Bally's Black Hawk Casino

Antonio Vargas Leads 19 Advancing Players After Day 1A of the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship at Bally’s Casino is officially in the books with 167 total entries tallied during the first flight.

With action needing to play down to 11% of the field, 15 levels were required, as there was 25:46 remaining on the clock once the hard stop was reached with Antonio Vargas and his stack of 840,000 leading the charge of the 19 advancing players by a wide margin.

MSPT champ Beau "Don K. Nado" Wilshire was able to catch some late-night steam to put 600,000 in his bag to end the night, while Nathaniel Shoshan was hot on his tail, ending with 526,000.

Rounding out the top five stacks of the flight were Jeff Soffer (414,000) and Bruce Carter (383,000), as they were the only other players to eclipse the 300k mark.

Others who found a Day 2 berth after the first starting flight included Nader Wahdan (288,000), Maziar Keshavarzi (191,000), Daniel Brewer (159,000), and January’s runner-up finisher Zach Gutierrez (129,000).

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Gregory Scharlach, Ermias Ayele, Charlie Petryl, Roger Low, and Reza Sheykhi, among others.

Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action.

Day 1b will kick off at noon local time Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday.

The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.

MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship Schedule

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor of Bally’s Casino!

End Day 1A Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Antonio Vargas	840,000	6,950,000
Beau Wilshire	600,000	700,000
Nathaniel Shoshan	526,000	277,000
Jeffrey Soffer	414,000	330,000
Bruce Carter	383,000	65,000
Nader Wahdan	288,000	278,000
Chris Quackenbush	266,000	285,000
Eddy Konarske	233,000	160,000
Maziar Keshavarzi	191,000	145,000
Michael Weiss	176,000	176,000
Daniel Brewer	159,000	159,000
Ryan Hays	153,000	153,000
James Gumiuski	149,000	149,000
Zach Gutierrez	129,000	80,000
Cameron Bramwell	129,000	129,000
Jonson Chatterlry	124,000	176,000
Miguel Navarro	89,000	89,000
Sean Hoesing	84,000	93,000
Matthew Krol	76,000	250,000

Taylor Fortini Bubbles Day 1A

Antonio Vargas opened under the gun for 12,000, only to have Taylor Fortini three-bet jam for 140,000 from the button, and Nader Wahdan call off his 132,000 stack from the small blind.

Nader Wahdan:
Taylor Fortini:

Wahdan was ahead holding a suited Big Slick, and the runout secured his double-up while Fortini was left with just 6,000, and was eliminated a few hands later, ending play for the night.

Nader Wahdan - 288,000
Taylor Fortini - 0

Rich Dixon Secures an Ultimate Victory!

Over the past week, players have been inside Bally's Casino, duking it out for the MSPT Season 16 Colorado Poker State Championship in Black Hawk, Colorado.

In Event #6: $300 NLH Ultimate Stack, 188 ultimate players took to the felt and generated a $46,060 prize pool that was paid out to the top 21 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Daniel Brewer (10^th Place - $874), Hung Nguyen (13^th Place - $691), Wayne Covey (16^th Place - $599), Stephen Decker (17^th Place - $599), and Stacie Newman (19^th Place - $553).

Walking away with the ultimate victory was Wyoming native Rich Dixon, who claimed the outright win for $11,974 and his first Gold Card!!

Final Table Results

Vargas Drops One with Aces, Hand-for-Hand Begins

Action on the table folded to the button, who raised to 25,000, and Antonio Vargas defended his big blind to see a flop.

Vargas check-raised to 50,000 after his opponent fired out a 25,000 continuation bet, and then snap-called their 140,000 three-bet jam.

Opponent:
Antonio Vargas:

Vargas rolled over a pair of aces, and the turn was followed by the river to start the hand-for-hand process.

Antonio Vargas - 695,000

Wilkie Tripped Up by Soffer

MSPT champ Steve Wilkie limped in under the gun, and action folded to Jeff Soffer, who raised to 20,000 from the button.

The big blind called, as did Wilkie, and the dealer dropped a flop.

A quick check saw Wilkie move out his remaining 60,000, and only Soffer called.

Steve Wilkie:
Jeff Soffer:

Soffer was ahead holding trip aces, and the turn was no help for Wilkie as he was left drawing dead to the meaningless river.

Jeff Soffer - 330,000
Steve Wilkie - 0

Round of Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Antonio Vargas	385,000	350,000
Jeffrey Soffer	330,000	300,000
Chris Quackenbush	285,000	252,000
Nader Wahdan	278,000	240,000
Nathaniel Shoshan	277,000	207,000
Taylor Fortini	213,000	140,000
Maziar Keshavarzi	145,000	76,000
Bruce Carter	65,000	150,000
Robert Gottfried	0	26,000
Josh Reichard	0	65,000
Steve Wilkie	0	30,000

Saad Vasquez Takes Down a Monster!

For the second time this season, the MSPT traveled to the beautiful mountainside of Black Hawk, Colorado, and players have been inside Bally's Casino, duking it out over the past week for the 2025 Colorado Poker State Championship!

In Event #5: $200 NLH Monster Stack, another 127-player field took to the felt as monster hunters, and generated a $20,320 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 players.

Among those to cash but fall before the final table were Jamie Christensen (10^th Place - $417), John Fornander (11^th Place - $417), Russell Neesham (12^th Place - $417), Neil Pugh (13^th Place - $345), Raul Carrera (14^th Place - $345), and Dheyaa Al Sammarraie (15^th Place - $345).

Coming out on top was Colorado native Saad Vasquez, who came out on top with the lion's share of the prize pool and claimed his first Gold Card!

Final Table Results

Keshavarzi Finds Some Breathing Room

Maziar Keshavarzi tossed out his starting stack from middle position and was called by the big blind.

Maziar Keshavarzi:
Big Blind:

Keshavarzi was at risk holding live cards, and connected with the flop to take the lead.

The turn kept Keshavarzi out in front while the river secured his double-up.

Maziar Keshavarzi - 70,000

Updated Stacks

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Beau Wilshire	526,000	417,000
Antonio Vargas	350,000	415,000
Jeffrey Soffer	300,000	250,000
Chris Quackenbush	252,000	184,000
Matthew Krol	250,000	90,000
Nader Wahdan	240,000	200,000
Nathaniel Shoshan	207,000	230,000
Jonson Chatterlry	176,000	115,000
Eddy Konarske	160,000	200,000
Taylor Fortini	140,000	133,000
Sean Hoesing	93,000	53,000
Josh Reichard	65,000	30,000
Steve Wilkie	30,000	60,000
Robert Gottfried	26,000	76,000
Jesse Green	0	30,000
Ermias Ayele	0	100,000
Jacob Long	0	31,500
Sharon Wertepny	0	67,500