Tim Krauskopf Wins PokerAtlas Tour Main Event At Resorts World Las Vegas

The 2024 PokerAtlas Tour stop at Resorts World Las Vegas is now in the books, with more than $865,000 in total prize money paid out across the 10-event series that ran from March 7-18.

Benton Blakeman Bests 526-Entry Field In Kickoff Event

Cash game player Benton Blakeman defeated a field of 526 entries in the $500 buy-in kickoff event to earn $42,460.

The strong turnout saw the $200,000 guarantee narrowly surpassed by a handful of entries, resulting in a final prize pool of $201,920 that was paid out among the top 45 finishers. This was the largest score yet for Blakeman, who now has $274,421 in lifetime earnings.

“Oh man, it was tough. I’ve been playing cash in between so it’s been like four or five days straight of 12-13 hour days. I don’t play many tournaments so this is different. I maybe play three or four tournaments a year,” said Blakeman.

Blakeman was in the middle of the pack when the final table began, but he was able to score a double-up with eight players remaining to start his rise to the top.

He took out Wade Citro in fourth place to join contention for the chip lead, but by the time the heads-up final began he was facing a deficit against Thomas Symonds.

Blakeman turned the tables in time for the final hand, with Symonds all in holding A J. Blakeman had him covered and dominated with A Q in the hole, and the board bricked out for the queen-kicker to play.

More Winners Emerge During The First Week of Action

A total of 91 entries were made in the $25,000 guaranteed $400 no-limit hold’em ‘Giant Stack’ event, resulting in a final prize pool of $30,030 that was paid out among the top 12 finishers. Xiang Zou walked away with the largest chunk of the prize money, taking home $9,000 as the champion. This was the largest live tournament score yet for Zhou.

The $10,000 guarantee for event no. 3 on the schedule was also surpassed. A total of 63 entries were made in the $260 no-limit hold’em tournament, creating a prize pool of $12,913. The top eight finishers cashed, with Jackson Holtgraves ultimately walking away with the title, the trophy, and the top prize of $4,121.

This was the third recorded live tournament title for Holtgraves, who now has nearly $151,000 in lifetime cashes to his name. His largest came when he final tabled the 2022 WSOP Circuit Choctaw main event, earning $44,451 for a seventh-place finish.

The first non-hold’em event on the schedule was the $400 Omaha eight-or-better tournament. With 92 entries, the prize pool swelled to $30,360. The top 12 finishers made the money, with four-figure payouts for the final eight.

This event eventually concluded via a chip chop between two Canadian players who were both named Adam. The pair then did a flip for the trophy, with Adam Leiberman winning that hand to secure first-place honors.

Adam Schwartz, longtime poker podcast host, secured the largest payout as the chip leader at the time. He earned $7,915 to increase his career tournament earnings to over $250,000. David Levi and Kao Saechao, who each have seven figures in career tournament earnings, both made the final table but bowed out early.

The next tournament to wrap was the $400 H.E.R.O.S. event. The 93-entry turnout built a prize pool of $30,690. The final eight finishers earned four-figure payouts, with the largest being the $9,736 secured by eventual champion Daniel Anton.

This was the second-largest payday secured by Anton, who also won a mixed-game event during the 2022 Grand Summer Series for $11,935. He now has $90,836 in total career cashes.

Mystery Bounty Winner Joseph Koreski Headlines Later Champions

The third-largest guarantee of the series belonged to the $400 no-limit hold’em mystery bounty tournament. Only the kickoff event ($200,000) and the main event ($300,000) sported larger guaranteed prize pools.

A total of 564 entries were made across the six starting flights that ran from March 11-13, surpassing the $150,000 guarantee to create a total prize pool of $186,120. Of that, $129,720 was placed into the main prize pool while $56,400 was set aside for mystery bounty payouts.

The last player standing was Joseph Koreski, who earned $22,970 from the main prize pool plus bounties after striking a heads-up deal with Doyoon Hyun (2nd – $20,760). This was the largest score yet for Koreski. WSOP bracelet winner Cole Ferraro finished third for $11,560.

