For the third consecutive season, Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, Minn., hosted the Mid-States Poker Tour (Nov. 11-18), and this time drew 172 entrants for a prize pool of $164,176. Matt Kirby of Bemidji, Minn., took down the $46,970 first-place prize after a short heads-up battle with Erick Wright. This was Kirby’s second win and third MSPT cash this season, bringing his career MSPT cashes to $101,523. With a mix of aggressive play and excellent cards, Kirby dominated, making it the fastest final table in MSPT history.
It was a power-packed final table with two time MSPT-winner Dan Sun finishing third (giving him a record $154,007 career MSPT earnings), 2011 MSPT Player of the Year Nate Fair taking fourth and longtime Minnesota tournament dominator Everett Carlton getting seventh, giving Carlton a record six MSPT final tables and eight MSPT cashes.
Sun, Wright and Kirby are the top three in the MSPT POY points race, though Sun’s third-place finish has nearly locked up the title.
— John Somsky is the Ante Up Ambassador for Minnesota. You can email him at john.somsky@gmail.com.
