Brian Landon Takes Home The Title At The Mid-States Poker Tour Stop In St. Louis

Brian Landon came out on top in the Mid-States Poker Tour stop at the Hollywood Casino in St. Louis on Feb. 23. The top prize of $102,765 was the Iowa native’s largest career cash.

“It’s amazing, I never thought I could do this, but I guess I was wrong,” said Landon after the win.

There were 630 entries made over three starting flights in the $1,110 buy-in no-limit hold’em poker tournament, which built a final prize pool of $605,720 to more than double the $300,000 guarantee. The top 68 players all secured a min-cash worth $2,136.

Every player that made the money returned for the final day of the tournament with a long march down to the champion ahead of them. The notables that made a deep run through the tournament included Askia Ingram (10th), Andy Rogowski (18th), World Series of Poker gold-bracelet winner Blair Hinkle, Gerald Cunniff (27th), Brett Reichard (33rd), and recent MSPT Venetian champion Anthony Scarborough (36th).

Landon was second in chips when the final day began, and that’s where he still sat when the final table was set. Poker professional Hunter Cichy was the first to fall in ninth place, and then Landon got on the board by busting Kevin Berthelsen in eighth place. 2024 WSOP main event champion Greg Raymer was out next in seventh place, and he also fell at the hands of Landon. Ramakrishnamraju Gadhiraju was eliminated in sixth place, and then Landon got back in on the action again by sending Brian Roberts home in fifth.

Phil Mader was awarded fourth place after that, and Clint Wolcyn fell in third as Landon scored another knockout. The chip counts at the start of heads-up play had Landon’s work cut out for him as he faced a chip disadvantage of almost 4:1 against him, with Peter Brooks holding the upper hand.

Landon scored a double up in the first major hand between the final two, and he sealed the deal a short time later. The flop read 632 when Brooks got all in for the final hand holding A8. Landon had him covered holding A3 for a pair, and it held after the turn and river bricked out to crown him the victor. Brooks was eliminated in second place, earning a payday of $84,585. This score put the WSOP Circuit ring winner’s lifetime haul above $418,000.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

The MSPT tour will continue with another main event at the Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Iowa running from March 19-23.

Photo Credit: Mid-States Poker Tour.