$1,100 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
$1,100 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
The $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian Main Event had 464 entrants, creating a prize pool of $447,670, and after two days of play, Nghia Nguyen was the last person standing. For his impressive performance, which finished at around 10:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, he took home $90,215.
When Day 2 began at 11 a.m., there were 52 remaining players and poker superstar Chance Kornuth was in the chip lead. The Chip Leader Coaching founder, however, would end up busting in 21st place for $4,031.
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Nghia Nguyen | $90,215 |
2 | Dylan Linde | $61,274 |
3 | Noam Muallem | $43,209 |
4 | Kfir Nahum | $30,895 |
5 | Jared Kingery | $23,284 |
6 | Eric Siegel | $17,463 |
7 | Saad Ghanem | $12,985 |
8 | Jeff Madsen | $9,851 |
9 | Eric Salazar | $8,060 |
After Christopher Hovey busted in 10th place ($8,060), the final table at the Venetian in Las Vegas was set. Noam Muallem held a sizable but far from comfortable chip advantage. Dylan Linde, a World Poker Tour champion and one of the top tournament players in the game, was in second place.
Nguyen, on the other hand, had just 15 big blinds and could only cover Eric Salazar at the table. The smallest stack — Salazar — couldn't spin it up and was the first to go at the final table, taking home $8,060 for ninth place.
Jeff Madsen, a four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, was next to go in eighth place ($9,851). The deep run was, perhaps a bit surprisingly, his first ever MSPT cash. Madsen's pocket nines ran into the pocket queens of Jared Kingery.
Nguyen would then send Saad Ghanem home in seventh place ($12,985). Eric Siegel's turn to bust was up next after he was unable to connect on a flopped flush draw (the hand was all in preflop, however) against Kfir Nahum. Siegel received $17,463 for his efforts.
With five players left, Kingery lost a preflop all in and call with a smaller pair than Muallem's and exited the tournament with a $23,284 payday.
Nguyen, who'd begun running up his stack at the final table, would start to hit a few lucky hands. The first was perhaps the cruelest. Well, at least for his opponent, Nahum.
Nahum had flopped a full house and was all in for the tournament chip lead, but lost on the river to Nguyen, who spiked a king for a better full house. That gave Nguyen a massive chip lead with three remaining and sent Nahum, a former MSPT champ, home in fourth place for $30,895.
Shortly after, Nguyen again hit some good fortune when his ace-king cracked the pocket kings of Nuallem, who was out in third place ($61,274).
That set up a heads-up match with Linde, but Nguyen held nearly a 10-1 chip advantage. Linde would earn a quick double up, but couldn't hang on for long and, with just two remaining big blinds, moved all in from the button but ran into pocket aces. As such, he would have to settle for second place, a $61,274 cash.
Congratulations to the newest MSPT champion, Nghia Nguyen, who earned $90,215 for his impressive performance.
The MSPT Venetian continues with the $1,600 Main Event. Follow our live updates from that tournament here.
Dylan Linde, down to just two big blinds, moved all in on the button and would run into the pocket aces of Nghia Nguyen, who had him covered and then some.
Dylan Linde:
Nghia Nguyen:
The board came out , busting Linde as the runner-up $61,274 and Nguyen the $1,100 MSPT Venetian Main Event champion ($90,215).
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Nghia Nguyen |
11,600,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
Dylan Linde | Busted | |
|
Level: 30
Blinds: 75,000/150,000
Ante: 150,000
The final two players — Dylan Linde and Nghia Nguyen — are on what figures to be the final break of the tournament, a 15-minute break.
The winner when this event concludes will take home $90,215 and the runner-up is set to receive $61,274. Nguyen has nearly a 10-1 chip advantage.
Noam Muallem moved all in preflop for around 3.1 million chips and was called by Nghia Nguyen. When the cards were turned over, it was a bit of a cooler situation considering they're three-handed.
Noam Muallem:
Nghia Nguyen:
For the second straight time, the board ran out favorably for Nguyen. It came , sending Muallem home in third place ($43,209) on a tough bad beat.
The tournament is now heads up between Dylan Linde and Nguyen, who is holding a massive chip lead.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Nghia Nguyen |
10,500,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
Dylan Linde |
1,100,000
-400,000
|
-400,000 |
|
||
Noam Muallem | Busted |
Action was caught on a flop of and Noam Muallem bet 120,000 and was called by Kfir Nahum. Nghia Nguyen went for a raise to 450,000, which forced Muallem out of the pot. Nahum, however, moved all in for a total of 1.9 million and was called by Nguyen, who was well behind but had the biggest stack at the table.
Kfir Nahum:
Nghia Nguyen:
With a flopped full house, Nahum was in great shape to double up. The on the turn changed nothing, but the on the river to give Nguyen a better full house dealt Nahum a brutal bad beat to bust in fourth place ($30,895).
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Nghia Nguyen |
8,000,000
5,760,000
|
5,760,000 |
Noam Muallem |
2,800,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
Dylan Linde |
1,500,000
-2,100,000
|
-2,100,000 |
|
||
Kfir Nahum | Busted |
Level: 29
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 120,000
Jared Kingery moved all in for around 750,000 from the button and received a call from Noam Muallem in the big blind.
Jared Kingery:
Noam Muallem:
Out in front, Muallem would hold up when the board came , although he had to sweat it out a bit given his opponent flopped a straight flush draw. But in the end, Kingery was out in fifth place for $23,284.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Noam Muallem |
2,900,000
-360,000
|
-360,000 |
Jared Kingery | Busted | |
|
Eric Siegel moved all in for 750,000 from late position and was called by the bigger stacked Kfir Nahum.
Eric Siegel:
Kfir Nahum:
The flop came out , giving Siegel a flush draw plus two live cards, but the on the turn and on the river was no help. He was out in sixth place, a payday of $17,463.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Kfir Nahum |
2,880,000
1,965,000
|
1,965,000 |
Eric Siegel | Busted | |
|