The Venetian

Jon Vallinas Santos Leads 43 Players After Day 1B of the Inaugural MSPT $1,600 Heart Poker Championship

A full day of action occurred during Day 1b of the inaugural MSPT $1,600 Heart Poker Championship at the Venetian Resort with almost 17 full levels coming to completion as just 15:52 remained in the level when the hard stop was reached.

The second of three flights drew 383 runners, bringing the two-day total to 423 thus far with one flight remaining.

Of those 383 entries, just 43 players remained when pens went to slips, and it was Jon Vallinas Santos who secured the final elimination of the night to climb to the top of the chip counts bagging 804,000, which is good enough for the overall chip lead so far.

Following behind Santos was Rosen Apostolov, who ended the night putting 664,000 in his bag with Boris Shakhmurov (612,000) being the only other player to top the 600k mark, while Dathan Kuppin (510,000), and Lukas Zaskodny (477,000) rounded out the top five stacks.

Others who will be joining the aforementioned five include Fiodor Martino (461,000), Javier Zarco (350,000), MSPT champ’s Sergei Kislinskii (192,000), Brad Gafford (168,000) & Justin Lynch (105,000), and Jessica Vierling (91,000), as they are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the five to have already advanced from Day 1a.

Among those not as lucky at the felt included WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson, 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, Adam Tolander, Tony Sinishtaj, and MSPT champ Anthony Scarborough with at least a few if not all of them likely to be seen back in action for the final flight.

The final starting flight for the Main Event is tomorrow starting at 11:10 a.m. local time.

The surviving players from the three starting flights will then return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 7^th, and will play until seven players remain.

The final seven will then return to action on Sunday, June 8^th at 11:00 a.m. to play down to a winner which will be live streamed in the Venetian Poker Live streaming studio!

MSPT Venetian Remaining Schedule

We will be back tomorrow for coverage of the Day 1c right here on MSPTPoker.com from the Venetian Las Vegas!

Make sure to be a part of history at The Venetian Poker Room as the first-ever MAJOR Champion will be crowned LIVE in the Venetian Poker Live streaming studio, produced and distributed by PokerGO!

End Day 1B Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Jon Vallinas Santos	804,000	459,000
Rosen Apostolov	664,000	247,000
Boris Shakhmurov	612,000	330,000
Dathan Kuppin	510,000	480,000
Lukas Zaskodny	477,000	624,000
Fiodor Martino	461,000	544,000
Christopher Milbradt	427,000	217,000
Dumitru Pora	421,000	200,000
Dustin Willis	386,000	210,000
Robert Natividad	367,000	315,000
Javier Zarco	350,000	360,000
Kunal Patni	329,000	295,000
Peter Kiem	319,000	425,000
Caleb Rife	307,000	313,000
Matthew Dodd	305,000	192,000
Benjamin Gros	302,000	179,000
Antonio Ortega	291,000	260,000
Pablo Beltran	278,000	298,000
Valentino Konakchiev	270,000	207,000
Robert Nemeskeri-Kiss	263,000	300,000
Noah Curhan	262,000	150,000
Jonathan Lawson	241,000	170,000
Alexandre Mantovani	240,000	154,000
George Tatalovich	235,000	235,000
Brett Bassock	193,000	302,000
Sergei Kislinskii	192,000	145,000
Alexander Duvall	187,000	357,000
Robert Borick	181,000	119,000
Clement Michaud	176,000	100,000
Brad Gafford	168,000	233,000
Lander Lijo Bereciartua	140,000	45,000
Adekunle Olonoh	132,000	281,000
Timothi Labassa	130,000	189,000
Kevin Troung	125,000	100,000
Joshua Weiss	120,000	100,000
Colin Robinson	116,000	112,000
Justin Lynch	105,000	104,000
Jessica Vierling	91,000	67,000
Michael Bohmerwald	83,000	82,000
Sin Lan Chen	80,000	100,000
Robert Schulz	57,000	100,000
Pierce McKellar	51,000	447,000
Justin Gutierrez	50,000	135,000

Mikhail Zavoloka Bubbles Day 1B

There was all in action preflop between Mikhail Zavoloka from under the gun and Jon Vallinas Santos from the cutoff, with Wills holding the effective stack.

