Four Chop MSPT Mid-Season Championship for $290K-Plus
![[Removed:460] topped a four-way chop at Venetian.](https://pnimg.net/w/articles/4/5cf/c7488c0d72.jpg "[Removed:460] topped a four-way chop at Venetian.")
The highly anticipated Mid-States Poker Tour $1,100 Mid-Season Championship at Venetian, one of the summer's biggest poker tournaments around the $1K buy-in level, wrapped up on Saturday with a four-way chop.
[Removed:460] posed with the trophy and got by far the most money, pocketing $445,000. Sean Davidson, Michael Shelton and Sheddy Siddiqui rounded out the deal-makers, each banking between $290,000 and $307,000.
Previously, Abdallah had under $60,000 in live cashes, but the newfound dough won't be having him living the baller lifestyle. He said he'll put the money to use on a good cause instead.
"My wife does not allow me to keep any money I win from poker," he told MSPT staff. "So basically, it’s either going to charity or people who are in need."
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Home Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Removed:460] | USA | $445,000* |
| 2 | Sean Davidson | USA | $306,325* |
| 3 | Michael Shelton | USA | $302,020* |
| 4 | Sheddy Siddiqui | USA | $291,742* |
| 5 | Jesse Jaurigue | USA | $148,273 |
| 6 | Matthew Sesso | USA | $108,028 |
| 7 | Nitis Udornpim | USA | $80,491 |
| 8 | Brandon Sinawi | USA | $63,546 |
| 9 | Fernando Araujo | Brazil | $50,837 |
| 10 | Julien Loire | France | $42,364 |
*Indicates four-way deal.
The tournament drew a hefty 4,345 entries across its four starting days, easily eclipsing the $3 million guarantee. Indeed, many players waited hours in alternate lines just to keep a seat and take a shot.
Some of the players running deep into the top 100 but falling short of the final table included Marvin Rettenmaier, Joe Serock, Josh Reichard, Jessica Dawley, Mike Del Vecchio and 2018 WSOP Main Event final tablist Aram Zobian.
Final Table Action
According to the live reporting, Abdallah had one of the shorter stacks leading into the final table.
Once there, French player Julien Loire was the first to go bust when he got in a flip with king-queen against pocket eights held by Jesse Jaurigue. The eights held strong to bust Loire.
Fernando Araujo had been one of the biggest stacks heading into the final table but fell on hard times and dwindled down under 4 million at 300,000/500,000/500,000. He shoved all in with sevens from under the gun and Abdallah flipped with him holding king-jack. A king on the flop had Abdallah in business, though his chip-leading stack was still merely around 30 big blinds after the level went up.
Brandon Sinawi then ran ace-queen into ace-king to reduce the field to seven.
Siddiqui, a popular Florida-based player, was nearly out in seventh when he got in a flip with ace-ten against Abdallah's fours. The board ran clean for Abdallah until a 10♠ river saved Siddiqui and allowed him to fight on, and he soon busted Nitis Udornpim to get back to a healthy stack.
Meanwhile, Abdallah was going hard, setting people at risk left and right. Finally, Matthew Sesso called off one of his shoves but couldn't catch up with king-queen against A♣2♣.
Jaurigue would follow when his sevens were no good against Shelton's queens and the players quickly agreed to discuss a deal, with over $1.3 million still left in the prize pool.
It didn't take long for everyone to sign on for an ICM chop. Abdallah, who said he came to Las Vegas specifically for this event, got his trophy and most of the prize money, though it seems the hefty payout is destined for a good cause if Abdallah's wife has her way.
