The Venetian

Greg Secord Wins MSPT Season 17 $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship!

The MSPT returned to the beautiful Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the fourth time this season to host the Season 17 Nevada Poker State Championship!

A total of 402 entries were tallied after three starting flights, and on Sunday, just 46 players returned to action for the final day, in hopes of securing the top prize from the $385,920 prize pool.

When the dust finally settled, it was South Carolina native Greg Secord who seized the moment, earning a career score in his first-ever MSPT to capture the 2026 Nevada Poker State Championship trophy!

“It feels great,” Secord said after his victory. “This was a field of accomplished professionals, and for me to come and have some fun while being able to compete against some of the best, and get lucky enough to win, it's amazing.”

Secord considers himself a recreational player, but he walked away on top of the tough field with a career score, along with a $3,500 seat into the MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO), which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida Nov. 18 – Dec. 2, boasting a $2,000,000 GTD Main Event!

MSPT 2026 Nevada Poker State Championship Final Table Results

Day 2 Action

The final day came back with all 46 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with Victoria Livschitz losing in the first hand of the day against two-time bracelet winner Shannon Shorr, while two-time MSPT Champ Peixin Liu had his aces cracked to follow her to the payout cage shortly after in the first batch of eliminations.

After Liu hit the deck, a flurry of “payouts” could be heard throughout the room, as handfuls of players were walking to the payout table which included the likes of three-time bracelet winner Ryan Leng (38^th Place – $2,282), Ben Palmer (36^th Place – $2,282), WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Laplante (35^th Place - $2,560), three-time bracelet winner Jesse Yaginuma (33^rd Place - $2,560), and Ricky Landais (31^st Place - $2,560) all hit the deck before the three table redraw.

The final three tables were stacked with crushers, but for Spencer Champlin (24^th Place – $2,913), Justin Young (14^th Place – $4,664), WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson (13^th Place – $5,607), two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman (11^th Place – $6,831), and fellow bracelet winner Gary Bolden (10^th Place – $6,831), all had their hopes fall short of making the final table.

Final Table Action

Once the final table was set, Valentyn Shabelnyk and Kelly Mahana sat at the top of the chip counts, but they had a couple of big run-ins with soon-to-be champ Secord to become the first two final table eliminations.

Secord would continue his final table hot streak with a double elimination of Sye Hickey and MSPT Champ Veerab Zakarian to take a massive chip lead, while Jesse Whittemore lost a big race against two-time bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz to take a fifth-place exit for $22,273.

The fast-paced action continued with Robyn Alvis making two big calls, with the first being a double against Secord, while the second sent Yang Li home in fourth place ($29,234), giving her the chip lead.

Unfortunately for Alvis, she lost two crucial hands to Rabinowitz, which ultimately saw her take a third-place finish for $38,903, and Rabinowitz found himself heads-up once again for the Nevada Poker State Championship.

This time around, Rabinowitz started the heads-up match with the chip lead over Secord, but it was a back-and-forth battle that saw the duel last over two full hours before Secord handed Rabinowitz another runner-up finish for $52,394, while Secord went home with the title, along with a best score of $71,406.

This concludes our coverage for the 2026 Nevada Poker State Championship, but the MSPT is headed back to the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, WI, to host the Wisconsin Poker State Championship, September 22^nd - 25^th, and the MSPT team will be on hand providing updates for the $1,000,000 GTD $1,110 Main Event, so make sure to come back and tune in!

Darren Rabinowitz Eliminated in 2nd Place ($52,394)

Two-time bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz raised all-in for 1,700,000, and Greg Secord looked him up.

Darren Rabinowitz:
Greg Secord:

It was another brutal situation for Rabinowitz, as Secord woke up with a dominating hand, and the runout ended his tournament with a runner-up finish.

Greg Secord - 12,060,000
Darren Rabinowitz - Eliminated

Take a Look Through the Day 2 Photo Gallery!

Playing Day 2 of the MSPT Season 17 $1,100 Nevada Poker State Championship at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas?

Have family or friends in action?

Click here to browse our Photo Gallery tab and see if you can find their photo, courtesy of the event photographer, Jess Beck.

Chip Shuffle

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Greg Secord	7,260,000	5,000,000
Darren Rabinowitz	4,800,000	7,060,000

Don't Miss the Second-Ever Canadian Poker Championship at Playground in Montreal, Canada, October 1-12❗

: Playground Poker Club - Kahnawake (Montreal), Canada

: October 1-12, 2026

: Canadian Poker Championship

: $1,150 Main Event / $1,000,000 GTD

$3,500 MSPT CHAMPIONSHIP SEAT ADDED TO MAIN EVENT 1ST PLACE

: 18 Gold Card Tournaments

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.ashx?eventID=667msptpoker.com

Back and Forth Battle Sees Secord Collect Another Double

A limped pot saw a flop fall, and action was checked to the turn.

Raises then led to all-in action, with Secord holding 4,575,000 effective.

Greg Secord:
Darren Rabinowitz:

It was another cooler for Rabinowitz, as Secord rolled over a set of sixes, and the river secured him another double in the heads-up duel.

Greg Secord - 9,860,000
Darren Rabinowitz - 2,200,000

Most MSPT Main Event Titles!

Since 2011, MSPT Hall of Famer Blake Bohn has been a force to be reckoned with on the tour, earning himself $981,619, along with a record five Main Event titles

Full Leaderboard

Secord Gets There on the River and Finds Himself Back in the Driver Seat

Two checks saw a flop fall. A 225,000 bet and a call saw the hit the turn.

Fireworks popped off with all-in action, with Secord holding 4,025,000 effective, and both players tabled their hands.

Greg Secord:
Darren Rabinowitz:

Rabinowitz was ahead holding the nut wheel, but it was short-lived, as the dealer dropped the on the river, giving Secord the nut flush to take the chip lead.

Greg Secord - 8,960,000
Darren Rabinowitz - 3,100,000

Heads-Up Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Darren Rabinowitz	6,925,000	5,060,000
Greg Secord	5,100,000	4,700,000

Secord Flops the Nuts to Double Through Rabinowitz

With heads-up action after a flop, two-time bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz check-raised to 1,000,000 after Greg Secord fired out a 200,000 bet.

Secord then three-bet jammed his 3,165,000 stack and was snap-called by Rabinowitz.

Greg Secord:
Darren Rabinowitz:

“That is a very good flop for you,” Rabinowitz said to Secord after seeing him roll over the nuts, and the turn secured him the double before the completed the board on the river.

Greg Secord - 7,000,000
Darren Rabinowitz - 5,060,000