Siphonh Tran has played poker at Grand Falls Casino, on the Iowa side of the border near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for two decades. The hometown hero came through when the Major Series of Poker: The Tour came to town for the second time this season. Tran beat out a field of 368 entries in the MSPT $1,110 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event
“Unbelievable, words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now,” Tran told MSPT reporters after coming out on top. “I definitely did not expect this to happen, but it feels good to take the trophy home and keep it local.”
Prior to this triumph, Tran’s top score had been the $7,586 he earned for an eighth-place finish in a $800 RunGood Poker Series at Horseshoe Council Bluffs last fall. Now, he is a MSPT champion.
The turnout saw the $300,000 guarantee easily surpassed, with more than $355,000 in prize money ultimately paid out amongst the top 41 finishers.
Plenty of notables ran deep, including defending champion Angela Jordison (40th), MSPT Hall of Famer Rob Wazwaz (33rd), five-time MSPT champion Blake Bohn (25th), MSPT Hall of Famer Mark Hodge (22nd), MSPT champion Anthony Scarborough (19th), poker journalist Terence Reid (17th), and 2023 Grand Falls winner Kevin Nguyen (11th).
Action From The Final Table
Two-time MSPT champ Dave Gonia (9th – $6,906) was the first to fall at the final table. Kyle Knudsen scored the knockout, and soon found another when his top pair outkicked that of ‘Wild’ Bill Romer (8th – $9,450). Ryan Remmes then bowed out in seventh ($11,994). Jonathan Hanner sent Remmes packing, only to soon find himself all-in and at risk. Hanner (6th – $15,265) was busted by Tran to leave just five still in contention.
Blaise Poupore lost a classic flip with A-K against pocket nines for Kyle Knudson to fall in fifth place ($19,990). Knudson then won with A♣K♣ against the 6♥5♦ of Mark Bloomberg in another preflop clash. Bloomberg picked up an open-ended straight draw on the turn, but bricked out on the river to finish fourth ($26,532).
Back-to-back MSPT Player of the Year Umut Ozturk’s run concluded in third place ($35,982) when his Q♣10♣ butted up against the A♠10♥ of Tran. Ozturk flopped a flush draw, but found no further help.
That left Tran (8,500,000) heads-up with Knudson (2,500,000). All of the chips soon went in with Tran’s A♦8♣ leading Knudson’s A♣2♠/ The board came down Q♠J♥10♦6♣7♥ to lock up the pot and the title for Tran. Knudson earned $49,426 as the runner-up.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Siphonh Tran | $79,960 | 600 |
| 2 | Kyle Knudson | $49,426 | 500 |
| 3 | Umut Ozturk | $35,982 | 400 |
| 4 | Mark Bloomberg | $26,532 | 300 |
| 5 | Blaise Poupore | $19,990 | 250 |
| 6 | Jonathan Hanner | $15,265 | 200 |
| 7 | Ryan Remmes | $11,994 | 150 |
| 8 | Bill Romer | $9,450 | 100 |
| 9 | David Gonia | $6,906 | 50 |
Photo credit: MSPT.
