Created (2/23/2025 10:22:08 PM by Anthony Thompson)
For the first time this season, the MSPT traveled to Hollywood Casino to host a nine-trophy event series, headlined by the $1,110 Season 16 Missouri Poker State Championship.
A total of 630 entries were tallied (111 from Day 1a; 204 from 1b; 315 from 1c) were tallied through three starting flights and generated a $605,720 prize pool.
On Sunday,68 players returned for Day 2 action, and after roughly 10 hours of action it was Iowa native Brian Landon coming out on top to win the $102,785 top prize and his first MSPT title.
“It’s amazing,” Landon said about how he felt ion being called an MSPT Champion, “I never thought I could do this, but I guess I was wrong.”
MSPT Season 16 Missouri Poker State Championship Final Table Results
| Place |
Player |
Prize |
POY |
| 1st |
Brian Landon |
$102,785* |
1,400 |
| 2nd |
Peter Brooks |
$84,585* |
1,400 |
| 3rd |
Clint Wolcyn |
$71,477* |
1,400 |
| 4th |
Phil Mader |
$42,285 |
1,300 |
| 5th |
Brian Roberts |
$31,896 |
1,200 |
| 6th |
Rama Gadhiraju |
$23,952 |
1,100 |
| 7th |
Greg Raymer |
$18,452 |
1,000 |
| 8th |
Kevin Berthelsen |
$14,785 |
900 |
| 9th |
Hunter Cichy |
$11,119 |
800 |
*denotes 3-way deal
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Day 2 Action
The final day came back with all 68 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with Rick Viebranz being the first body to drop, while Ryan Tepen, and MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard being part of the first batches of eliminations.
Rick Viebranz
The fast-paced action would continue with back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk (45th Place - $2,502), two-time MSPT champ’s Mark Collins (43rd Place - $2,502) & Taylor Howard (41st Place - $2,502), MSPT top casher DJ Buckley (40th Place - $2,502) and MSPT champ Keith Heine (38th Place - $2,502) all falling in quick succession of each other.
Keith Heine Notches 25th Cash for Hall of Fame
The early exit for wasn’t the worst for Heine, as it notched his 25th Main Event cash and earned his seat into the coveted MSPT Hall of Fame, making him the 17th person on the tour to earn that feat.
MSPT champ Anthony Scarborough would then follow his competitors out the door (36th Place - $2,808) with Brett “Pops” Reichard (33rd Place - $2,808), MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff (27th Place - $3,663), WSOP bracelet winner Blair Hinkle (19th Place - $5,374), Andy Rogowski (18th Place - $6,320), and Askia Ingram (10th Place - $9,286) all fell before the final table.
Askia Ingram
Final Table Action
Once the final table was set, Kevin Berthelsen sat at the bottom of the chip counts but was able to get a pay jump after Hunter Cichy lost a race to Brian Roberts to become the first final table elimination.
Soon to be champ Landon would then pick-up a pair of aces to send Berthelsen out the door in eighth place and then found them once again shortly after to send 2004 WSOP Main Event Greg Raymer home in seventh place.
Phil Mader
The fast-paced action would continue with Ramakrishnamraju Gadhiraju’s sunny fishing trip coming to an abrupt end after he reeled in a pair of cowboys Peter Brooks was holding to take a sixth place departure while Roberts followed him to the payout desk in fifth place for $31,896.
Phil Mader then sat at the bottom of the chip counts with four players remaining, and he decided to make his move after flopping the nut flush draw only to be called by Brooks holding the nut straight.
With an invitation to the MSPT Hall of Fame hanging in the balance, Mader needed to complete his draw in order to stay alive, but he hit two bricks on the turn and river, securing his 34th Main Event cash for $42,285.
Clint Wolcyn
With three players remaining, an ICM deal was brought up and agreed upon with Minnesota’s Clint Wolcyn getting a little bit extra for his third place departure as he took home a career best $71,477 for his efforts.
The heads-up match saw Brooks holding a sizeable chip advantage over Landon, but he didn’t let that faze him as he caught some momentum after back-to-back doubles to send Brooks home in second place ($84,585) enroute to becoming the MSPT Season 16 Missouri Poker State Champion.
This wraps up our coverage of this year’s Missouri Poker State Championship but Season 16 of the MSPT continues as we head to Grand Falls, Iowa next (March 19th-23rd) and our reporting team will be on hand providing updates for the $200K GTD $1,110 Main Event so make sure to come back!