Deadwood, SD plays host to latest Mid States Poker Tour stop
Fresh off a San Diego stop that saw the Main Event more than triple the guarantee, the next chapter on the 2021 MSPT schedule gets started in Deadwood, South Dakota today.
The South Dakota State Poker Championship commences from Silverado-Franklin Hotel & Gaming Complex May 14-16. The $1,100 Main Event promises a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool and plays out as the culmination of a month-long series of satellite qualifiers at the Deadwood casino.
The Silverado-Franklin venue marks a familiar stop for the MSPT, which generally runs events at multiple South Dakota casinos throughout a normal season. Due to COVID-19 fallout, however, the South Dakota State Poker Championship marks the first time the MSPT has stopped through Silverado-Franklin since May 2019.
MSPT South Dakota State Championship schedule
| Date | Flight | Notes |
| Friday, May 14 | Day 1A | Begins at 3 pm local time |
| Saturday, May 15 | Day 1B | Begins at 10 am local time |
| Sunday, May 16 | Day 2 | Begins at 11 am local time; plays down to a champion |
South Dakota stop for booming MSPT circuit
Currently in its 12th season, the MSPT is in the middle of quite possibly the most prolific stretch in the history of the tour. The South Dakota State Poker Championship needs to clear 104 entries to hit the guarantee.
If recent history gives any indication, attendance for the MSPT return to Deadwood could push the prize pool well past that $100,000 guarantee. The May 2019 edition of this event drew 268 entries, pumping its final prize pool up to $248,760.
The eventual tournament champion, Sergio Mireles, took home a $60,946 winner’s prize. If the current trend of booming live poker attendance across the U.S. holds in Deadwood, the 2021 MSPT stop at Silverado-Franklin could award a first-place prize that dwarfs the 2019 figure.
Outlook for the MSPT in 2021
COVID-19 halted live tournament tours around the world last March, as the gravity of the pandemic began to reveal itself. The MSPT has been at the forefront of the live poker revival in the U.S., however.
The MSPT Grand Falls stop in August 2020 marked the first major poker tournament held in the U.S. in more than five months. Since then, the tour has produced multiple stops at the Venetian Las Vegas, with each of those events smashing the guaranteed prize pools.
Other MSPT events over the past nine months have included a second Grand Falls Casino event (Sioux Falls, SD area), Riverside, IA, and the tour’s first-ever stop in San Diego, CA.
The MSPT Showdown San Diego event wrapped up May 9, and the $1,100 Main Event marked an emphatic success for the tour’s San Diego debut. Hosted at Sycuan Casino, the $200,000 guaranteed Main Event drew 676 entries, with the final prize pool reaching $654,220.
Featured image source: Twitter
