WPT Returns To the Venetian Resort Las Vegas

The rush of winning is made all the sweeter at one of the most anticipated events of the spring poker season: DeepStack Showdown Poker Series. A homegrown competition at The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas, it’s become a sought-after series for a range of players near and far. The luxuries offered by the resort are unparalleled, rewarding attendees with spacious all-suite accommodations, award-winning restaurants, a collective of cocktail bars, and world-class entertainment.

From March 9-29, 2020, DeepStack Showdown is a three-week frenzy of dynamic play that boasts 31 tournaments and more than $3 million in guaranteed prize pools.

A number of options and formats are available during the series that include bounties, survivors, satellites, plus multi- and single-day tournaments. No-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha are the more popular events that fill up fast. Tournament buy-ins start at $80 and vary all the way up to $5,000 to ensure there are accessible and exciting options for everyone.

Two poker giants partner again when the World Poker Tour® returns March 13-17 with a $5,000 buy-in and a $2 million guarantee.

Among the bigger events you’ll find:

• $600 no-limit hold’em MonsterStack with a $200,000 guarantee March 19-22, 2020
• $1,600 no-limit UltimateStack with a $400,000 guarantee March 25-28, 2020

Combine a variety of games with incredible prize pools, the best poker room in Las Vegas, plus Forbes Four-Star accommodations – and with that, your poker series just got upgraded. The DeepStack Showdown Poker Series at The Venetian Resort has it all.

A Look Back at the First-Ever WPT Main Event Held at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas

The first-ever World Poker Tour main event held at The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas took place from March 22-26 in 2019. The $3,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament attracted a total field of 734 entries, blowing away the $1 million guarantee placed on the event to create a final prize pool worth $2,333,800. The huge turnout meant that the top 92 finishers made the money, with $431,655 set aside for the eventual champion. In the end, it was Las Vegas poker tournament regular Ben Palmer who emerged victorious with his first WPT title and the largest payday of his career.

It took three full days of action to narrow the massive field down to a final table of nine players. Palmer held the lead going into day 4, with 2013 World Series of Poker main event runner-up Jay Farber as his closest competitor.

Palmer furthered his advantage by knocking out 2019 WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino main event winner Sean Yu, who had just lost with pocket jacks against the A-Q of Mark Ioli to fall to the bottom of the leaderboard. He got all-in with A J and ran into the 10 10 of Palmer. Yu failed to improve and was eliminated in ninth place ($41,665).

Despite coming into the day in second chip position, Jay Farber was the next to hit the rail. In his final hand, he got all-in with A 9 and was called by the A K of Mark Ioli. Neither player improved and Farber had to settle for eighth place ($52,790).

Palmer scored his second bustout of the final table when his A K outran the 9 9 of Skip Wilson. Palmer paired his ace on the turn to win the pot and send Wilson home with $67,675 as the seventh-place finisher.

It took nearly 70 more hands until the next elimination went down. WSOP bracelet winner William Givens got his last chips in with the K 10. Mark Ioli held the A 8 and made trip aces by the turn to knock Givens out in sixth place ($87,760).

In the next major confrontation, Mark Ioli flopped top two pair out of the big blind and called a continuation bet from Palmer, who promptly hit his gutshot straight draw on the turn. Palmer bet again on the turn and then moved all-in on the river. Ioli called and was eliminated in fifth place ($115,105).

With that Palmer surged to over 13 million in chips. Tony Gargano closed the gap a bit by knocking out Orlando Barrera in fourth place ($152,690), having flopped quads with his pocket kings. Barrera shoved after the flop with pocket sixes and found himself drawing dead with two cards to come.

Gargano went on to knock out Danny Qutami in third place ($204,810), calling his three-bet shove with A Q and holding up against the A 8. With that Gargano overtook the lead, entering heads-up play with 16.8 million to Palmer’s 12.5 million.

The final two players battled it out for 64 hands, with a few lead changes along the way. In the final hand, Gargano moved all-in from the button for 9.5 million. Palmer thought it over for a while before making the call with Q 10. Gargano held the A 4. The board ran out J 10 9 6 Q to give Palmer two pair, the pot, and the title. Gargano took home $277,760 as the runner-up finisher.

Final Table Results
Place Player Earnings (USD)
1 Benjamin Palmer $431,655
2 Anthony Gargano $277,760
3 Danny Qutami $204,810
4 Orlando Barrera $152,690
5 Mark Ioli $115,105
6 William Givens $87,760
7 Skip Wilson $67,675
8 Jay Farber $52,790
9 Sean Yu $41,665