For the past two weeks, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) has been at the Venetian in Las Vegas hosting a pair of Main Events and after another five-day stretch, the $1,600 Main Event has come to its conclusion.
The tournament was headlined by another $1 million guarantee and after three starting flights, the 1,341 total entries almost doubled that by generating a whopping $1,910,975 prize pool.
On Friday, the final eight players took to the felt for Day 3 action, and it was a speedy affair to crown a new champion as Gediminas Uselis defeated David McGowan in heads-up action to take down the MSPT Venetian title along with the $325,428 top prize.
"I feel amazing," Uselis stated after his victory. He continued by saying, "Coming back for Day 2, the whole field was tough, as was the final table, and being able to come out on top over these guys just makes the win that more amazing."
The Lithuania native has been on quite the hot streak the past few years, first by winning his first Circuit ring back in 2019 in what was the inaugural $2,200 High Roller at Choctaw Durant for what was at the time a career-best $60,170.
Uselis then topped that mark last year after he navigated his way through a 4,461 entry field in Event #76: $400 FORTY STACK No Limit Hold'em on the GG portion of the WSOP Online events to win his first WSOP bracelet along with a cool $227,186 and now gets to add MSPT Main Event Champion to his list of poker accomplishments while notching another career $325,428.
MSPT Venetian $1,600 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize | MSPT POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gediminas Uselis | Lithuania | $325,428 | 1,900 |
| 2 | David McGowan | Chicago, IL, | $210,202 | 1,700 |
| 3 | Daan Mulders | Netherlands | $152,874 | 1,600 |
| 4 | Benjamin Underwood | Canada | $116,758 | 1,500 |
| 5 | Barry Hutter | Sarasota, FL | $97,903 | 1,400 |
| 6 | Gennaro Proscia | Italy | $66,882 | 1,300 |
| 7 | Raul Martínez | Spain | $51,595 | 1,200 |
| 8 | Fabian Bernhauser | Austria | $40,129 | 1,100 |
| 9 | Victor Canaple | France | $32,486 | 1,000 |
Final Day Action
Raul Martinez entered the final day with a little over seven big blinds but was able to get a pay jump after Fabian Bernhauser departed eighth place after losing a race against Daan Mulders while Martínez exited shortly after in seventh place.
Gennaro Proscia started the day with roughly 25 bigs and doubled that early, but took his exit before the end of the second level after he was coolered by Mulders in a jacks-versus-queens hand.
Next on the chopping block was WSOP bracelet winner Barry Hutter, who called off his short stack from the big blind holding an ace-six offsuit after McGowan jammed from the small blind holding a suited nine-seven.
After seeing a six appear in the window, Hutter thought he was about to get a big blind special but it was just an illusion, as a seven was lying underneath to give McGowan top pair. The board completed with running fives and just like that Hutter, who came into the final day second in chips, took his exit in fifth place for just under a six-figure payday.
Four-handed play looked like it might take a while after Benjmain Underwood doubled through Mulders when he turned a three-outer with ace-nine against ace-king, but ended up losing a race a few hands later holding the hand he just beat against McGowan's pocket jacks.
The start of the day chip leader Mulders was the next person that watched McGowan take his chips after he called off his short stack from the big blind holding a suited jack-ten only to have McGowan roll over a dominating queen-jack suited. McGowan flopped his queen while Mulders turned a Broadway draw but he bricked the river and took home $152,874 for his third-place finish.
After Mulders departed, the two chips stacks were dead even between McGowan and Uselis. So much so that the chips went back and forth for a full two levels before any real fluctuation started. It was from this point where Uselis really started to catch steam, winning in what seemed like almost every hand in the final level to send McGowan home in second place for $210,202.
