First 2010 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Poker Series BeginsThe First VDSE of 2010 Will Conclude With a $5,000 PokerStars North American Poker Tour Championship Event |
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The first Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza of 2010 has begun at the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino. Five preliminary events have booked results so far, and there are still 18 prelims left on the schedule. The tournament series will conclude with the first PokerStars North American Poker Tour event to take place on U.S. soil, and it begins on Feb. 20. The no-limit hold’em championship event will feature a buy-in worth $5,000, and the final table will be filmed for television production.
There is a lot of poker that will be played at the Venetian poker room between now and the start of the NAPT championship event, and you can track all of the preliminary events and their results on the tournament’s landing page.
Highlights from this week include tournament wins by poker professionals Robert Cheung (pictured left) and Lars Bonding. Cheung won a $300 no-limit hold’em event, topping a field of 249 players to take home $17,300.
“I have not played as much tournament poker as I would like due to my business commitments at home (Vancouver British Columbia),” said Cheung after the win, “but I am going to play a lot more this year, including the upcoming NAPT and LAPC. Hope this is a good start.”
Bonding defeated 133 opponents in a $500 no-limit hold’em event to take home $19,396 in prize money. The largest turnout so far at the VDSE was a field of 422 players in the opening event, a $300 no-limit hold’em tournament.
Here is a look at the early preliminary results:
Event No. 1 ($300 no-limit hold’em): Gary Bolden — $28,709 (422 entries)
Event No. 2 ($300 no-limit hold’em): Carl Brochu — $24,463 (352 entries)
Event No. 3 ($300 no-limit hold’em): Robert Cheung — $17,300 (249 entries)
Event No. 4 ($500 no-limit hold’em): Lars Bonding — $19,396 (134 entries)
Event No. 5 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha): Anders Taylor — $8,685 (18 entries)
PokerStars NAPT Championship Event Details
Super satellites for the NAPT event will run on Feb. 19. There will be two $220 satellites with rebuys that begin at noon and 4 p.m., and one $540 satellite that begins at 8 p.m.
The $5,000 NAPT championship event begins the next day at noon. Players will begin with 30,000 in chips, and blinds will begin at 50-100. Levels will be 60 minutes long on day 1 and then increase to 75 minutes in length thereafter. Play will be 10-handed on day 1 and nine-handed thereafter. Here is a look at the full schedule for the NAPT championship event:
Saturday, Feb. 20: Day 1 (play eight levels)
Sunday, Feb. 21: Day 2 (play seven levels)
Monday, Feb. 22: Day 3 (play down to 27 players)
Tuesday, Feb. 23: Day 4 (play down to final table)
Wednesday, Feb. 24: Final table