Vegas Poker Scene—August 2019

Here's my latest column for Ante Up (or the version I submitted).  You can find it in your local poker room.  Enjoy!  The actual pdf of the magazine is still not online yet as I post this, for some reason.  I am assuming that means the shift to the new Ante Up website is eminent, hopefully.  But I know the magazine is out because I saw a copy in Ventura yesterday.  

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The Venetian hosts Deepstack Extravaganza III, September 2 – 22.  A $340 No Limit Hold'em DoubleStack kicks things with the first of its two starting flights on September 2.  Players start with 25K chips and play 40-minute levels.  The prize pool is guaranteed to be $100K.  This exact same event repeats starting on September 9.

A $400 MonsterStack has two starting flights beginning September 6.  Players get a 30K starting stack.  The first 20 levels are 30-minutes and then increase to 40-minutes.  The guarantee is $100K.

A $600 DoubleStack event with three starting flights begins September 12.  The starting stack is 30K, the levels are 40-minutes and the guarantee is $200K.

The main event of the series is a $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour tournament with two starting flights beginning September 20. Players start with 20K chips and play 40-minute levels.  The guarantee is $250K.

A $400 Seniors event runs September 5, offering players 15K starting chips, 30-minute levels and a $20K prize pool guarantee.  Most of the evening events have $200 buy-ins with 9K guaranteed prize pools.  These include bounty and rebuy events.

Also in September, The Venetian will run two cash game promotions.  For the entire month, every half hour between noon and midnight, a random active player will be selected for a $600 cash prize. Additionally, players will be logging hours during the month to be eligible for a cash drawing to be held on October 9.  One drawing ticket will be awarded to players who log 100-199 hours during the month  Five drawing tickets will be awarded to those who log 200 or more hours. 

The regular tournament schedule has been updated.  Mondays through Thursdays at noon, a $150 NLH tournament with an $8K guarantee is offered. Friday a $200 SuperStack runs with a $20K guarantee.  Optional $100 add-ons after levels four and eight are available.  The Saturday tournament is the $340 DoubleStack with a $25K guarantee. Sunday a $300 rebuy tournament with a $25K guarantee runs.

Monday and Thursday evenings, a $125 Bounty tournament with a $4K guarantee and $25 bounties takes place.  Tuesday it’s a $200 Bounty tourney with $50 bounties and a $9K guarantee.  Wednesday a $125 rebuy tournament runs with a $7K guarantee.  Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays the tournament is a $125 SuperStack with a $4K guarantee.

SAM'S TOWN:  The popular locals joint on Boulder Highway is attracting nice turnouts for its two new weekly tournaments.  On Monday at 7 p.m., they offer a $60 Beat the Boss Bounty tournament. Players start with 10K chips and play 20-minute levels.  There's a $10 bounty on each player, plus a $15 mystery bounty at each table.  There is a $100 bounty for knocking out the boss, who moves to a different table every level. 

Saturday at 1 p.m., the $55 tournament has a $2K guarantee.  The starting stack is 10K and the levels are 20-minutes.  There is one $15 add-on for 5K chips available for the first hour.

Both of these tournies have been averaging 80-90 players each week.

Tuesday through Saturday at 7 p.m., a $50 tournament offers players 10K chips and 20-minute levels.  A $10 add-on for 2K chips is available. Every other Friday at 7 p.m., the $50 tournament is replaced by a $125 Deepstack.  Players start with 15K chips and play 20-minute levels. 

Sunday through Friday at 1 p.m. the $45 buy-in gets players 5K chips with 20-minute levels.  There is a optional $10 add-on for 2K chips any time during the first hour.  Daily at 10 a.m., a limit/no-limit tournament is offered for $30.  The first hour is limit hold'em, then the game switches to no limit after that. It's the only tournament of its kind in Vegas.  The levels are 20-minutes.

The most popular live game here is $2-$6 spread limit hold'em, with a $30 minimum buy-in.  A $3-$6 Omaha8 with a $30 minimum also runs daily.  During busier times, you can find a $1-$2 NLH game with a $100 minimum and $300 max.

There are high hand bonuses for both hold'em and Omaha.  Other promotions change regularly, call the room for details on the latest.

BINION'S SUMMER SERIES:  The $1,100 PLO Championship finished on June 21 with the top four players making a deal.  As a result, Jacob Corda of Alabama took first place for $10K, Ray Larouech of New York and Richard Chiovari of Chicago each took home $9K and Evan Shaughnessy of Denver received $8,400. The event attracted 42 entries, creating a total prize pool of $42K.

Aleksandr Shevlyakov of Russia won the $1,100 NLH championship on June 26, earning $72K. Hong Kong's Yunye Lu was runner-up for $44K and Wilfredo Carrion of Texas placed third for $30K. There were nearly 300 entrants and the prize pool was $289K.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Andrew Kivela of Vegas took home the $41K first place prize in the first multi-flight event of the Grand Poker Series in early June. The event had three starting flights a day for three days and offered a $300K guaranteed prize pool. The event drew 3,469 players creating a $537K prize pool, crushing the guarantee.  Chicago's James Battaglia finished second for $31K and Sacramento's James Purdie earned $29K for third.

PLANET HOLLYWOOD:  The top prize money in the $600 Ultimate Goliath Stack was split evenly between the top two finishers in early June.  Michael Lech of Arkansas and Rambo Halpern of Oregon each took home $36K. The event had 660 players and a $346K prize pool, surpassing the $300K guarantee.

ARIA:  England's Ben Farrell parlayed a last minute entry into the WPT 500 into a $155K first place prize on June 27. Farrell registered late into the last of the eight starting flights of the event, which was a turbo flight. India's Nikita Luther received $109K for second and South Korea's Sung Joo Hyun earned $75K for third.  The $570 event had 1,900 entrants and a prize pool of $966K.