Earl Potter Triumphs at 2016 MSPT Indiana for $82,450

This year’s Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Indiana State Poker Championship proved to be a more popular affair than ever before, with the number of competitors entering the $1,100 Main Event reaching 340. That figure was up by 35% from the 251 who did so in 2015, and as a result the tournament’s prize pool swelled past its advertised guarantee of $250,000 to an impressive total of $340,000.
Three days of action later, and to the great delight of the hometown crowd, it was state resident Earl Potter who would eventually triumph over the field to claim the title, as well as its $82,450 first place prize. Commenting on his remarkable victory, the 49 year-old automobile worker, stated:
“I’m feeling awesome. These guys are quite a bit better than me, but you’ve got to get lucky sometimes. Make good decisions. I got lucky a few times.”
The MSPT Indiana Main Event was held at the Tropicana Evansville, and by the time the final table had been reached last year’s champion, Mike O’Neill, was still very much in contention and looking to make back-to-back wins. O’Neill, however, fell in 6th place for $13,195, and after the 2016 MSPT Tropicana Evansville Regional champ Adam Thomas exited in 3rd ($32,090), the final battle was set between Earl Potter and Ohio player Thomas Gliva for the title.
At this stage the two players were fairly even in chips, but the play was aggressive with Gliva moving all-in preflop holding K-4, only to be called by Potter with A-5. An ace on the flop then helped set-up the victory, and so Gliva collected $49,470 for his runner-up finish, while Earl Potter collected top honors. When the father of two was then asked what he intends to do with his winnings, he joked:
“My wife wants me to pay off her car so I guess I don’t have much of a choice but to do that.”
Top 10 Results:
1st: Earl Potter $82,450
2nd: Thomas Gliva $49,470
3rd: Adam Thomas $32,090
4th: Troy Weber $22,426
5th: Jason Simon $16,820
6th: Michael O’Neill $13,195
7th: Jordan Miller $11,213
8th: Carter Myers $9,234
9th: Jeremy Brown $7,915
10th: Chris Cornell $6,266