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This past weekend, Season 17 of the Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) hosted a $1,110 Main Event at Iowa’s Riverside Casino, a tournament that attracted 608 runners and offered a $589,148 prize pool, well ahead of the $300K guarantee.
On Sunday, 66 players returned for Day 2 action, and it took nearly 12 hours of play for a winner to emerge. As a part of a five-way ICM deal, Suited Kings Podcast host Wes Cannon was crowned the champ to claim his first MSPT title and $83,869 in prize money.
“Feels good,” Cannon told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson after his big win, “All of my biggest scores have come from second and third place finishes, with my biggest first-place score being like $23k, so this is like my first big Main Event win, and it means a lot. It’s huge. Apart from winning a bracelet, this was definitely next on my list. Winning a tournament brings a certain type of joy that no amount of money can bring, and being an MSPT Champion just means a lot.”
Additionally, Cannon earned a seat in the $3,500 MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO), which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, Nov. 18 – Dec. 2.
MSPT Riverside Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wes Cannon | $83,869* | 1,200 |
| 2 | Jason Crews | $64,880* | 1,200 |
| 3 | Mike Wilklow | $61,057* | 1,200 |
| 4 | Wayne Tweeton | $57,010* | 1,200 |
| 5 | Brett Slezak | $54,810* | 1,200 |
| 6 | Zach Heiman | $23,127 | 1,100 |
| 7 | Kou Vang | $17,923 | 1,000 |
| 8 | Josh Reichard | $13,876 | 900 |
| 9 | Nick Barksdale | $10,985 | 800 |
*Denotes five-way ICM deal.
Another player to make a deep run was Brett Slezak, who has worked as a respected live reporter for PokerNews. With seven players remaining, Slezak actually eliminated a MSPT Poker Hall of Famer in Kou Vang. The latter was short and got it in with queen-jack suited, but was dominated by the ace-jack of Slezak.
The board ran out clean, and Vang exited in seventh place for $17,923 while Slezak went on to take fifth for a career-high $54,810 as a part of the ICM deal.
Others to cash the tournament were Anthony Kastelic (12th – $8,672), Jon Hanner (18th – $5,782), Brett Reichard (21st – $4,972), Charlie Reichard (29th – $2,833), Craig Trost (37th – $2,486), and DJ Buckley (42nd – $2,486), who extended his all-time MSPT Main Event cash record to 85!
What’s Else is Coming Up?
The MSPT now heads to St. Louis for the MSPT Missouri Poker State Championship at Ameristar Casino St. Charles from March 24-29.
Looking ahead, the MSPT Minnesota Poker State Championship will be held at Running Aces Casino just north of the Twin Cities from April 7-19, followed by an MSPT Festival at Ameristar East Chicago from April 21-26. Then, from April 28 to May 3, the MSPT will return to Milwaukee’s Potawatomi Casino for a $1,000,000 GTD Main Event (along with a slew of side events).
More details on all those stops can be found at msptpoker.com.
Here’s a look at the remaining MSPT Season 17 schedule.
| Dates | Venue | State | Event | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 24-29 | Ameristar St. Charles | Missouri | Missouri Poker State Championship | TBD |
| April 7-19 | Running Aces Casino | Minnesota | Minnesota Poker State Championship | TDB |
| April 21-26 | Ameristar East Chicago | Indiana | MSPT Festival | $300,000 |
| April 28-May 3 | Potawatomi Casino | Wisconsin | MSPT Festival | $1,000,000 |
| May 12-17 | FireKeepers Casino | Michigan | Michigan Poker State Championship | $1,000,000 |
| May 13-25 | Sycuan Casino | California | Showdown Series | TBD |
| June 2026 | The Venetian | Nevada | Diamond Poker Championship | TDB |
| June 2026 | The Venetian | Nevada | TBD | TDB |
| July 21-26 | Riverside Casino | Iowa | Iowa Poker State Championship | $500,000 |
| July 22-Aug. 2 | Bally’s Black Hawk Casino | Colorado | Colorado Poker State Championship | $600,000 |
| August 4-9 | Rivers Casino | Chicago, IL | – | $1,000,000 |
| August 18-23 | JACK Cleveland Casino | Cleveland, OH | MSPT Festival | $500,000 |
| September 2026 | The Venetian | Nevada | Nevada Poker State Championship | TDB |
| Sept. 22-27 | Potawatomi Casino | Wisconsin | Wisconsin Poker State Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 1-12 | Playground | Montreal, Canada | Canadian Poker Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 13-18 | FireKeepers Casino | Michigan | Major Spade Poker Championship | $1,500,000 |
| Nov. 3-8 | Riverside Casino | Iowa | MSPT Festival | $500,000 |
| Nov. 18-Dec. 2 | Seminole Hard Rock | Florida | Major Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO) | $2,000,000 |
| Dec. 1-13 | Running Aces Casino | Minnesota | Winter Poker Classic | $700,000 |
MSPT Podcast
Did you know that Chad Holloway and Kyna England host the bi-weekly MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews.
The show covers all things MSPT, including recent results, player highlights, guest interviews, and a preview of upcoming stops.
If you’re not familiar with the show, a new episode comes out at 8 a.m. PT every other Wednesday on the PokerNews YouTube channel. An audio version is also available on all major podcasting platforms.
Here’s a look at the latest episode:
*Images courtesy of MSPT & Tyler Abrams.
PR & Media Manager