From January 9 through February 12, Venetian Las Vegas played host to the 2023 DeepStack Showdown, which was a 57-event series that offered millions in guarantees
All told, the series catered to 7,274 entrants (not including satellite entries) and awarded $3,544,569 in prize money. The series, which also hosted a pair of Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) events, crowed winners such as Robin Visser, who first won Event #11: $500 NLH Epic Stack for $10,939 and then three days later won Event #18: $300 NLH Bounty for $2,868. Likewise, George Heim of Anchorage, Alaska won two titles in Event #17: $400 NLH Epic Stack for $9,058 and Event #21: $500 NLH Epic Stack for $9,761.
Others to claim titles were Steve Federspiel (Event #12: $400 Big O for $3,746), Peter Hengsakul (Event #27: $400 NLH Epic Stack for $7,068), and Spencer Champlin (Event #49: $600 NLH Monster Stack for $21,075.
Here are some other notable winners from the series.
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Kao Saechao Wins Three Titles!
Back on January 4 in the DeepStack Poker NYE Series, Washington’s Kao Saechao won Event #47: $400 NLH Monster Stack for $9,546. By the end of the month, he was capturing an incredible three more titles during the DeepStack Showdown.
Less than a week after his first win of the month, Saechao topped an 87-entry field to win Event #3: $400 NLH Epic Stack for $9,271. Five days later, he was back at it navigating his way through a 39-entry field to win Event #14: $400 PLO for $5,143.
Finally, Saechao topped a 35-entry field on January 30 to win Event #40: $300 NLH Bounty for $2,900.
Event #3 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kao Saechao | Seattle, WA | $9,271 |
| 2 | Andrew Rodgers | Henderson, NV | $5,736 |
| 3 | Jacob Perry | Branchville, NJ | $3,998 |
| 4 | William Chan | New York, NY | $2,926 |
| 5 | James Clancy | Canada | $2,144 |
| 6 | Paul Aichele | Walnut Creek, CA | $2,144 |
| 7 | Paul Dahl | Vancouver, WA | $1,275 |
| 8 | Dominick French | Canada | $1,072 |
| 9 | Calem McNeil | Canada | $927 |
Fuentes & Romero Win MSPT Venetian Titles
The firstMSPT Venetian tournament of the series was at the $1,100 buy-in price point and it was Zack Fuentes topping a 665-entry field to win the tournament for $117,060.
Straight after, a $1,600 MSPT Venetian took place and that tournament attracted 721 runners. After three long days of play, PokerCoaching.com coach James Romero came out on top to win $171,167 after a heads-up deal with Zach Donovan, who took home $150,000 for finishing in second place.
“It feels great man, I finally have a lion trophy,” Romero told MSPT officials after the win. “I’ve been a poker pro for 15 years, a live pro for about 5 of those years,” when talking about his background in high-stakes poker tournaments. “I now have a trophy from every hotel and it feels good man.”
$1,600 MSPT Venetian Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Romero | Portland, OR | $171,167* |
| 2 | Zach Donovan | Franklin, MA | $150,000* |
| 3 | Mark Fink | Sioux Falls, SD | $95,537 |
| 4 | Ha Duong | Vietnam | $68,110 |
| 5 | Rob Wazwaz | Minneapolis, MN | $51,777 |
| 6 | Matt McEwan | Newport Beach, CA | $38,347 |
| 7 | Reg Powell | Elk River, MN | $27,946 |
| 8 | Spiro Lempesis | Elgin, IL | $21,781 |
| 9 | Matt Stone | West Windsor, NJ | $17,261 |
*Denotes heads-up deal.
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Mike “BrockLesnar” Holtz Victorious in Epic Stack
On January 25, Event #32: $500 NLH Epic Stack attracted 138 runners and offered up a $58,236 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 finishers. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Jaime Sanchez (11th – $1,083), Peter Hengsakul (13th – $996), and Kimberly Olenak (14th – $996).
At the final table, it was Mike Holtz defeating Rob Goldstein in heads-up play to win the title and $16,597 prize. If that name sounds familiar it’s probably because you recognize him from his online prowess, specifically on WSOP.com where he plays under the name “BrockLesnar.”
He was the 2021 WSOP.com Player of the Year – he spoke to PokerNews about that accomplishment here – and then in October of last year, he won the WSOP Online Event #17: $777 NLH Lucky 7s by defeating Jordyn “ThLstCrdBndr” Miller during a short heads-up battle. That gave him his first bracelet and $76,157. Now, Holtz has a live title on his poker résumé.
