Jason Ramos Wins MSPT's 100th Event
Jason Ramos scored a career-best $108,120 in prize money for topping a venue-record 466-player field at Mid-States Poker Tour Meskwaki $1,100 Main Event. Ramos got his second score of around $100,000 in the past six months, following up a win in the $365 Reentry at WSOP Circuit Hammond for $97,016 in a field of 2,121.
Also of note, the event, part of Season 8 of the MSPT, marked the 100th event in the tour's history.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Ramos | Carol Stream, IL | $108,120 |
| 2 | Matt Roling | Irvingdale, IA | $65,325 |
| 3 | Joel Klipping | Red Lake Falls, MN | $42,574 |
| 4 | Jon McKamie | Walls, MO | $29,509 |
| 5 | Keith Heine | Hillsboro, MO | $22,526 |
| 6 | David Hengen | Omaha, NE | $17,345 |
| 7 | Nathan Crookshank | Grinnell, IA | $14,417 |
| 8 | Eric Eelkema | Brooklyn Park, MN | $11,939 |
| 9 | Vlad Revniaga | Burnsville, MN | $10,092 |
| 10 | Richard Thousand | Ames, IA | $7,659 |
Everett Carlton, Mark Sandness, Aaron Johnson, David Gonia, Todd Breyfogle, Andy Rubinberg and John Sun, who won an MSPT event at Meskwaki last year, were among the players cashing in the top 45 spots but falling short of the final table.
Vlad Revniaga came into Day 2 of the event with a big stack, according to the live updates, and made his way to the final table.
The Minnesota pro was perhaps the most accomplished player among the final 10, but he followed Richard Thousand out the door with a ninth-place finish after a bad beat. Revniaga got it in there with queens against Ramos' nines, but a nine arrived on the turn to doom Revniaga after a safe flop hit the felt.
Ramos kept rolling with another pocket pair, this time holding kings. Eric Eelkema got his stack in with pocket sevens and was unable to overcome the cowboys. Ramos followed that up with another elimination, this time seeing a 9♣4♠4♣ flop against Nathan Crookshank. The latter was unable to get away from eights against Ramos' A♣9♠, reducing the field to six.
One notable storyline at the final table was the run of Keith Heine, who had shipped the spring MSPT event at Meskwaki in 2016. After eliminating David Hengen in fifth, Heine was looking in prime position to win again when he got A♠K♠ in against Joel Klipping, who three-bet jammed 16 big blinds with A♦4♦. Unfortunately for Heine, a four hit the flop to send him out fifth.
Ramos got back to his eliminating ways when he busted Jon McKamie with A♥Q♥ against Q♣10♣. He then busted Klipping with queens against ace-nine, leaving it heads up against Matt Roling.
Roling was down almost 7-1 and wasted no time getting it in but found his A♥2♠ crushed by 8♥8♣. A Q♦2♣7♣ flop paired Roling but left him in need of more. Nothing further materialized on the 4♠ turn or 10♥ river, and Ramos had his second big win in recent months.
"I took a leave of absence in January to pursue poker a little bit," Ramos told MSPT staff. "It's paying off."
Photo courtesy of MSPT
