherry Hammers.

With players continuing to make their way to the payout line MSPT champ Josh Reichard and three-time champ Matt Kirby continued to maneuver their way through the remining field in hopes of adding another MSPT title to their Hall of Fame resume’s.

While each of them never really got much traction during the day, both would make a deep run with Kerby bowing out in 19th place for $3,492, while Reichard caught a few pay jumps before making a 14th place exit for $4,829.

With that, Reichard jumped ahead of fellow Hall of Famer and MSPT champ Rob WazWaz in the tight 2024 ICON standings, while also climbing into fourth place in the Player of the Year race.

Final Table Action

The fast-paced action continued as only a few hands were needed to send the last lady standing Thuy Kawano home in ninth place, making her the first final table elimination.

After making the final table here last time in May, Tim Acker was on a quest to best his seventh-place finish and got it in good holding Big Slick to Chris Takata’s ace-queen.

Unfortunately for Acker, Takata had lady luck on his side to secure him the pot while Acker made an earlier exit than he had hoped in eight place.

After delivering Acker his critical blow, Takata found himself in a battle of the blind's situation against Eberhart only to be set up in seventh place for $12,259.

LA’s Luke Nguyen came into the final table midway through the pack and that's where he made his exit after his made hand of three’s came up short against Sinan Shathaya’s pocket sevens.

After taking out Nguyen, Shathaya thought he was starting to catch some final table steam until he ran his Big Slick into Eberhart’s pocket aces and made a in fifth place exit for $20,432.

Four-handed action saw Eberhart hold roughly half the chips in play, and he managed to accumulate some more after he won a race against Ron Scott, sending him home in fourth place for $27,119.

With Eberhart continuing to add chips, Muse was able to close the distance between them after his pocket tens held against Sammy Weisman ($36,778) setting the stage for the heads-up match.

The heads-up battle started with Eberhart holding a slight advantage over Muse, and the two agreed upon a chop but would still duke it out for the coveted trophy.

After agreement, Muse went on a tear winning almost every heads-up pot until Eberhart finally secured a double, turning the tide back in his favor.

From that point, chips continued to shuffle back-and-forth until Muse got paid holding a straight and then made quick work of Eberhart as he finished runner-up for $59,629 while Muse secured his first career title at his home casino for $79,630.

This wraps up our coverage of another eventful tournament, so make sure you join us when we make our way to FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan for their $1,110 Main Event October 10^th - 13^th!!

Bret Eberhart Eliminated in 2nd Place ($59,629)

In the very first hand of the level, Bret Eberhart moved his short stack in the middle and was snap-called by Justin Muse.

Bret Eberhart:
Justin Muse:

The flop fell flop kept Eberhart trailing Muse, but it also gave him some hope with an open-ended straight draw, and flush draw.

Unfortunately for Eberhart, the turn gave Muse top pair, and the river came a card too late as he was eliminated runner-up.

Justin Muse - 11,220,000
Bret Eberhart - Eliminated

The MSPT Heads to Riverside October 31st - November 3rd!

For the final time this season, the MSPT is headed to Riverside Casino in Riverside, IA from October 31st - November 3rd!

A series of $70 and $265 satellites will feed into the $1,110 buy-in MSPT265 Main Event, which requires players be 21+ to play.

The tournament, which boasts a $300K GTD, will offer three starting flights with Day 1a beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 31st.

Day 1b will take place at the same time on Friday, November 1st, while Day 1c will follow suit at the same time on Saturday, November 2^nd.

The surviving players from all starting flights will return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 3rd, to play down to a winner.

Also, starting on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. will be a series of satellites awarding 2 total seats into the $10,400 WPT World Championship being held in December!

Also, on that Sunday, there will be a $200 NLH Ultimate Stack Event beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Eberhart Finding Some Traction

After a lopsided affair in the heads-up battle, Bret Eberhart got his 1,480.000 stack in the middle and was snap-called by Justin Muse.

Bret Eberhart:
Justin Muse:

Eberhart was ahead holding a king and liked seeing one in the window on the flop.

The turn was a good sight for Eberhart as it secured him the pot and he collected his double-up after the meaningless completed the board on the river.

Justin Muse - 8.160,000
Bret Eberhart - 3,060,000

Matt Gawel Walks Away with an Epic Victory

For the third time this season, the MSPT traveled back to San Diego, CA and players have been duking it out over the past week inside Sycuan Casino & Resort for its 15-trophy event series!

