David Levine Tops 4,411-Entry Field to Win MSPT Venetian for $495,500
One of the summer’s biggest tournaments outside of the World Series of Poker recently wrapped over at The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip. The annual $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Venetian offered a $3.5 million guarantee, which was cruised past after attracting 4,411 entries. That made it the largest tournament in both MSPT and Venetian history.
After four starting flights and two other days, 44-year-old Californian emergency medicine technician David Levine emerged the victor for the $495,500 first-place prize. He and runner-up Felipe Davila struck a deal in which each locked up $405,500 and left $90K and the title on the table.
“I’m pretty ecstatic,” Levine said shortly after the win. “When there were five people left and we were on break, I was down in chips. Even if I busted at that time I was still $150K up, so I felt pretty lucky, I felt good.”
To celebrate, Levine was going to pick up his better half from the airport later that night (she had a trip already planned) and take the weekend off. He was also going to take time to share the good news with his family, who he credits for his success.
“I grew up playing card games like cribbage and pinochle,” he told PokerNews. “We played a lot of different games. I remember sitting at a table the youngest of six kids, I must’ve been five years old, trying to play cards against my brothers and sisters, and mom and dad. I just have to give love to my family, even my extended family who puts together a poker shindig every year. That’s always fun. I’m going to have some bragging rights this year.”
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Levine | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | $495,500* |
| 2 | Felipe Davila | Lima, Peru | $405,500* |
| 3 | Lou “AP” Garza | San Antonio, TX | $266,645 |
| 4 | Scott Massimiano | Scottsdale, AZ | $197,833 |
| 5 | Owen Crowe | Nova Scotia, Canada | $150,525 |
| 6 | Tyreem Williams | Philadelphia, PA | $109,668 |
| 7 | Ken Rawlinson | Riverside, RI | $81,714 |
| 8 | Derek Wolters | Las Vegas, NV | $64,511 |
| 9 | Shane Martin | Chicago, IL | $51,609 |
| 10 | Young Eum | Los Angeles, CA | $43,007 |
*Reflects heads-up deal
The first elimination of the final table, which for the first time was being live streamed on Twitch, came when Young Eum shoved his extreme short stack with kings only to fall to Tyreem Williams' Big Slick when an ace hit the flop. Not long after, Shane Martin got it in with sevens and lost a flip to Owen Crowe’s ace-jack.
Derek Wolters, one of the most experienced players at the final table, was the next to go after four-betting all in with kings and getting called by AP Garza’s ace-queen. An ace on the flop and another on the river sent Wolters out the door in eighth place for $64,511.
Levine: “Hopefully I continue to get better, and hopefully there are a lot more titles to come."
After that, Ken Rawlinson shoved his last three big blinds all in from the button holding queen-three and Davila three-bet jammed the small blind with ace-king suites. Williams picked up queens in the big blind and called off. The board ran out ace high and both Rawlinson and Williams hit the rail.
From there, Crowe took his leave when his fives lost a race to Lavine’s queen-ten suites, and Scott Massimiano followed him out the door after flopping top pair but running it smack dab into Levine’s two pair.
After Garza bowed out in third place – the result of his king-eight failing to overcome Davila’s pocket queens – the heads-up deal was struck.
In the final hand of the tournament, Levine held king-nine and called when Davila, who had king-ten, shoved a jack-nine-five flop. Both the turn and river bricked and Davila finished in second place.
“Hopefully I continue to get better, and hopefully there are a lot more titles to come,” Levine said shortly after the last card was dealt.
Among the hundreds to cash were WPT champ Iaron Lightbourne (12th - $43,007), Eric Maier (27th - $17,203), Nick Pupillo (29th - $14,622), Mike Del Vecchio (32nd - $14,622), Minnesota’s all-time money leader Blake Bohn (139th - $5,505), and MSPT Season 8 Player of the Year Chris Meyers (236th - $3,612).
“You’ll probably see me more this summer,” Levine concluded. “This is my first leg of the summer. I’m here for two weeks and then will come back toward the end of June and be here awhile.”
Four more events remain on the MSPT Venetian schedule with a combined $8.5 million in guaranteed prize pools.
Photo courtesy of MSPT
Editor's Note: Chad Holloway serves as Media Director for the MSPT.
