The Venetian

David White Leads Final 26 Players After Day 1C of the Inaugural MSPT $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship

Day 1c of the inaugural MSPT $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship at the Venetian Resort attracted another 230 entries, bringing the total field up to 522 entries.

At the end of the third and final flight, just 26 players bagged and tagged, with David White leading the pack with 485,000, while Daniel Marcus ended the night hot on his tail with 477,000.

Others to bag big included Sami Bechahed (420,000), Taylor Black (415,000), and David Yue (412,000) as they were the only other players to clip 400k, and rounded out the top five stacks of this flight.

They were joined by WSOP bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz (397,000), Stanley Lee (395,000), George Heim (235,000), Anthony Danna (904,000), and Irene Carey (45,000).

Among those not as lucky at the felt included 2025 MSPT ICON Kyna England, Jamie Kerstetter, Hayley Hanna, MSPT Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff, two-time WSOP bracelet winner Tyler Patterson, and three-time MSPT champ Eric Baldwin.

The surviving players from all three flights – of which there are 59 (14 from Day 1a, 19 from 1b, and 26 from 1c) – will return for Day 2 at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, September 28^th, and will play until seven players remain.

MSPT Season 16 Nevada Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

Congratulations to everyone who made Day 2, we will be back tomorrow for full coverage right here on MSPTPoker.com from the Venetian Las Vegas!

End Day 1C Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
David White	485,000	500,000
Daniel Marcus	477,000	371,000
Sami Bechahed	420,000	346,000
Taylor Black	415,000	418,000
David Yue	412,000	400,000
Darren Rabinowitz	397,000	409,000
Stanley Lee	395,000	377,000
Yang Lu	391,000	400,000
Josia Santos	367,000	373,000
Carlos Martinez	331,000	284,000
McCabe Mayo	319,000	325,000
Sejo Kasic	287,000	280,000
Robert Zeidman	286,000	301,000
Melanie Pittard	267,000	95,000
Joseph Bartholdi	267,000	282,000
George Heim	235,000	209,000
Luke Do	194,000	191,000
Lawrence Pettit	183,000	162,000
David Larson (LV)	156,000	223,000
Sean Griffard	153,000	206,000
Adam Falk	152,000	143,000
Anthony Danna	94,000	98,000
Joe Marchal	80,000	98,000
Nika Futterman	64,000	93,000
Irene Carey	45,000	121,000
Paul Barton	40,000	55,000

Sejo Kasic Out Kicks Ayman Qutami on the Bubble

Ayman Qutami tossed out his last 25,000 from the cutoff, and Sejo Kasic (pictured) looked him up from the big blind.

Ayman Qutami:
Sejo Kasic:

Kasic rolled over a dominating suited ace, and the runout paired his six to eliminate Qutami on the bubble.

Sejo Kasic - 287,000
Ayman Qutami - Eliminated

Day 2 Line Up

So far, 33 players have punched their ticket into Day 2, and the final group of 26 hopefuls will look to add their names to that list tonight.

All who make it through until the end of play will return tomorrow, Sunday, September 28^th, at 11:00 a.m. for Day 2, where the remaining players from all starting flights will combine and play until a winner is declared.

Late Night Counts & Bust Outs

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
David White	500,000	200,000
Taylor Black	418,000	282,000
Darren Rabinowitz	409,000	136,000
David Yue	400,000	300,000
Yang Lu	400,000	200,000
Stanley Lee	377,000	305,000
Josia Santos	373,000	300,000
Daniel Marcus	371,000	200,000
Sami Bechahed	346,000	205,000
McCabe Mayo	325,000	196,000
Robert Zeidman	301,000	200,000
Carlos Martinez	284,000	200,000
Joseph Bartholdi	282,000	235,000
Sejo Kasic	280,000	200,000
David Larson (LV)	223,000	126,000
George Heim	209,000	136,000
Sean Griffard	206,000	150,000
Luke Do	191,000	100,000
Lawrence Pettit	162,000	100,000
Adam Falk	143,000	100,000
Irene Carey	121,000	105,000
Joe Marchal	98,000	30,000
Melanie Pittard	95,000	100,000
Anthony Danna	94,000	216,000
Nika Futterman	93,000	170,000
Paul Barton	55,000	118,000
Ayman Qutami	28,000	30,000
Albert Shenker	0	143,000
Quang Ngo	0	100,000
Matt Affleck	0	210,000
Kathy Liebert	0	81,000
Christopher Hull	0	30,000

Limo Wheels Survival Only to Fall Shortly After

After losing the majority of her stack in the last hand, Nikki Limo got her 5,000 stack in from the small blind, and was called by Melanie Pittard from middle position.

Nikki Limo:
Melanie Pittard:

Limo was at risk needing help, with not much coming on the flop.

The turn, however, came the , giving Limo more outs with a wheel draw. Just as she stood from her seat, the dealer dropped the on the river, keeping her Main Event hopes alive.

Unfortunately for Limo, the victory was short-lived as she was eliminated shortly after.

Nikki Limo - Eliminated

❄️ WINTER POKER CLASSIC ❄️

Please note the $500K GTD Main Event is opening weekend (Dec. 4-7) during this series

: Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack - Columbus, MN

: December 2-14, 2025

: $500K GTD Main Event

: Winter Poker Classic

: 18 Gold Card Events

msptpoker.com

Running Aces Poker Tournaments

Yang Hooked by Lee

Stanley Lee raised to 9,000 under the gun, only to call a 30,000 three-bet Kai Yang (pictured) made from late position.

The two went heads-up to a flop, and Lee check-called a 30,000 continuation bet from Yang, bringing the turn.

Action went check-check, and the paired the board on the river.

Lee then glared at Yang before moving his 124,000 stack into the middle, and Yang shrugged his shoulders before calling off his shorter stack.

was then tabled by Lee, showing jacks full of deuces, and it was good as Yang released into the muck, then made his exit.

Stanley Lee - 305,000
Kai Yang - Eliminated

Chip Stacks & Empty Seats

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Stanley Lee	305,000	146,000
Sami Bechahed	205,000	88,000
Albert Shenker	143,000	99,000
Kai Yang (NV)	0	221,000
Lee Markholt	0	26,000
Dumitru Popa	0	85,000
Cary Christensen	0	200,000
Curtis Freeze	0	47,000
Peter Hengsakul	0	123,000

Popa Cooled Off by Zeidman

Dumitru Popa (pictured) was all in preflop for 46,000 from middle position, and Robert Zeidman looked him up from the hijack.

Dumitru Popa:
Robert Zeidman:

Popa rolled over the inferior made hand, and the runout ended his tournament.

Robert Zeidman - 160,000
Dumitru Popa - Eliminated