This content was AI generated based on the original article published on https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/09/reigning-poy-jacob-long-finally-gets-first-mspt-main-event-52345.htm. All credits for the original reporting belong to them.
The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) made its Season 17 stop in St. Louis for the Ameristar Poker Open, a $1,110 buy-in Main Event that drew 486 entries and built a $469,920 prize pool.
Among the field was Jacob Long, the reigning MSPT Player of the Year who claimed that title after one of the closest POY races in the tour’s history. Long earned $314,604 during Season 16, highlighted by a tour-high eight MSPT Gold Cards, though none of those wins came in a Main Event.
Long had come close before, finishing runner-up to Mike Estes at the 2025 MSPT Iowa Poker State Championship for $94,499, then taking fourth at the MSPT Hollywood St. Louis stop less than a month later for $43,989.
This time, Long completed the job, defeating the Ameristar Poker Open field for a career-high $97,282, a total that does not include the $250,000 bounty he collected at the WSOP earlier in the summer.
Speaking with MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson, Long credited a slow start to the final day followed by well-timed hands, including a key suck-out against Charlie Reichard and another during heads-up play, for sealing the victory. He also thanked the MSPT team, his wife, and supporters back home.
The win also gave Long his record-extending ninth Gold Card and a seat in the $3,500 buy-in, $2 million guaranteed MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open, set for November 18 through December 2 at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. The tour now moves to Venetian Las Vegas for its Season 17 Nevada Poker State Championship, running September 10-13.
