Nearly 1,700 entries turned out for the 2025 Major Series of Poker: The Tour Wisconsin Poker State Championship at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the end, it was Wisconsin’s own Greg Shuda who emerged victorious with the trophy and $232,955. This was the largest score yet on the live tournament scene for Shuda.
“It feels great to be honest. I don’t really get to play much poker. The last tournament I played in was this one in February, so to be able to come back and win this one is pretty special,” Shuda told MSPT reporters.
This huge triumph beat out the previous high score of $186,000 that Shuda earned for a runner-up finish in a $15,000 pot-limit Omaha event at the 2023 U.S. Poker Open. He now has more than $583,000 in total earnings across five recorded cashes.
This $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em poker tournament drew an exact total of 1,698 entries across three starting flights. That increased the total prize pool to $1,645,560, surpassing the $1 million guarantee. This was the second stop of the season at this property, which has a long history of attracting big fields.
The top 189 finishers all scored a min-cash worth $2,090, with that hefty total of contenders returning on day 2 to play down to a champion. To the surprise of no one, the champion was not crowned until well after midnight.
Notables that made a deep run included back-to-back MSPT Player of the Year Umut Ozturk (41st), MSPT champion Jeremy Dresch (33rd), World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Michael Wilklow, and MSPT Hall of Fame member Aaron Johnson (13th).
Nine To One
The final table of nine was set a little after 9:00 local time, with Shuda among the leaders. The biggest name at the final table was the first to fall when all-time WSOP Circuit titles leader Maurice Hawkins was knocked out in ninth place. The 21-time gold ring winner earned $27,335 to bring his lifetime hail to nearly $6.5 million. Doug Timmer (8th – $33,767) and WSOPC main event champion Frank Lagodich (7th – $43,414) soon joined Hawkins on the rail.
Shuda got in on the act when he took out Loki Abboud in sixth place ($54,670), who was followed by Kyle Gahan (5th – $72,357) and Arlo Strozewski (4th – $94,868). Mykle Robble pulled into a slight lead before the start of heads-up play by busting Andy Loomis in third place ($125,419) a little after midnight.
The final two agreed on a chop that left $42,955 and the title to play for. Robble locked up $202,000, while Shuda was assured of at least $190,000 thanks to the deal. The all-ins soon followed. Shuda was soon at risk with A♠5♦ against the pocket deuces of Robble. An ace on the turn came to the rescue, giving Shuda the chip lead.
The final hand saw Shuda holding A♥J♥ against the dominated the A♠10♦ of Robble. The flop came down 10♥7♥7♠ giving Robble tens up for the lead. Shuda had outs to a better two pair or a flush, though. The 9♣ turn kept Robble ahead, but the 9♥ river saw Shuda win the pot and the title with hearts.
Robble took home $202,000 as the runner-up, his largest tournament score yet.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Gregory Shuda | $232,955 | 1080 |
| 2 | Mykel Robble | $202,000 | 900 |
| 3 | Andrew Loomis | $125,419 | 720 |
| 4 | Arlo Strozewski | $94,868 | 540 |
| 5 | Kyle Gahan | $72,357 | 450 |
| 6 | Loki Abboud | $54,670 | 360 |
| 7 | Frank Lagodich | $43,414 | 270 |
| 8 | Doug Timmer | $33,767 | 180 |
| 9 | Maurice Hawkins | $27,335 | 90 |
Photo Credit: MSPT.