Mikhail Zavoloka:
Jon Vallinas Santos:

Zavoloka was at risk needing help and saw a lady in the window on the flop to take the lead.

However, the dealer found the case jack and peeled it off on the turn, putting Santos back out in front with a set of jacks.

Zavoloka was hoping to find some more lady luck on the river, but the completed the board and ended his night on the bubble.

Jon Vallinas Santos - 804,000
Mikhail Zavoloka - 0

Gros Doubles Through Ortega on the Bubble

Action on the table folded to Benjamin Gros who limped-in from the small blind and then snapped-off his 155,000 stack after Antonio Ortega jammed for more from the big blind.

Benjamin Gros:
Antonio Ortega:

Gros woke-up with the better made hand and the runout secured his double on the bubble.

Benjamin Gros - 310,000
Antonio Ortega - 260,000

Hand-for-Hand Begins

After the elimination of Jael Lewis, just 44 players remain meaning, the hand-for-hand process has now started.

Day 1A Chip Counts

So far, just five players have punched their ticket into Day 2 and another group of 43 hopefuls will look to add their names to that list tonight.

The surviving players from the three starting flights will then return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 7^th, and will play until seven players remain.

The final seven will then return to action on Sunday, June 8^th at 11:00 a.m. to play down to a winner which will be live streamed in the Venetian Poker Live streaming studio!

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Lukas Zaskodny	624,000	550,000
Fiodor Martino	544,000	544,000
Steven Sarmiento	475,000	250,000
Pierce McKellar	447,000	210,000
Peter Kiem	425,000	330,000
Alexander Duvall	357,000	357,000
Javier Zarco	350,000	260,000
Lander Lijo Bereciartua	345,000	345,000
Boris Shakhmurov	330,000	410,000
Robert Natividad	315,000	315,000
Kunal Patni	295,000	129,000
Dathan Kuppin	270,000	237,000
Brad Gafford	233,000	310,000
Valentino Konakchiev	207,000	207,000
Matthew Dodd	192,000	150,500
Alexandre Mantovani	154,000	154,000
Sergei Kislinskii	145,000	222,000
Justin Gutierrez	135,000	168,000
Robert Borick	119,000	119,000
Justin Lynch	105,000	56,000
Cody Wiegmann	0	79,000
Edo Zucker	0	33,900
Ben Luber	0	87,000
Brian Hastings	0	73,000
Jeremy Joseph	0	103,000
Adam Dunkle	0	141,000

Dodd Flips Well Against Sarmiento

Matt Dodd raised from the cutoff only to call off his 76,000 stack after Steven Sarmiento three-bet jammed for more from the big blind.

Matt Dodd:
Steven Sarmiento:

Dodd was ahead holding a made hand of eights, and they held strong as the runout secured his double-up.

Matt Dodd - 155,000
Steven Sarmiento - 140,000

Talking Stick to Host Diamond Poker Championship!

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

The 1st MSPT MAJOR in 2026 will be held at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, AZ boasting a $1M GTD Main Event

: Talking Stick Resort - Scottsdale, AZ

: Jan. 29 - Feb. 1, 2026

: $1M GTD / $1,100

: Poker Championship

msptpoker.com

Rollercoaster Riders

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Lukas Zaskodny	550,000	350,000
Brad Gafford	310,000	295,000
Justin Lapka	190,000	141,000
Maxime Chilaud	0	25,000
Andrew Moreno	0	170,000
Trung Pham	0	165,000
John Pierce	0	110,000
Harrison Gimbel	0	54,000
Thomas Boivin	0	40,000