Mid-States Poker Tour Releases 2014 Schedule; PokerNews to Live Report Season 5
With only the finale of the PokerNews Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Season 4 remaining at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, the MSPT is proud to announce the expansion to new markets in 2014 including Blackhawk, Colorado; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and just outside of Chicago, Illinois. In addition, PokerNews will be live reporting each stop in Season 5.
“We are extremely excited about the growth of the MSPT brand and the opportunities to expand to new markets,” said MSPT founder and President Bryan Mileski. “We also love our longstanding tour stops and look forward to getting back — players at those stops have helped make the MSPT what it is today and we intend to remain loyal to them as they have to us.”
The MSPT will kick off Season 5 with one of two stops on the schedule at Running Aces Harness Park in Columbus, MN from February 8-16, 2014 — a popular location that always drives a substantial prize pool. A week later, the MSPT heads to Louisiana for its first ever stop at Belle of Baton Rouge — the center of one of the most up and coming poker hotbeds.
The MSPT will then travel to Blackhawk, Colorado for the first-ever event at Golden Gates Casino & Poker Parlour. Golden Gates is well-known for its great tournament room and staff and its ability to drive large prize pools.
Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa is back for three stops (April, July, and November) in 2014 — each boasting one of the largest guaranteed prize pools in the upper Midwest at $300,000.
Canterbury Park — one of the largest card rooms in the Midwest — was the first property to launch the MSPT and has been a staple on the calendar since inception. MSPT events at Canterbury Park have generated the largest prize pools on tour, closing in on $400,000. The MSPT will be back at Canterbury twice in 2014 — April and December.
Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana rests just a few miles from Chicago which often leads to huge player turnout and massive prize pools. Majestic Star will host MSPT events for the first time in both May and August of 2014.
The MSPT invaded Michigan for the first time during Season 4 with two events at FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan. The home state of MSPT Player of the Year leader Pat Steele and World Series of Poker Main Event champion Ryan Riess provides some of the top players in the nation and arguably the toughest MSPT final tables. The MSPT will be back to FireKeepers in both May and October.
Grand Falls Casino Resort, just outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is back on the schedule for the third consecutive year. This new casino quickly became a player favorite due to the gorgeous hotel rooms and player-friendly staff. The brand new golf course scheduled for completion next summer will be another perk of this great property.
More events will be announced in the near future as the MSPT and host properties finalize approval. In addition, PokerNews will at each MSPT stop capture all the action from Season 5 and report it to the public in their state-of-the-art live blog complete with hand histories, chip counts, and photographs.
“PokerNews is very pleased to serve as the official live reporting partner for the MSPT during the tour's fifth season,” said PokerNews Editor-in-Chief Donnie Peters. “As the official media partner of the tour, this new level to our partnership makes perfect sense. The MSPT offers top-notch events with affordable buy-ins in the Midwest region, and we are excited with our new role in helping the tour to grow. By introducing our live reporting product to a brand new market through an established brand such as the MSPT, we hope to expand the awareness of the tour nationally and continue to grow the game of poker."
PokerNews is the world's leading poker website that features a daily dose of articles, exclusive videos, podcasts and so much more. Earlier this year, they developed and released an innovative app called the PokerNews MyStack App, which will be available on Season 5 of the MSPT. The app will allow MSPT players to update their tournament poker progress straight into the live blog. Imagine shooting a round of golf and being able to instantly update your score to ESPN, that’s what MyStack has done for poker.
For more information on the MSPT Season 5, visit msptpoker.com.
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