The Mid-States Poker Tour Meskwaki Main Event kicked off on March 27 and was completed a few hours ago. It attracted a total of 371 players from across the country. Of those, only 36 were to be paid. The event was held at the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in Tama, Iowa.
It was player Chad Willett who topped the field and captured the tournament trophy and the amount of $96,760 after facing Rich Alsup in a tough heads-up play.
Ten players sat at the final table and it was set after Darek Anderson was eliminated in 11th place. Minnesota-based player Mario Hudson started as the chip leader.
Brett Reichard was the first to leave the final table. He was followed by Ryan Hohenstein and Rodger Johnson. The players received $4,659, $7,167, and $10,572, respectively.
James Livingston and Robert Wittman, who were among the shortest stacks, busted on Level 27 with the blinds set at 25,000/50,000/5,000. They took home $13,976 and $17,381, respectively.
Joe Matheson was eliminated in fifth place after his pocket Kings could not stand a chance against Willett’s pocket Aces. With that said, Hudson regained his chip lead. He was, however, defeated by Willett a few hands later. Hudson was paid $26,878 for his fourth place.
Several minutes later, Harry Finnimore, too, left the final table. He received $33,436 for his third position in the event.
The heads-up play between Willett and Rich Alsup started with the first being the chip leader with 6.48 million and the latter holding 905,000. Alsup, however, managed to catch up. At the beginning of Level 30, he even had two times more chips than his opponent.
On what turned out to be the penultimate hand, Alsup had [Ah][Js]
against Willet’s [Ks][4h]. The board ran out [Jh][9d][Kd] and Alsup moved all in. His opponent, however, folded.
On the next hand, the last one of the heads-up play, neither Alsup, nor Willet hit anything on the board. Yet, the latter’s [Ad][9d] were more than enough to secure him with the title.
Alsup received a consolation prize of $53,756 for his runner-up finish. And Willet was awarded the tournament trophy and the sum of $96,760.
Minutes after his win, he told interviewers he was extremely happy and relieved, as he managed to top a field of “grinders”.
The next MSPT tournament will be held at the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It will kick off on April 4 with the Main Event scheduled for April 10.
