Naser Alkhatib of Mankato, Minn., won the December Mid-States Poker Tour event at Canterbury Park in Shakopee for $93,734. The $1,100 event drew 366 runners and generated a prize pool of $353,714.
Alkhatib entered the final table with the lead (more than 2.2 million chips, almost double the nearest competitor). He maintained the lead for the entire final table and had almost a 6-to-1 lead when beginning heads-up play against Shane Nelson. Play lasted about 30 minutes until Alkhatib took down the event.
While this is the first cash in an MSPT event, Alkhatib isn’t a stranger to final tables. He won the Canterbury HPT event in 2012 and has had six other final tables over the years at various events in Minnesota. This gives him almost $400K lifetime earnings, according to The Hendon Mob database.
MSPT PLAYER OF THE YEAR: It was an exciting end to the 2013 campaign as the top two players in the MSPT POY race made the final table of the last event at Canterbury Park. When Patrick Steele finished 10th, Brett Kuznia needed to finish third to tie in points for POY. Steele clinched the title when Kuzina finished seventh. Steele had five cashes and four final tables for the 2013 MSPT season.
— Email John Somsky at john.somsky@gmail.com.
