The Venetian

Matt Wantman Becomes the First MSPT Main Event Champion of Season 17!

The MSPT kicked off its 17th Season once again at the beautiful Venetian Resort in Las Vegas with the $1,600 New Years Poker Open!

A total of 349 entries were tallied after three starting flights, and on Sunday, 40 players returned to Day 2 action to take their stab at the $500,000 prize pool.

Of those 40 players, only one was able to claim the top spot, and that was local pro and start-of-day chip leader Matt Wantman, who navigated his way through the tough field to claim the $96,284 first place prize along with his first MSPT title!

“Feels great,” Wantaman stated after his victory, “I haven’t really played anything for the past few weeks because of the holidays, and I wasn’t really planning on playing this event, just kind of popped in out of the blue, so it’s really nice to be fortunate enough to come over here and take it down.”

With over $10 million in lifetime earnings and countless poker accolades, Wantman has now added an MSPT title to his list of accomplishments and hopes to add another.

“It was crazy, pretty much going wire-to-wire all day, pretty surreal, and now that I won one, it’s pretty appealing to try and ship another to become a two-time champ.”

The victory marked Wantman’s seventh Main Event cash on the tour, and with his win, Wantman will also receive a $3,500 seat into the MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO), which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida Nov. 18 – Dec. 2 boasting a $2,000,000 GTD Main Event!

MSPT Venetian New Years Poker Open Final Table Results

Day 2 Action

The final day came back with 40 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with short-stack Alban Juen being the first elimination of the day, while Lily Kiletto followed him to the payout cage shortly after as part of the first batch of payouts.

After Kileeto hit the deck, a flurry of “payouts” could be heard throughout the room, as handfuls of players were walking to the payout table which included the likes of 2013 WSOP Main Event Champ Ryan Riess (33^rd Place – $3,726), the MSPT’s top casher DJ Buckley (20^th Place - $5,369), bracelet winner Francis Anderson (19^th Place – $5,369), MSPT champ Matthew Schulte (18^th Place - $5,369), bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz (17^th Place - $6,271), and MSPT champ Kfir Nahum (16^th Place - $6,271), setting the stage for the final table.

Final Table Action

Once the final table was set, soon-to-be champ Wantman found himself still at the top of the counts until MSPT champ Ron West won a race against two-time bracelet winner John Riordan, making him the first final table elimination.

Wantman would regain the chip lead after he eliminated Wai Kiat Lee with a lucky pair of ladies, while Dan Stavila followed him to the payout cage in seventh place.

The fast-paced final table action would continue with West securing another knockout after he turned the nut straight to eliminate Miquel Maimes in sixth place, while Wantman would match his knockout count by winning a race against Michael Walsh, ending his run in fifth place for $28,958.

A level later, Nick Rogers would succumb to the same fate as Walsh, as his Big Slick fell short to Dan Olsen’s pair of sevens, taking home a fourth place finish for $38,274.

Shortly after Rogers’ departure, West found himself all-in holding a pair of tens against Olsen’s superior pair of jacks and walked away with a third place finish for 51,322, bringing his MSPT lifetime earnings to $272,258.

After being down to 130,000 chips four-handed, Olsen fought his way back to a heads-up duel, but Wantman’s final day reign would continue as he chipped away at Olsen’s stack until the final hand, where he turned two-pair to send Olsen home runner-up for $69,804, while Wantman claimed the $96,284 top prize, along with his first MSPT title!

This concludes our coverage for this event, but Season 17 of the MSPT continues this week as we head to San Diego's Sycuan Casino for the first-ever Golden State Poker Championship, January 8^th - 19^th, and as always, that will be reported by our live reporting team starting Thursday, January 15^th, so make sure to tune in!

Dan Olsen Eliminated in 2nd Place ($69,804)

Matt Wantman limped in on the button, and Dan Olsen checked his option to see a flop.

Action was then checked to the turn where Olsen led out with a 300,000 bet only ot have Wantman raise to 600,000.

Olsen then clapped back with a three-bet jam and was snap-called.

Dan Olsen:
Matt Wantman:

Wantman pulled ahead after turning two-pair, and faded the river to eliminate Olsen runner-up for $69,804.

Matt Wantman - 13,960,000
Dan Olsen - Eliminated

Heads-up Counts After Break

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Matthew Wantman	10,775,000	8,000,000
Dan Olsen	3,150,000	5,960,000

All Time Main Event Cashes

After notching his first-ever Main Event cash back in 2014, DJ Buckley has become one of the most consistent players on the tour and has started Season 17 by adding another Main Event cash to extened his record to 80.

With a full season remaining, Buckley will look to keep notching the cashes underneath his belt, as he will look to become the first player ever to earn 100 Main Event cashes and take his seat in the coveted MSPT Hall of Fame.

All-Time Main Event Cashes

MSPT Champ Ron West Eliminated in 3rd Place ($51,322)

MSPT champ Ron West raised to 250,000 from the button and then called off his 2,300,000 stack after Dan Olsen jammed for more from the small blind.

Ron West:
Dan Olsen:

It was a cooler situation for West as Olsen rolled over the superior made hand, and the flop didn’t change a thing.

The was then turned, keeping things spicy as it gave both players a gutter ball, but the completed the board on the river and ended the former champ’s run.

Matt Wantman - 8,000,000
Dan Olsen - 5,960,000
Ron West - Eliminated

Olsen Flops Ace to Crack West's Ladies for a Double

Dan Olsen raised all-in for 1,410,000 from the button, and MSPT champ Ron West looked him up from the big blind.

Dan Olsen:
Ron West:

Olsen was at risk holding a suited ace and connected with the flop to take the lead.

Both the turn and the river kept Olsen in the lead, securing him another double to stay alive.

Dan Olsen - 3,000,000
Ron West - 2,700,000

Nick Rogers Eliminated in 4th Place ($38,274)

Nick Rogers raised all in for 675,000 from the button, and Dan Olsen went over the top from the small blind, giving him isolation.

Nick Rogers:
Dan Olsen:

Rogers found himself racing for his tournament life, with nothing changing after the flop hit the felt.

The then paired the board on the turn, leaving Rogers needing any ace or king to fall on the river to stay alive.

Unfortunately for him, the wrong paint card came as the completed the board and ended his Main Event run.

Dan Olsen - 2,000,000
Nick Rogers - Eliminated

Olsen Secures Back-to-Back Doubles

Photo: Dan Olsen

Dan Olsen tossed out his last 130,000 from the button and was called by Matt Wantman from the small blind, along with MSPT champ Ron West from the big blind.

The board was checked to showdown, and Olsen tabled to collect a much-needed triple-up.

The very next hand, Olsen raised all-in for 390,000, and Nick Rogers looked him up from the big blind.

Dan Olsen:
Nick Rogers:

Olsen was behind holding two overs, with neither coming on the flop.

However, the was turned to put him in the lead while the river secured his double-up to give him some breathing room.

Dan Olsen - 780,000

MSPT Bally's Black Hawk Showdown Series Set for January 14th - 25th!

$3,500 MSPT Championship Seat ADDED to Main Event 1st Place

: Bally’s Casino- Black Hawk, CO

: January 14-25, 2026

: $400 / $100K GTD Mini Main (Jan 14-18)

: $1,110 / $300K GTD Main Event (Jan. 22-25)

: 17 Gold Card Events

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=514

msptpoker.com

Final Four Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Matthew Wantman	7,000,000	5,130,000
Ron West	3,965,000	5,300,000
Nicholas Rogers	2,250,000	2,240,000
Dan Olsen	690,000	1,500,000