Global Poker: Kevin Nguyen has grabbed the win at the Mid-States Poker Tour main event at Grand Falls Casino right on the state line between South Dakota and Iowa. He was awarded the top prize worth $83,109 along with the MSPT title late on Sunday, Mar. 12. This was the first tournament win for the resident of Sioux City, Iowa; and his career earnings now stand at $85,738.
The $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em event had a prize pool worth $377,770 thanks to two starting flights that attracted a total of 391 entries. The top 45 players all cashed for at least $2,078 in prize money. There were 56 players that returned for the final day of the tournament, and the money bubble burst quickly to start the day.
The final table of nine payers was set after close to nine hours of play, and Nguyen was firmly in control of the chip lead by then with a stack of 3.3 million while his closest opponent held 1,205,000. Blake Bohn was the headliner at the final table with career earnings of $3,738,921, but he was the short stack when things began and busted out in fourth place.
Nguyen had lost the chip lead by the start of heads-up play to Dan Dykhouse. The stacks were at 7 million to 2,775,000 when cards got into the air between the final two, but Nguyen quickly scored a double up, and then made a straight in a key hand to take the lead. In the final hand, the AHeart Suit8Heart Suit of Nguyen held up to top the 6Club Suit4Club Suit of Dykhouse on a board dealt KDiamond SuitKHeart SuitJHeart Suit2Diamond Suit5Diamond Suit.
“It feels awesome, I really have nothing else to say,” said Nguyen to the MSPT reporters after the win. But he did continue with, “I don’t really play too often but when you guys come into town I try and make sure to play. This is a great tour, and the staff is amazing, so I definitely make sure to come and play.”
A few other notables that cashed in the tournament included Alex Wheeler (18th), Matt Alexander (20th), Terence Reid (37th), Max Havlish (38th), Ryan Skluzak (44th), and Adam Schultz (45th).