The Venetian

Wai Kiat Lee Secures the Top Spot After a Final 17 Players Advance from Day 1C

Day 1c of the MSPT $1,600 New Years Poker Open at the Venetian Resort attracted 148 runners, which, along with 1a's 76 and 1b’s 125, brought the total field up to 349 entries.

At the end of the third and final flight, just 17 players bagged and tagged, with Wai Kiat Lee bagging the top stack with 920,000, good enough for second overall for Day 2.

Another player to catch steam throughout the day was Miquel Maimes, who ended the night with an impressive 754,000 stack into his bag to end the night.

Others to bag big stacks were two-time bracelet winner John Riordan (660,000), Shijia Liu (560,000), and MSPT champ Kfir Nahum (532,000), as they rounded out the top five stacks of the final flight.

They were joined by 2013 WSOP Main Event Champ Ryan Riess (189,000), Yingge Yan (168,000), Lily Kiletto(118,000), and 2023 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Adam Walton (114,000).

Among those not as lucky at the felt included MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Massey, three-time WSOP bracelet winner James Collopy, MSPT champ Steve Wilkie, fellow three-time bracelet winner Joao Simao, Spencer Champlin, and reigning WSOP Main Event champ Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

The surviving players from all three flights – 40 in total (9 from Day 1a, 14 from 1b, and 17 from 1c) – will return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, January 4^th, to play down to a winner.

The MSPT live reporting crew will be on the floor throughout the remainder of the tournament to provide updates, so keep it here to catch the action!

MSPT Venetian Season 16 Opener Remaining Schedule

End Day 1C Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Wai Kiat Lee	920,000	860,000
Miquel Maimes	754,000	677,000
John Riordan	660,000	584,000
Shijia Liu	560,000	390,000
Kfir Nahum	532,000	543,000
Nicholas Rogers	419,000	261,000
Brian Battistone	289,000	297,000
Jonathan Burns	289,000	471,000
Joseph Lao	288,000	400,000
Kenneth Jacobs	271,000	146,000
Ryan Riess	189,000	222,000
Yingge Yan	168,000	220,000
Joshua Stewart	163,000	338,000
Lily Kiletto	118,000	58,000
Saubhagya Kumar	113,000	119,000
Adam Walton	112,000	75,000
Alban Juen	32,000	80,000

Kent Stephens Bubbles Day 1C

Photo: Kent Stephens

Kent Stepehns raised all in for 66,000 from early position and was called by Nicholas Rogers from the cutoff.

Kent Stephens:
Nicholas Rogers:

Stephens found a strong made hand to roll with, only to run into a better one, and the runout ended his night on the bubble.

Nicholas Rogers - 419,000
Kent Stephens - Eliminated

Bradford Dropped by Lee's Lucky Sevens, Hand-for-Hand Begins

Wai Kiat Lee opened for 12,000 from middle position, and then called MSPT champ Brad Gafford’s 122,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Brad Gafford:
Wai Kiat Lee:

Gafford was racing for his tournament life and fell way behind after the fell, giving Lee a set of sevens.

The turn was an even worse sight for Gafford as it improved Lee to a full house, leaving him drawing dead to the river, starting the hand-for-hand process.

Wai Kiat Lee - 860,000
Brad Gafford - Eliminated

Jacobs Ladies Dodge a Double

Photo: Kenneth Jacobs

There was all-in action after a flop between Kenneth Jacobs from under the gun and Joshua Stewart from the big blind, with Jacobs holding the effective stack.

Kenneth Jacobs:
Joshua Stewart:

Jacobs was ahead, holding a pair of ladies, but had a sweat as Stewart held an open-ended straight flush draw.

Luckily for Jacobs, both the turn and river kept him in the lead, securing his double-up.

Kenneth Jacobs - 230,000
Joshua Stewart - 120,000

Episode 10 of the MSPT Poker Podcast is Out!

WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway & MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year Kyna England break down the Season 16 POY photo finish, MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson winning WPT Prime, and fellow Hall of Famer Kou Vang becoming an MSPT Millionaire.

Watch here

No Longer in the Tournament..

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
James Collopy	0	143,000
Karapet Galstyan	0	114,000
Mitch Garshofsky	0	173,000
Jared Hemingway	0	108,000
Hui-Chen "Kitty" Kuo	0	118,000
Dustin Lee	0	104,000
Ryan Leng	0	165,000
Eric Lin	0	90,000
Lee Markholt	0	67,000
Ben Palmer	0	82,000
Josh Remitio	0	149,000
Evan Sandberg	0	182,000

Burns Fills Up to Drop Markholt

Photo: Lee Markholt

Lee Markholt open-jammed 85,000 from under the gun, and Jonathan Burns looked him up from the hijack.

Lee Markholt:
Jonathan Burns:

It was a classic for the ages, with the flop not changing a thing.

The turn then left Markholt needing help on the river, but the fell, improving Burns to a full house, ending his tournament.

Jonathan Burns - 450,000
Lee Markholt - Eliminated

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Liu Flips Well Against Garshofsky

Photo: Mitch Garshofsky

Mitch Garshofsky raised from the hijack, only to have Shijia Liu fire out a 20,000 three-bet from the button.

Action then quickly folded back to Garshofsky, who moved his 162,000 stack in the middle, and Liu called holding 164,000.

Mitch Garshofsky:
Shijia Liu:

Garshofsky was at risk holding two overs, but he wasn’t able to find either on the runout, ending his tournament.

Shijia Liu - 336,000
Mitch Garshofsky - Eliminated