The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) recently wrapped up in Iowa at MSPT Riverside Casino,and now the tour is off to Columbus, Minnesota for MSPT Running Aces, which is scheduled to run from March 31 to April 10. PokerNews will be on-site to offer live updates from the Main Event.
MSPT Running Aces will have guaranteed prize pools of over $570,000 and will feature 10 trophy events, kicking off on March 31 with Event #1: $360 NLH Mystery Bounty, a two-day event featuring the ever-popular mystery bounties.
Next up on the trophy schedule will be $250 Sunday Feast, a No-Limit Hold’em tournament with a $10,000 guarantee that will get underway on April 3.
One of the most notable events of the week-and-a-half series is the $300 MSPT Tag Team Championship, where friends, partners, and couples can buy in for $150 per person and compete in teams of two. The Tag Team Championship has a guaranteed prize pool of $20,000 and will get underway on April 5.
Other trophy events include $185 – $20K GTD Deepstack, $250 Seniors (50+), $250 Turbo Super Stack, $250 Pot-Limit Omaha and $250 Hump Day.
The biggest highlight of the series will undoubtedly be the $1,110 MSPT Main Event, which has a guarantee of $300,000 and will likely attract many of the best players in the region. The marquee event has three starting flights beginning on April 7 and will wrap up with Day 2 on April 10.
MSPT Running Aces will also feature a number of nightly tournaments and satellites, allowing players to win a Main Event seat for as little as $265.
The full MSPT Running Aces schedule is available in the table below.
MSPT Running Aces Full Schedule
| DATE | EVENT | BUY-IN | |
| March 31, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Mystery Bounty (Event 1) Day 1A | Buy-in: $360 | |
| March 31, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Event 1 Mega Satellite | Buy-in: $80 | |
| March 31, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Event 1 Mega Satellite | Buy-in: $80 | |
| April 01, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Event 1 Mega Satellite | Buy-in: $80 | |
| April 01, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Mystery Bounty (Event 1) Day 1B | Buy-in: $360 | |
| April 01, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Event 1 Mega Satellite | Buy-in: $80 | |
| April 02, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Event 1 Mega Satellite | Buy-in: $80 | |
| April 02, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Mystery Bounty (Event 1) Day 1C | Buy-in: $360 | |
| April 02, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Nightly | Buy-in: $135 | |
| April 03, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Mystery Bounty (Event 1) Day 2 | Buy-in: $0 | |
| April 03, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Sunday Feast (Event 2) | Buy-in: $250 | |
| April 03, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event Satellite to Day 1A or 1B | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 03, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Deepstack (Event 3) Day 1A | Buy-in: $185 | |
| April 04, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Seniors (Event 4) | Buy-in: $250 | |
| April 04, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Turbo Super Stack (Event 5) | Buy-in: $250 | |
| April 04, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Deepstack (Event 3) Day 1B | Buy-in: $185 | |
| April 05, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Deepstack (Event 3) Day 1C | Buy-in: $185 | |
| April 05, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Tag Team Championship (Event 7) | Buy-in: $300 | |
| April 05, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Sunrise | Buy-in: $135 | |
| April 05, 2022 | Pot Limit Omaha (Event 6) | Buy-in: $250 | |
| April 06, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Hump Day (Event 8) | Buy-in: $250 | |
| April 06, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Thousandaire | Buy-in: $135 | |
| April 06, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event Satellite to Day 1A or 1B | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 06, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Deepstack (Event 3) Day 2 | Buy-in: $0 | |
| April 07, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event Satellite to Day 1A or 1B | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 07, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event (Event 9) Day 1A | Buy-in: $1,110 | |
| April 07, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event Satellite | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 08, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event Satellite | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 08, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event Satellite | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 08, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event (Event 9) Day 1B | Buy-in: $1,110 | |
| April 09, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Turbo Ironman Satellite | Buy-in: $265 | |
| April 09, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em MSPT Main Event | Buy-in: $1,110 | |
| April 09, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Nightly | Buy-in: $135 | |
| April 10, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – MSPT Main Event (Event 9) Day 2 | Buy-in: $0 | |
| April 10, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Last Chance (Event 10) | Buy-in: $250 | |
| April 10, 2022 | No Limit Hold’em – Last Dance | Buy-in: $135 |
Previous Winners
Jeffery Birt of Bloomington, Minnesota is the defending Running Aces champion after taking down the most recent Main Event in September 2017 for $81,402. Birt, who has $142,577 in live earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, got through a field of 383 entrants to win the career-best five-figure score.
September 2017 MSPT Running Aces Main Event Final Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
| 1 | Jeffrey Birt | Bloomington, MN | $81,402 | |
| 2 | Anthony Lacey | Lacrosse, WI | $50,325 | |
| 3 | Stan Webb | Mitchellville, IA | $36,631 | |
| 4 | Vlad Tkachuk | $27,011 | ||
| 5 | Xong Lee | Monticello, MN | $20,351 | |
| 6 | Steve Wazwaz | Brooklyn Park, MN | $15,540 | |
| 7 | Freddie West | Andover, MN | $12,210 | |
| 8 | Durwin Matuska | Crosby, MN | $9,620 | |
| 9 | Alex Moua | Lake Elmo, MN | $7,030 |
A few months earlier, Luke Bohnen took down the February Running Aces Main Event for $86,440. 2016 also saw two champions with Luke Arora winning the April event for $83,773 and Jeremy Dresch winning the September event for $83,045.
In 2015, Peixin Liu topped 328 entries to win the Running Aces Main Event for $85,498 for his second career MSPT championship title. Liu, who has $717,815 in tournament earnings, previously took down a 2014 MSPT Canterbury Park event for a career-best $106,483.
Recent MSPT winners include Ron West, who took down the 2022 MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl for $168,488 last month after defeating poker vlogger Johnnie “Vibes” Moreno, as well as Billyray Gallegos, who took down the 2022 MSPT Bally’s Blackhawk Main Event for $104,890 in January.
Earlier in the year, Gianluca Pace took down the MSPT Sycuan Main Event in San Diego for $74,562 following a four-way deal at the final table. Earlier this month, Dan Bekavac topped a 1,094-entry field to win the MSPT Riverside in Iowa for $193,391 and his third MSPT title.
A full list of MSPT winners so far in 2022 is available below.
2022 MSPT Winners
| DATE | EVENT | ENTRIES | WINNER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE | |
| March 17-20, 2022 | MSPT $1,110 Riverside Main Event | 1,094 | Dan Bekavac | Chicago, IL | $193,391 | |
| Feb. 10-12 2022 | MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl | 1,027 | Ron West | Los Angeles, CA | $168,488 | |
| Jan. 27-30 2022 | MSPT $1,110 Bally’s Black Hawk Main Event | 683 | Billyray Gallegos | Denver, CO | $104,890 | |
| Jan. 13-16 2022 | MSPT $1,110 Sycuan Casino Resort Main Event | 460 | Gianluca Pace | Encinitas, CA | $74,562 |