Day 1a of the MSPT $1,100 Main Event at the Venetian Resort is officially in the books with 114 total entries tallied during the first flight, and the talented field that entered came to play as action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.
Almost a full 15 levels were needed to reach 11% of the field as the hard stop was reached with 13:38 remaining in the level, with New York native Fausto Valdez finding his way to the top, ending the night with a whopping 1,120,000.
Valdez started building a stack early in the day and finished the night on a hot streak by hitting a runner-runner flush to burst the bubble to lead the 13 surviving players by a wide margin.
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Nicholas Poulos
Finishing the night behind Valdez was Nicholas Poulos, who found a late-night double to take 477,000 into Day 2.
“Wild” Bill Romer
Paul Vang finished the night third in chips with 448,000 while “Wild” Bill Romer (419,000) and Justin Arnwine (376,000) rounded out the top five stacks after the first flight.
Others who found a Day 2 berth included two-time bracelet winner Scott Bohlman (308,000), Thijs Hilberts (307,000), Rene Cifuentes (220,000), Jose Lopez Fibla (214,000), and Jack Salter (172,000).
Two-Time Bracelet Winner Scott Bohlman
Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night.
Among those to fire and fall included Bonnie Weitzel, WSOP bracelet winner Ian OHara, MSPT Champ Anthony Kastelic, Tanner Pray, and Jason Hoffman, as they were just a few who took their shot at a bag on Day 1a only to come up short.
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Jason Hoffman
All who have yet to advance will have four more starting flights to jump back into the action, with Day 1c getting underway bright and early tomorrow at 10:10 a.m., followed by Day 1d at 6:10 p.m.
The final two starting flights will then take place on Monday, July 13th, with Day 1e starting at 10:10 a.m. and Day 1f (turbo) starting at 6:10 p.m.
The surviving players from each flight will then return at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14th, and will play down to a winner.
MSPT Venetian Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Late Reg |
| 12-Jul |
10:10 AM |
$1,100 Main Event Day 1C |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
4:55 PM |
| 12-Jul |
6:10 PM |
$1,100 Main Event Day 1D |
40,000 |
30 Minutes |
11:10 PM |
| 13-Jul |
10:10 AM |
$1,100 Main Event Day 1E |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
4:55 PM |
| 13-Jul |
6:10 PM |
$1,100 Main Event Day 1F (Turbo) |
40,000 |
20 Minutes |
9:40 PM |
| 14-Jul |
2:00 PM |
$1,100 Main Event Day 2 Restart |
- |
40 Minutes |
- |
| 14-Jul |
4:10 PM |
$200 NLH Milestone Satellite |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
6:25 PM |
| 15-Jul |
11:10 AM |
$1,600 NLH MAJOR Day 1A (3-Day Trophy Event) |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
5:55 PM |
| 15-Jul |
4:10 PM |
$200 NLH Milestone Satellite |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
6:25 PM |
| 16-Jul |
11:10 AM |
$1,600 NLH MAJOR Day 1B (3-Day Trophy Event) |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
5:55 PM |
| 16-Jul |
4:10 PM |
$200 NLH Milestone Satellite |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
6:25 PM |
| 17-Jul |
11:10 AM |
$1,600 NLH MAJOR Day 1C |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
5:55 PM |
| 17-Jul |
4:10 PM |
$200 NLH Milestone Satellite |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
6:25 PM |
| 18-Jul |
11:10 AM |
$1,600 NLH MAJOR Day 1D |
40,000 |
40 Minutes |
5:55 PM |
| 19-Jul |
11:00 AM |
$1,600 NLH MAJOR Day 2 Restart |
- |
40 Minutes |
- |
This wraps up coverage for Day 1a, but you can follow along with updates for Day 1b here.