Lee Rzentkowski won the MSPT Ameristar East Chicago Main Event, earning $82,955 and his second MSPT title. Mike Estes finished ninth, earning 600 POY points and extending his lead.
Published: April 29, 2026Updated: April 29, 2026Category: Regional News
Regional Poker NewsRzentkowski wins at MSPT Ameristar East Chicago; Estes extends POY lead by 1.
Lee Rzentkowski adds another MSPT title to his collection! The Wisconsin player defeated a field of 386 players at the Ameristar East Chicago Main Event to win the $82,955 prize, marking his second MSPT title after the 2022 MSPT Riverside.
Last weekend, the 17th Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) hosted a $1,110 Main Event at Ameristar East Chicago, attracting 386 players.
Of these, 43 players had already secured prize money when they entered the second day of the event on Sunday. After 10 hours of intense competition, Lee Rzentkowski from Wisconsin emerged victorious, winning his second MSPT title and **.The champion's prize was 82,955*. In October 2022, Rzentkowski defeated a field of 749 entries in the MSPT Riverside event to win.82,955∗∗The champion's prize money.2022年10moon,RzentkowskiIn the pastMSPTRiversidedefeated in the match749The number of participants and the winning lineupHe won 145,006 in prize money and took home his first championship.
Rzentkowski also won a ticket worth A seat in the $3,500 MSPT Rock 'N' Roll Poker Open (RRPO). The event will be held from November 18th to December 2nd at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, with a guaranteed Main Event prize pool of ****3,500ofMSPTchampionshipRock‘N’RollPoker Open (RRPO(The remaining text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-translated. It mentions "participation slots," "the event," and "entry slots.")11月18From the date12月2On the day in Hollywood, FloridaSeminoleHardRockThe main event is being held with a guaranteed prize pool of up to [amount missing].∗∗2,000,000**.
Rzentkowski told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson after the match: "I've been in great form lately, but I was just one step away from scoring the last two times, so it feels really good to close the gap this time."
According to Thompson, Rzentkowski had previously reached the final table twice at Ameristar, finishing ninth and fifth respectively. His third consecutive final table appearance finally paid off.
Rzentkowski said, "It feels really good to know that my family is always there for me. They're cheering me on from afar, but it feels great to know they're supporting me and encouraging me."
MSPT Ameristar East Chicago Final Table Results
Ranking
player
hometown
bonus
POY points
1
Lee Rzentkowski
Middleton, Wisconsin
$82,955
—
2
Aaron Brown
Middleport, New York
$51,286
—
3
Michael Estes
Chicago, Illinois
$37,330
—
4
Jeff Stephens
Aurora, Illinois
$27,526
—
5
Daniel Johnson
Chicago, Illinois
$20,739
—
6
Del Beiler
Decatur, Illinois
$15,837
—
7
Jinha Park
Chicago, Illinois
$12,443
—
8
Allen Pritchett
Vicksburg, Michigan
$9,804
—
9
Mike Estes
Coralville, Iowa
$7,164
600
Mike Estes from Iowa finished ninth, earning 600 MSPT Season 17 Player of the Year (POY) points, which put him in the top 10. 4,707 His points extended his lead in the season standings. He now leads Zilong Zhang (3,900 points) and Michael Wilklow (3,477 points).
The current MSPT Season 17 POY rankings
Mike Estes continues to lead the MSPT Season 17 POY leaderboard. Despite finishing only ninth, he earned 600 points, extending his lead to 4,707 points and firmly holding the top spot. Zilong Zhang and Michael Wilklow are in second and third place, respectively.
Ranking
player
integral
1
Mike Estes
4,707
2
Zilong Zhang
3,900
3
Michael Wilklow
3,477
4
Lee Rzentkowski
3,158
5
Jacob Long
3,051
6
Greg Sessler
3,050
7
Clint Wolcyn
2,995
8
Carlton Taylor
2,900
9
Wesley Cannon
2,896
10
June 'Oh Geez' Kim
2,850
Other players who won prize money included Jamie Payne (12th place – 6,033), Bill Brudenell (16th −6,033)、BillBrudenell(No.16名−4,148), DJ Buckley (23rd place – 3,054), Kevin Maahs (28th-3,054)、KevinMaahs(No.28名−2,262), Cody Brinn (34th – 2,262) and TomKoral (42nd)2,262)andTomKoral(No.42名−2,074).
What's next?
MSPT will next travel to Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee to host a guaranteed win. $1,000,000 The main event (and a range of peripheral events). For more detailed information about these events, please visit msptpoker.com.
The following is the remaining schedule for MSPT Season 17.
date
site
City/State
Event Name
Guaranteed bonus
April 28-May 3
Potawatomi Casino
Wisconsin
MSPT Series
$1,000,000
May 12-17
FireKeepers Casino
Michigan
Michigan Poker State Championship
$1,000,000
May 13-25
Sycuan Casino
California
Showdown Series
Pending
June 2026
The Venetian
Nevada
Diamond Poker Tournament
Pending
June 2026
The Venetian
Nevada
Pending
Pending
July 21-26
Riverside Casino
Iowa
Iowa Poker State Championship
$500,000
July 22-August 2
Bally's Black Hawk Casino
Colorado
Colorado State Poker Championship
$600,000
August 4-9
Rivers Casino
Chicago, Illinois
–
$1,000,000
August 18-23
JACK Cleveland Casino
Cleveland, Ohio
MSPT Series
$500,000
September 2026
The Venetian
Nevada
Nevada Poker State Championship
Pending
September 22-27
Potawatomi Casino
Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Poker Championship
$1,000,000
October 1-12
Playground
Montreal, Canada
Canadian Poker Tournament
$1,000,000
October 13-18
FireKeepers Casino
Michigan
Major Spade Poker Tournament
$1,500,000
November 3-8
Riverside Casino
Iowa
MSPT Series
$500,000
November 18th - December 2nd
Seminole Hard Rock
Florida
Major Rock 'N' Roll Poker Open (RRPO)
$2,000,000
December 1-13
Running Aces Casino
Minnesota
Winter Poker Classic
$700,000
MSPT Podcast
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