The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) returned to Iowa's Grand Falls Casino, just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for their $1,110 Main Event.
Another solid turnout of 391 entries were recorded over two days with 56 players finding their way into Sundays Day 2 with their eyes set on the title.
Only one player was able to do so, and after 9 hours of play, it was Kevin Nguyen who navigated his way through to the finish line for a $83,109 first-place prize along with his first MSPT title.
“It feels awesome, I really have nothing else to say,” Nguyen said after his win.
Nguyen rarely gets out to play poker but does, he best to try and play when the tour visits his hometown.
“I don’t really play too often but when you guys come into town I try and make sure to play,” Nguyen continued, “This is a great tour, and the staff is amazing, so I definitely make sure to come and play.”
This marks Nguyen’s fourth time cashing here Grand Falls and bested his 17th place finish from last August with his victory today.
2023 MSPT Grand Falls Main Event Final Table Results
| Place |
Player |
Prize |
POY |
| 1st |
Kevin Nguyen |
$83,109 |
1,500 |
| 2nd |
Dan Dykhouse |
$51,376 |
1,300 |
| 3rd |
Mark Weber |
$37,399 |
1,200 |
| 4th |
Blake Bohn |
$27,577 |
1,100 |
| 5th |
Aaron Johnson |
$20,777 |
1,000 |
| 6th |
Jens Jensen |
$15,866 |
900 |
| 7th |
Scott Sisler |
$12,466 |
800 |
| 8th |
Mike Estes |
$9,822 |
700 |
| 9th |
Justin Gish |
$7,178 |
600 |
With 45 slated to get paid, nearly a dozen players needed to exit before players reached. Among those to leave empty-handed were MSPT champ Chris Burke, TJ Murphey, Paul Park, Elizabeth Ethridge, and Nick Herman just to name a few.
After the bubble burst, the march to the final table began. Among those to fall along the way, albeit with a payday, were MSPT champ Dan DQ Hendrickson (11th - $6,044), Alex Wheeler (18th - $4,155), Luke Blindert (31st - $2,267), and MSPT champ's Max Havlish (38th - $2,078) & Umut Ozturk (42nd - $2,078).
Final Table Action
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Nguyen entered the final table well ahead of the rest with a healthy 3.3 million stack, and once players returned from their dinner break, it didn't take long before players started dropping like flies.
The speedy race to crown a new champion started with Jason Gish losing a race to Mark Weber to be the first final table elimination while Mike Estes was out-kicked by MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson for an eighth-place finish.
Scott Sisler was next on the chopping block after he failed to hit live cards against Dan Dykhouse, taking a seventh-place finish with Jens Jensen following suit after he was flushed out on the river by Nguyen.
Ngyuen would continue his elimination spree by dropping Johnson in fifth place for $20,777 while fellow MSPT Hall of Famer Blake Bohn lost a race to Weber to take home $27,577 for his fourth-place efforts.
Three-handed action saw Weber close the gap by doubling through Nguyen, only to give it all to Dykhouse a few short hands later.
The heads-up match started with Dykhouse holding almost a 3:1 chip advantage over Nguyen but after two doubles, Nguyen sent Dykhouse home in second place for $51,376.
The MSPT is headed across the state to Riverside, Iowa for the $1,110 Main Event being held March 15th-19th, so make sure to come back to find out who will be crowned the new MSPT Main Event Champion!