Chicago’s own Aaron Massey had another strong showing at the most recent Mid-Stakes Poker Tour (MSPT) Main Event at the Venetian, but this one was for the record books.
Massey’s seventh-place finish was enough to make him the first player to qualify for the MSPT Hall of Fame with his 10th top-ten finish on the popular mid-major tour. He’s earned over $700,000 in MSPT events to date, while his total career earnings have now passed the $5 million mark.
As the 12th player to qualify for the MSPT Hall of Fame, Massey joins most recent entrants “DQ” Dan Hendrickson and Josh Reichard with an honor that includes Jason Seitz, Rob WazWaz, Blake Bohn, Patrick Steele, Mark Hodge, Aaron Johnson, Rich Alsup, Kou Vang, and Matt Kirby.
MSPT Hall of Fame
The MSPT has gained a strong following over the years and its Hall of Fame is a way to recognize the most accomplished among its regular players. There is no voting process, only a set of criteria that must be met to earn admission:
- Achieve a minimum of 25 MSPT Main Event cashes and one MSPT win or one MSPT Player of the Year; or
- Achieve a minimum of 10 MSPT Main Event final tables and one MSPT win or one MSPT Player of the Year.
Massey has racked up 24 MSPT Main Event cashes, but the most recent one was enough to put him over the top in the second category. Among Massey’s top-ten finishes are four top-three cashes and a win at FireKeepers in 2016 for $174,658.
Massey’s MSPT Career
The win at FireKeeper’s Casino in 2016 was only Massey’s second cash on tour, and he followed it up later that year with another final table at the exact same venue. Massey returned to FireKeepers for a runner-up finish in February of 2017 and within just a few months he had made well over $300,000 at one of MSPT’s biggest stops.
Massey continued a steady stream of Main Event cashes, including a 10th-place finish at FireKeepers in 2019, before he turned his sights on having success in Las Vegas. Starting in late 2020, the Chicagoan was all over the payout sheets at Venetian Las Vegas, including a ninth-place finish in June of 2021, a seventh-place finish in December of that year, and a run to third in the Poker Bowl event in 2022.
Since February of 2022, Massey has had three more final tables in events at the Venetian, allowing him to earn his way into the MSPT Hall of Fame with a large part of his accomplishments coming since poker emerged from COVID-19.
Massey’s MSPT Final Tables
| Date | Event | Place | Prize | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 2023 | MSPT Venetian ($1,600 Main Event 233) | 7th | $14,326 | 14 |
| May 2023 | MSPT Venetian ($1,100 Main Event) | 9th | $19,556 | 14 |
| Nov. 2022 | MSPT Venetian (Main Event 208) | 3rd | $139,852 | 13 |
| Feb. 2022 | MSPT Venetian (Main Event 190) | 3rd | $87,213 | 13 |
| Dec. 2021 | MSPT Venetian (Main Event 187) | 7th | $24,472 | 12 |
| June 2021 | MSPT Venetian (Main Event 177) | 9th | $40,385 | 12 |
| Oct. 2019 | MSPT FireKeepers (Main Event 159) | 10th | $20,345 | 10 |
| May 2017 | MSPT FireKeepers (Main Event 104) | 2nd | $131,646 | 8 |
| Oct. 2016 | MSPT FireKeepers (Main Event 92) | 7th | $23,882 | 7 |
| May 2016 | MSPT FireKeepers (Main Event 86) | 1st | $174,658 | 7 |
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Live Reporting Executive
Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL