The first flight of The MSPT $1,600 Venetian Main Event has come to a close with a total of 87 entrants taking their shot at a bag today. From that starting field to just 10 players at the end of night, all of whom have secured a bag and will play on Wednesday, November 29th for the title.
Leading the way is pro Ben Palmer who bagged a massive 917,000 by night’s end. With $3,733,915 in lifetime earnings and a WPT title under his belt, Palmer has been a regular on the poker circuit for quite some time with 13 MSPT cashes as well, all here at The Venetian. Though holding the chip lead through most of the night, many of his chips came in a late night confrontation with 5-time MSPT champion Blake Bohn where his aces held up against Bohn’s sevens to send him high up the counts. With his best prior finish in an MSPT being 16th place, his massive stack today will be looking to set him up for a bigger and better finish.
Day 1a Chip Counts
| Rank |
Player |
Chip Counts |
| 1 |
Ben Palmer |
917,000 |
| 2 |
Rob Wazwazw |
518,000 |
| 3 |
Mitch Garshofsky |
298,000 |
| 4 |
Chad Lipton |
286,000 |
| 5 |
Jose Demeyere |
197,000 |
| 6 |
Jeffrey Farnes |
144,000 |
| 7 |
Tjan Tepeh |
83,000 |
| 8 |
James Agate |
77,000 |
| 9 |
Justin Turner |
64,000 |
| 10 |
Je Wook Oh |
34,000 |
|
Following behind him is Rob Wazwaz (518,000) who came off of a deep run in the $1,100 MSPT Venetian earlier today. With now two cashes under his belt out here in Las Vegas, Wazwaz has now pulled ahead ever so slightly in the MSPT player of the year of the race of Umut Ozturk. With a massive bag going into Day 2, Wazwaz will be looking to add another deep run to his decorated MSPT history.
Others who found bags included Mitch Garshofsky (298,000), Chad Lipton (286,000), WSOP 2022 Main Event 6th place finisher Jeffrey Farnes (144,000), Tjam Tepeh (83,000), and Jim Agate (77,000). All of them will be looking to capture their first MSPT main event.
Play ended with 24 minutes left in Level 15 with blinds at 3,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. Players will return to that time on Wednesday, November 29th to play to a winner. Those who did not find a bag today will have ample opportunity to play tomorrow.
Stay tuned to MSPTPoker.com for all updates regarding The MSPT Venetian