The Venetian

Jesse Kertland Bags Top Stack to Lead 14 Players After Day 1B of the MSPT Season 17 $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship

Another full day of action occurred during Day 1b of the MSPT Season 17 $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship at the Venetian Resort, with over 15 full levels coming to completion when the hard stop was reached.

The second of three flights drew 121 runners, bringing the two-day total to 180 thus far, with one flight remaining.

Of those 121 entries, just 14 players remained when pens went to slips, and it was Jesse Kertland who secured the final elimination of the night with ace-queen to soar to the top of the chip counts, bagging a whopping 725,000, which is good enough for the overall chip lead so far.

Kertland’s tower was almost double that of Rick Green’s 405,000 stack, who ended the night second in chips, while Ben Miller finished right behind him with 402,000.

WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson found himself with a healthy 390,000 stack to put in his bag at the end of the night, while last year’s runner-up finisher Darren Rabinowitz found himself in the top five with 306,000.

Others who will be joining the aforementioned five include Matthew Leecy (287,000), Jesse Whittemore (229,000), Ben Palmer (131,000), three-time bracelet winner Jesse Yaginuma (130,000),Victoria Livschitz (76,000), as they are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster along with the seven who have already advanced from Day 1a.

Among those not as lucky at the felt included Lexy Gavin, WSOP bracelet winner Anthony Reategui, two-time bracelet winner Dan Heimiller, Maggie Fox, and three-time MSPT champ Eric Baldwin, 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 Nevada Poker State Champion 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. Sunday, September 13^th at 11:00 a.m. and will play down to a winner.

MSPT Season 17 Nevada Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule

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

End Day 1B Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Jesse Kertland	725,000	570,000
Rick Green	405,000	397,000
Ben Miller	402,000	400,000
Francis Anderson	390,000	351,000
Darren Rabinowitz	306,000	177,000
Matthew Leecy	287,000	327,000
Jesse Whittemore	229,000	255,000
Jason Alexandridis	191,000	151,000
Ben Palmer	131,000	115,000
Jesse Yaginuma	130,000	190,000
Jim Agate	130,000	150,000
Daniel Elwell	118,000	101,000
Andre Butler	112,000	128,000
Victoria Livschitz	76,000	80,000

Robert Fortuno Bubbles Day 1B

Robert Fortuno raised from the hijack, only to call a 38,000 three-bet two-time bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz made from the big blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, Rabinowitz check-called a 20,000 bet from Fortuno, bringing about the turn.

Rabinowitz then check-called Fortuno's all-in bet, holding 91,000 effective.

Darren Rabinowitz:
Robert Fortuno:

Rabinowitz was ahead holding a pair of aces, and faded the river to collect a double-up, while Fortuno was left with just 13,000 after the hand and eliminated shortly after.

Darren Rabinowitz - 275,000
Robert Fortuno - 0

Chip Collectors & Givers

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Jesse Kertland	570,000	127,000
Ben Miller	402,000	110,000
Rick Green	397,000	383,000
Francis Anderson	351,000	204,000
Matthew Leecy	327,000	232,000
Jesse Whittemore	255,000	342,000
Robert Fortuno	235,000	137,000
Jesse Yaginuma	190,000	95,000
Darren Rabinowitz	177,000	142,000
Jason Alexandridis	151,000	247,000
Jim Agate	150,000	247,000
Andre Butler	128,000	121,000
Ben Palmer	115,000	250,000
Daniel Elwell	101,000	31,000
Victoria Livschitz	80,000	62,000

Most Main Event Final Table Appearances

MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz has achieved the most MSPT Main Event Top 10 Finishes in history, with 21

Full Leaderboard

No Longer in the Tournament; Hand-for-Hand Begins

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Qing Liu	0	61,000
Hal Marcus	0	191,000
Timothy Martin	0	143,000
Michael Rossitto	0	81,000
Valentyn Shabelnyk	0	140,000
Min Zhang	0	80,000

$3,500 MSPT Championship Main Event Seat Winners So Far!

These 23 Players have already earned a $3,500 Seat to the $2M GTD RRPO MSPT Championship Main Event

Matthew Wantman

Kevin Meyers

Zilong Zhang

Vincent Moscati

June 'Oh Geez' Kim

Alex Foxen

Umut Ozturk

Jorden Helstern

Aaron Johnson

Wesley Cannon

Michael Estes

Yuchen "Carson" Chen

Lee Rzentkowski

Hamid Izadi

Sai Mudduluru

Peter Walsworth

Adam Walton

Josh Reichard

Andrew "Hunter" Willis

Mo Nuwwarah

Paul Lampl

Kirby Rogers

Jake Long

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL POKER OPEN (RRPO)

MSPT Championship (MAJOR)

: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Hollywood, FL

: Nov. 18 - Dec. 2, 2026

: $3,500 Main Event (1.5X POY) / $2M GTD (Nov. 27 - Dec. 2)

: MSPT will be ADDING a $3,500 RRPO MSPT Championship Seat to every Main Event 1st Place in 2026

Rossitto Cooled Off by Whittemore's Big Blind Special

Photo: Michael Rossitto

Michael Rossitto raised under the gun for 10,000 and was called by Ben Miller from the button, along with Jesse Whittemore from the big blind.

Once the flop hit the felt, action was checked to Rossitto, who fired out a 10,000 continuation bet.

Miller then released this hand into the muck while Whittemore check-raised to 25,000, and Rossitto called.

The dealer quickly turned the , and Whittemore moved out a 45,000 bet into the middle. The bet was for Rossitto’s remaining stack, and without hesitation, he called.

Michael Rossitto:
Jesse Whittemore:

It was a cooler for Rossitto, as Whittemore pulled ahead after turning a full house, and the river sent him to the rail.

Jesse Whittemore - 300,000
Michael Rossitto - 0

MSPT World Rankings!

It’s no surprise that the Josh Reichard currently has the #1 MSPT World Ranking

The Top 64 Players on the World Ranking Leaderboard as of November 9th will compete in an MSPT $20K Heads-Up Freeroll Championship “Winner Take All” during the 2026 MSPT Winter Poker Classic at Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack in December (bracket format).

Full Leaderboard

Palmer Wakes Up with Aces to Cool Off Zhang for a Double

Photo: Min Zhang

Min Zhang opened under the gun for 12,000, only to have Ben Palmer fire out a 30,000 three-bet from the big blind.

With action back on Zhang, she decided to four-bet jam, and Palmer snapped off his shorter 119,000 stack.

Ben Palmer:
Min Zhang:

It was a clash of two premium made hands, with Palmer holding the better one, and the runout secured him the double-up.

Ben Palmer - 250,000
Min Zhang - 80,000