Mark Sandness of Wayzata, Minn., earned his first Mid-States Poker Tour championship as Running Aces Harness Park in Columbus hosted the tour Feb. 8-16. Sandness began Day 2 fourth in chips and took home $90,913 for his win after facing MSPT pro Blake Bohn in just two hands of heads-up play. This win continues his hot streak coming on the heels of his win of the Great Minnesota Freeze Out in January.
It was Sandness’ seventh MSPT cash and fourth final table and it surpasses his best finish of second place at MSPT Northern Lights Casino in May 2012. This was Bohn’s third MSPT final table and he was denied his first MSPT victory.
The event drew 354 runners and generated a prize pool of $343,044 despite holidays and bad weather. Day 1A, which fell on Valentine’s Day, managed 128 players, which is worse than last year’s number. Day 1B drew 226 despite a snowstorm, bringing the total back to the normal range.
This was also the first event in Minnesota that featuredPokerNews live reporting. The PokerNews “My Stack App” was a hit among tournament players, several of whom were updating their stack size frequently.
— Email John at john.somsky@gmail.com.
