Deputy Editor
The Major Series of Poker the Tour (MSPT) broke new ground with its first event on Illinois soil this weekend, the Illinois State Poker Championship at Rivers Des Plaines, in the Chicago metro. MSPTs at Rivers look like the next great U.S. live poker tournament, and I’m not just saying that because I won the thing.
Okay, I only kind of won because I was at the top of a five-way chop. Certain people I know and respect look down on deals, and I had never made one before. But in my defense, I negotiated some pretty strong terms. I’ll talk about that momentarily.
But for now, I want to start by zooming out and focusing on the bigger picture. Which is that I fully expect future MSPT events at Rivers to take a place snugly alongside the best poker tournaments in the country.
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More Than 1,800 Entries in MSPT’s Maiden Voyage at Rivers
It’s hard to think of a better location than Rivers Des Plaines for MSPT, a poker tour that built its customer base almost entirely in the Midwest. Rivers Des Plaines is located essentially right next door to the Chicago O’Hare airport. Its location gives it a variety of advantages.
In addition to being in a massive metro area, Chicago is pretty centrally located relative to many big Midwest cities. It’s within an easy drive or short flight for players from a variety of population centers, including Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, the big Ohio cities, Indianapolis, and the Twin Cities. A decent contingent of Pennsylvania players even made the trip.
The location next to O’Hare means the area is well-saturated with affordable hotels, and O’Hare is generally one of the cheapest airports to fly into because it’s such a travel hub.
Furthermore, Rivers Des Plaines, is a nice, modern property, having only been built in 2011. It’s one of the most successful casinos in the Chicago area, and it has a robust selection of cash games, having long since become the go-to area casino for that crowd.
Anticipation level among the player base for this one was high, and it delivered. The Illinois State Poker Championship drew 1,807 entries, making it one of the biggest stops on tour. First place was supposed to be more than $282,000 before we made our deal. At the $1,110 price point, that’ll play.
Second-chance and lower-stakes players found themselves with amazing opportunities as well. Every night that I was there, a $250 turbo ran that awarded $10,000 or more for first place.
The crazy part is that the event could have been even bigger and better. A few small issues, mainly with Illinois gaming, held the event back slightly.
Illinois Gaming Threw Some Speed Bumps Up for MSPT
Illinois has notoriously stringent gaming laws. The event wasn’t even 100% confirmed until a few weeks before it happened, as Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) approval was pending.
Further, the event seemed a little short on dealers. It played 10-handed on Friday and Saturday’s larger Day 1 flights. That should be a crime. The reasons for that seemed two-fold.
For one, a dealer told me getting IGB clearance as a vendor was absurd compared to other states’ processes. He described filling out a thick manual “explaining your life story.” Apparently, some dealers were still awaiting approval when the festival began. Hopefully, the vendor approval lasts long enough that this won’t be an issue next time around.
Second, the casino had to turn off a select number of slots to comply with Illinois gambling rules on the number of active machines or tables. Essentially, it had to turn off X machines for each poker table it opened. One person told me the ratio was 5-1, so five slots had to go off for each of the 40 tables. Since slots obviously represent money, the property understandably wanted to be conservative with the tables it opened.
Perhaps organizers can negotiate a lower rate with the IGB and get more tables next time.
If the festival’s underlying setup becomes even more stable, MSPTs here could really take off. These things could be as big World Series of Poker Circuit Cherokee, the upcoming Arizona State Poker Championship, and sister event MSPT FireKeepers in Michigan. All routinely award more than $300,000 to the winner.
In addition to smoothing out the process for the dealers and the MSPT crew, the venue could satellite in more players, with time to prepare. It could give away seats as part of cash game promos in a room that’s bustling year-round.
How I Scooped My Second MSPT Trophy
As for my own run here, it all began with my buddy canceling a dinner date on Thursday, prompting me to play the first starting flight. I had planned to sit that one out. Instead, I bagged one of the biggest stacks (on just two shells!), setting myself up for the eventual final-table run.
On Sunday, I won a flip for my tournament life when my tens rivered a straight after A-K turned a leading pair.
Then, armed with a big stack, I played one of the luckier pots of my life. After opening aces in the cutoff, I saw a 6-4-4 flop three ways. I checked to the player on the button, who bet, only to get raised by the big blind, a player with a large stack who seemed to be playing well. I three-bet, the original bettor folded, and the big blind clicked it back.
We had started the hand deep, so significant money remained to play. I called, and a beautiful A♠ arrived on the turn. My opponent checked it over to me and called my very small bet. He managed to find a check-fold on the offsuit jack river, telling me he mucked a low full house. Remind me to use this line as a bluff sometime.
In any case, I had an absolute castle after that, though things got rockier down the stretch. I had to get a bluff through for most of my chips with four tables left. Then, I won A-Js over A-Q for my tournament life, flopping a flush for the zero-sweater.
Making the Final Table Deal
I went to the final table with a nice stack, around 36 blinds. I mostly won pots uncontested there, inching my way up the counts as my opponents mostly shelled up trying to secure ladders.
After busting a guy in sixth when my jacks held against A-10, chatter of a deal began.
I told the other players I’d look at the numbers, but I was going to need more than the ICM value of my chip-leading stack. I felt I had an edge, and ICM doesn’t take future game into consideration, which favored my ability to leverage that stack. The flip side was that the shallow stacks (I was leading with around 29 blinds) meant that I was two unlucky pots away from busting.
We came back from break, and the staff ran the numbers for us. My stack was worth about $183,000. Three of the players desperately wanted to make a deal. The player on my right said he wasn’t giving anything up and wanted to play. I also wanted to play, so I felt like asking for a lot was a freeroll.
The other three players offered to get me to $200,000. I told them I’d take $210,000, and they countered with $205,000. Along with that, I’d get the $3,500 season championship seat in Florida, the trophy, and the official first-place finish. I had most of my own action, so the chance to lock up a variance-free six-figure score won out in the end. The player who didn’t want to deal (reluctantly) agreed to his ICM number, so that was that.
One $250 bar tab later, I closed out a trip to remember. And given the massive potential of this stop, I hope I’ll be back for an even better one in the future.