Nicolas Milgrom won the third and final non-hold’em event of the festival. The French-born player based out of Las Vegas overcame a field of 80 entries in the $400 Omaha eight-or-better and stud eight-or-better mixed tournament, earning $9,072 for the win. This was already the third live tournament title of 2024 for Milgrom, who also took down two Omaha eight-or-better events in February. He now has more than $206,000 in lifetime earnings after this latest victory. $400 H.E.R.O.S. event winner Daniel Anton finished fifth for $1,650.

While the $800 buy-in main event ran, there were two final $260 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments, each of which sported a $10,000 guarantee. The first drew 62 entries to end with a final prize pool of $12,710. The top eight finishers made the money, with the largest share going to eventual champion Scott Sisler.

This was the second title won in 2024 for Sisler, who came out on top in a $250 buy-in at the Missouri State Poker Championship in late February for a similar payday. He now has more than $485,000 in career tournament earnings to his name.

The final tournament to get underway saw another 62 entries made at $260 each. The $12,710 prize pool was again split among the final eight. Canada’s Justin Ouimette secured the top prize of $4,580 after defeating bracelet winner William Givens heads-up for the title.

Ouimette grew his career earnings to more than $515,000 in the process. Just four days prior to this win, he also took down a $600 buy-in event a bit further down the Las Vegas Strip.

Main Event Draws 459 Entries, Ends Via Five-Way Deal

The festival concluded with the completion of the $300,000 guaranteed $800 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. The field of 459 entries built a final prize pool of $321,300, with the largest share going to eventual champion Tim Krauskopf.

“It’s wonderful, the trophy is one of the big parts of it,” Krauskopf told PokerAtlas reporters after coming out on top. “It’s hard to take too much credit for it. You play a big stack, and then you play a little bit [of the] bully. You limp in, because you can afford the limp, and then if you hit you can really do some damage and inflict some pain. And then once you get a couple, they’re afraid of your bets. So I was able to get a couple of bluffs through too.”

Krauskopf is based out of the Chicago area and usually plays cash games at the $3-$5 and $5-$10 levels. This foray into the tournament streets ended up quite fruitful, as he was awarded $45,968 as the chip leader at the time of a five-way deal that brought this event to a close.

In addition to the impressive trophy and the prize money, Krauskopf also earned 360 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win.

This event played out over the course of five days, with four starting flights and a final day to play down to a champion. Just 38 players remained in contention when that final day began, with Krauskopf leading the pack. He was still out in front by the time the final table was set thanks to the elimination of two-time bracelet winner David Jackson in 10th place.

Armen Minasyan’s A-K was outrun by the K-Q suited of Graham Mathews to narrow the field to eight. Krauskopf then won an all-in with J-6 suited against the J-5 of short stack Jimmy Svardhagen (8th) to further grow his stack.

Brian Kim (7th) was the next to fall, with his 7 4 unable to overcome the 9 3 of David Wade in an all-in confrontation.

A classic preflop race led to the final knockout of the event, with Mathews’ 7-7 facing the A Q of Krauskopf. The board came down Q Q 6 10 4 and Krauskopf made trip queens to win the pot and send Mathews to the rail in sixth place ($11,630).

The final five then hashed out a deal that brought the event to an end.

About Resorts World

Resorts World Las Vegas opened in 2021, marking the first new resort on the legendary Las Vegas Strip in over a decade. The property was developed on the site of the old Stardust, which was demolished back in 2007.

The $4.3 billion property features a 117,000 square foot casino, and a 59-story hotel with three distinct Hotels. Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas, and Crockfords Las Vegas combine for nearly 3,500 total rooms.

The casino floor features 1,400 slot machines, 117 table games, and of course, the 30-table poker room.

In addition to gaming, the property offers plenty of other world-class entertainment options, with the 5,000-person Resorts World Theater, the Zouk Nightclub, and the Ayu Beach House. There are also more than 50 dining and drinking establishments on site.

For more information on Resorts World Las Vegas, check out the official website at www.RWLasVegas.com. ♠

Photo credits: PokerAtlas Tour.