Early Winners From Venetian's DeepStack Extravaganza I Poker Series

The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas’ DeepStack Extravaganza I is running Feb. 2-28, with more than $2 million in guaranteed prize money to be paid out across a total of 35 tournaments. Through 12 events completed so far, there have already been 2,658 entries made, resulting in $1,524,887 in prize money already awarded roughly a third of the way into the schedule.

There are still many exciting events remaining to be played, including the $500,000 guaranteed $2,500 buy-in Card Player Poker Tour no-limit hold’em main event, which will run from Feb. 19-22. Below is a look at the results from the early preliminary events.

Event 1 – $400 No-Limit Hold’em MonsterStack ($20k gtd.)

The kickoff event for this series was the $400 buy-in ni-limit hold’em ‘MonsterStack’ event. The tournament attracted a total 165 entries by the time registration was officially closed, easily surpassing the $20,000 guarantee in the process to create a final prize pool of $55,275.

In the end, it was Blake Wittington who emerged victorious with the title and the top prize of $13,000. The Cleveland, Tennessee resident was also awarded 125 Card Player Player of the Year points for the victory. Whittington was just getting started making deep runs at this series, though, so more on him later.

Like Whittington, runner-up Edgardo Rosario also made multiple final-table finishes in the early events of this series. He took home $9,500 and 104 POY points for his second-place showing in this event.

Event 2 – $200 No-Limit Hold’em Survivor ($6k gtd.)

The second event of the series was a $200 buy-in survivor tournament, in which the top 10 percent of the field all receives a payout of $1,600. A total of 105 players turned out, which meant that the top ten players all earned that payday, while 11th-place finisher Yu Yang took home $800.

Event 4 – $600 No-Limit Hold’em MonsterStack ($40k gtd.)

The third event on the schedule was a mega satellite event, but the next official tournament was a $600 buy-in no-limit hold’em ‘MonsterStack’ tournament that featured a $40,000 guarantee. With 171 entries made, the final prize pool grew to $87,210, which was paid out among the top 20 finishers.

It was none other than Blake Whittington who was awarded the title in this event, just one day after having won the kickoff tournament. He added another $16,189 and 156 POY points for his second victory in as many days. He moved inside the top 100 in the 2021 POY race as a result of his back-to-back first-place finishes.

Whittington ultimately struck a deal with three players remaining in this event, which resulted in him earning the largest payday and securing the title. Myung Shin earned $15,685 as the second-place finisher, while Francis Anderson cashed for $15,291 for his third-place showing.

Event 5 – $200 No-Limit Hold’em Survivor ($6k gtd.)

The second ‘survivor’ event of the series saw 124 players post a $200 buy-in, resulting in $19,840 to be paid out among the top 14 finishers. The top 12 all took home $1,600, while Jaymie Virtusio and Le-John Pai each earned $320 as the 13th and 14th finishers.

Event 6 – $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Mid-States Poker Tour Poker Bowl ($350k gtd.)

The $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em Mid-States Poker Tour Poker Bowl event ran from Feb. 4-6, with the final day action coinciding with professional football’s big game on Sunday. The tournament attracted 908 entries across two starting flights, blowing away the $350,000 guarantee to build a final prize pool of $880,760 which was paid out among the top 96 finishers.

The lion’s share of that money was awarded to eventual champion Johnny Oshana. The San Jose, California resident earned $130,000 and 912 POY points for the win, climbing into seventh place in the overall POY race standings as a result. This was his second POY-qualified final table finish of the year, having placed sixth in a $600 buy-in event in January for $1,868 and 32 points.

World Poker Tour main event winner Jordan Cristos finished second in the event, cashing for $119,232 to bring his lifetime tournament earnings to $3,069,772. This was his first final-table finish of the year, but it alone was enough to see him move into 13th place on the POY leaderboard for the time being.

The final four players made a deal that resulted in the two previously mentioned payouts, while both third-place finisher Joris Springael and fourth-place finisher Seungmook Jung cashed for $85,000. World Series of Poker bracelet winner Erik Cajelais placed eighth for $14,092.

Event 7 – $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em MonsterStack ($75k gtd.)

Isaac Choi came out on top of the single-day $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em MonsterStack event held on Feb. 6, outlasting a field of 193 total entries to win $49,879 and 336 POY points.

This was Choi’s second POY-qualified score of 2021, having placed second in a $400 buy-in event during January’s DeepStack Showdown series right here at Venetian Las Vegas. He now sits in 30th place in the rankings as a result.

The strong turnout in the event saw the $75,000 guarantee more than doubled, with the total prize pool growing to $188,175 by the time registration came to an end. Kickoff event runner-up finisher Edgardo Rosario earned $15,430 for a fourth-place showing in this event.

Event 8 – $200 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty ($6k gtd.)

The next event on the schedule was a $200 buy-in no-limit hold’em bounty tournament. The event’s $6,000 guarantee was more than doubled when a total of 93 entries were made, creating a $14,880 prize pool.

The last player standing was none other than WSOP bracelet winner and WPT main event champion Pat Lyons. He secured the last bounty to lock up the title and the top prize of $2,081.

Event 9 – $400 No-Limit Hold’em MonsterStack ($80k gtd.)

The next multi-day event of the series was the $400 buy-in no-limit hold’em MonsterStac event that ran from Feb. 8-10. The two starting flights saw a total of 534 entries made, more than doubling the $80,000 guarantee to build a final prize pool of $177,822.

The largest payday awarded in the tournament wen to Zilong Zhang, who took home $26,688 and the title after a five-handed chop that brought the event to its conclusion. This was the largest cash on the Rowland Heights, California resident’s tournament resume.

Six-time WSOP Circuit gold ring winner David Larson finished ninth for $3,379.

Event 10 – $200 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty ($6k gtd.)

The tenth event on the schedule was another $200 buy-in no-limit hold’em bounty tournament. This time around there were a total of 74 entries, creating a $11,840 prize pool that fell just shy of doubling the $6,000 guarantee.

Jason Taticzek of Murrieta, California captured the last bounty to secure the title and the top prize of $2,767 after defeating Peter Dailey heads-up for the win.

Event six champion Johnny Oshana placed fifth in this event for $586.

Event 11 – $200 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty ($6k gtd.)

The following day saw another $200 buy-n no-limit hold’em bounty event take place, with 73 entries this time around. The top eight finishers made the money, with Tao Dai securing the title and the top prize of $2,500.

Event 12 – $400 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty ($20k gtd.)

The $400 buy-in no-limit hold’em MonsterStack event held on Feb. 10 saw a total of 147 entries made, easily surpassing the $20,000 guarantee to create a prize pool of $49,245 that was paid out among the top 16 finishers.

In the end, the largest share of that money was awarded to Antonio Modacure, who secured $9,219 and the title after striking a three-handed deal to bring the tournament to a conclusion. This was the largest cash yet for the University Park, Illinois resident, who also took home 115 POY points for the win.

Event 13 – $200 No-Limit Hold’em Survivor ($6k gtd.)

The final tournament of this preliminary event roundup was a $200 buy-in no-limit hold’em survivor. A total of 71 entries in the event mean that the top eight finishers all secured $1,420 paydays.

Make sure to stay tuned to Card Player for more coverage of the 2021 DeepStack Extravaganza I. A complete schedule of the remaining events on offer, including the $500,000 guaranteed CPPT $2,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event running Feb. 19-22, can be found here.

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