In Event #14: $200 No-Limit Hold'em Epic Stack, 65 epic players took to the felt to duel it out for the top spot, and coming out on top was San Diego's own Matt Gawel who claimed the title for himself to take home the lion's share of the prize pool along with the Sapdey trophy!

Results

Sammy Weisman Eliminated in 3rd Place ($36,778)

Sammy Weisman was all in preflop from the button and was called by Justin Muse from the button.

Sammy Weisman:
Justin Muse:

Weisman was at risk needing some help but didn’t get it from the runout as he made a third place exit for $36,778.

Justin Muse - 4,550,000
Sammy Weisman - Eliminated

Ron Scott Eliminated in 4th Place ($27,119)

Action folded to Bret Eberhart who put out a stack of yellow T-100k chips putting Ron Scott at risk, and after looking over the other stack sizes, he decided to risk his short stack.

Ron Scott:
Bret Eberhart:

“Oh no,” Eberhart said just before seeing he held two overs with a flop hitting the felt.

Eberhart then held multiple outs, and the that hit the turn was one of them, leaving Scott needing to hit a two-outer on the river to stay alive.

Unfortunately for Scott, the looked like the card he wanted to see but instead it ended his run in fourth place for $27,119.

Bret Eberhart - 7,000,000
Ron scott - Eliminated

Largest Midwest Poker Tournament Set for October 10th - 13th!

Don’t look now, but Michigan is one of the country’s hottest spots for poker, a fact evidenced by massive tournament fields.

Last May, a venue record of 2,473 entrants packed the poker room and, in the end, it was MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang who took home a career-best $314,145 for the win.

That event was followed up by the MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship in October which set a new bar with 2,883 entrants tallied and saw Travis Young walk away with a $297,977 first-place prize.

Lastly and most recent, Keven Oswald outlasted 2,717 runners earlier this season in May and secured himself a $234,422 payday to become the defending champ.

Case in point, recent stops of the MSPT, which will visit FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek for the second time in Season 15 October 10th - 13th.

A series of $70 and $265 qualifiers will take place in the weeks leading up to the $1,110 buy-in, $1,000,000 guarantee Main Event, which is once again expected to draw a massive field.

The Main Event, which requires players be 21 years of age to participate, will feature three starting flights beginning with Day 1a at Noon on Thursday, October 10th.

The next two starting flights, Days 1b and 1c will then be held at the same time on Friday, October 11th, and Saturday, October 12th respectively. The remaining players from each flight will combine on Sunday, October 13th at 10:00 a.m. and play until a champion is crowned.

Also, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. will be a $125 Flip 'N' Go with 1 in 10 players receiving a $1,100 satellite entry into the $1,100 Milestone satellite, being held on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. which will award a direct entry into the $10,400 WPT World Championship held in December!

Some others who've notched wins at FireKeepers are Matthew Davis (October 2022 for $344,446), Dan Bekavac (May 2022 for $198,175), Bobby Noel (October 2019 for $262,145), and Chris Moon (May 2019 for $258,407).

For more information, visit firekeeperscasino.com.

For a full look at the MSPT FireKeepers schedule, click here.

Sinan Shathaya Eliminated in 5th Place ($20,432)

Sammy Weisman opened for 125,000 from the hijack only to have Sinan Shathaya three-bet to 350,000 from the button, and Bret Eberhart four-bet to 1,000,000 from the small blind.

Action was back on Weisman who quickly released his hand into the muck while Shathaya five-bet jammed and was snap-called by Eberhart.

Sinan Shathaya:
Bret Eberhart:

Shathaya picked-up Big Slick at the wrong time as Eberhart’s Weapons of Mass Destruction sent him home in fifth place for $20,432.

Bret Eberhart - 5,905,000
Sinan Shathaya - Eliminated

Luke Nguyen Eliminated in 6th Place ($15,603)

Sinan Shathaya raised from the hijack and then called Luke Nguyen’s 630,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Luke Nguyen:
Sinan Shathaya:

Nguyen didn’t like seeing Shathaya roll over the better made hand and the counterfeited both pocket pairs but Shathaya still held a seven to send Nguyen home in sixth place for $15,603.

Sinan Shathaya - 2,980,000
Luke Nguyen - Eliminated