Event #32 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Holtz | Las Vegas, NV | $16,597 |
| 2 | Rob Goldstein | Las Vegas, NV | $10,774 |
| 3 | Ty Kohler | Reno, NV | $7,629 |
| 4 | Michael Shan | Tigard, OR | $5,387 |
| 5 | William Shalhoob | Mandan, ND | $3,844 |
| 6 | Bobby Poe | Las Vegas, NV | $2,795 |
| 7 | Peter Dailey | Las Vegas, NV | $2,009 |
| 8 | Brandon Zuidema | Fontana, CA | $1,485 |
| 9 | Thomas Ratkovich | Kihei, HI | $1,281 |
2023 DeepStack Showdown Winners
| Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/9/23 | Event #1: $400 NLH Seniors | 109 | $36,515 | Robert Goldstein | Las Vegas, NV | $9,361 |
| 1/9/23 | Event #2: $300 NLH Bounty | 63 | $15,750 | Azime Mitchell | Las Vegas, NV | $3,309 |
| 1/10/23 | Event #3: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 87 | $28,971 | Kao Saechao | Seattle, WA | $9,271 |
| 1/10/23 | Event #4: $300 NLH Bounty | 38 | $10,000 | Alexander Hoops | Lima, OH | $2,914 |
| 1/11/23 | Event #5: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 113 | $37,629 | Ryan Shiffman | Warners, NY | $7,761 |
| 1/11/23 | Event #6: $300 NLH Bounty Survivor | 74 | $18,500 | 7 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 1/12/23 | Event #7: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 103 | $34,299 | Robert Cournoyer | Las Vegas, NV | $6,209 |
| 1/12/23 | Event #8: $300 NLH Bounty | 66 | $16,500 | Robin Mastrangelo | Las Vegas, NV | $1,754 |
| 1/13/23 | Event #9: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 92 | $38,824 | Anatoly Zharnitsky | Tampa, FL | $11,648 |
| 1/13/23 | Event #10: $300 NLH Bounty | 45 | $11,250 | 5 winners | N/A | $1,300 |
| 1/14/23 | Event #11: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 81 | $34,182 | Robin Visser | Netherlands | $10,939 |
| 1/14/23 | Event #12: $400 Big O | 51 | $17,340 | Steve Federspiel | Riverside, IA | $3,746 |
| 1/15/23 | Event #13: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 91 | $30,303 | Jeffrey Nowling | Houston, TX | $5,850 |
| 1/15/23 | Event #14: $400 PLO | 39 | $13,260 | Kao Saechao | Seattle, WA | $5,143 |
| 1/16/23 | Event #15: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 84 | $27,972 | Luis Gamboa Quilcate | Peru | $8,952 |
| 1/16/23 | Event #16: $300 NLH Bounty | 49 | $12,250 | Josh White | Cabot, AR | $3,123 |
| 1/17/23 | Event #17: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 85 | $28,305 | George Heim | Anchorage, AK | $9,058 |
| 1/17/23 | Event #18: $300 NLH Bounty | 45 | $11,250 | Robin Visser | Netherlands | $2,868 |
| 1/18/23 | Event #19: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 64 | $21,312 | Joseph Cutler | Marlton, NJ | $6,741 |
| 1/18/23 | Event #20: $300 NLH Bounty Survivor | 41 | $10,250 | 3 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 1/19/23 | Event #21: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 92 | $38,824 | George Heim | Anchorage, AK | $9,761 |
| 1/19/23 | Event #22: $300 NLH Bounty | 45 | $11,250 | Christopher Bisda | Las Vegas, NV | $2,503 |
| 1/20/23 | Event #23: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 118 | $49,796 | Yossi Krispin | Cupertino, CA | $14,939 |
| 1/20/23 | Event #24: $400 PLO 8/B | 60 | $20,400 | Zachary Vigil | Cordova, NM | $7,649 |
| 1/21/23 | Event #25: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 102 | $43,044 | Brian Barros Vazquez | Stone Park, IL | $9,318 |
| 1/21/23 | Event #26: $400 Limit Omaha 8/B | 37 | $12,395 | Rafael Concepcion | Las Vegas, NV | $4,386 |
| 1/22/23 | Event #27: $400 NLH Epic Stack | 93 | $30,969 | Peter Hengsakul | Las Vegas, NV | $7,068 |
| 1/22/23 | Event #28: $300 NLH Bounty | 48 | $12,000 | Steven Stowe | Gilbert, AZ | $3,060 |
| 1/25/23 | Event #29: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 510 | $168,300 | Douglas Shamlin | Cary, NC | $32,473 |
| 1/23/23 | Event #30: $300 NLH Bounty | 58 | $14,500 | Robert Buchanana | Wilmington, DE | $3,263 |
| 1/24/23 | Event #31: $300 NLH Bounty | 38 | $10,000 | Karim Jahangard-Mahboob | Pasadena, CA | $2,402 |
| 1/25/23 | Event #32: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 138 | $58,236 | Mike Holtz | Las Vegas, NV | $16,597 |
| 1/25/23 | Event #33: $300 NLH Bounty Survivor | 40 | $10,000 | 4 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 1/29/23 | Event #34: $600 NLH Ultimate Stack | 576 | $290,880 | Dorian Rios Pavon | Miami, FL | $53,872 |
| 1/26/23 | Event #35: $300 NLH Bounty | 48 | $12,000 | John Caporusso | Las Vegas, NV | $3,060 |
| 1/27/23 | Event #36: $300 NLH Bounty | 64 | $16,000 | Daniel Butler | Moab, UT | $2,382 |
| 1/29/23 | Event #37: $500 NLH Epic Stack Freezeout | 94 | $39,668 | Barry Raymos | Fairfield, CA | $9,571 |
| 1/29/23 | Event #38: $300 NLH Bounty | 53 | $13,250 | Joseph Dean | Evans, CO | $2,562 |
| 2/1/23 | Event #39: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 352 | $116,160 | George Ignat | Glendale, AZ | $22,519 |
| 1/30/23 | Event #40: $300 NLH Bounty | 35 | $10,000 | Kao Saechao | Seattle, WA | $2,900 |
| 1/31/23 | Event #41: $300 NLH Bounty | 42 | $10,500 | Willie Benton | Bakersfield, CA | $2,677 |
| 2/1/23 | Event #42: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 78 | $32,916 | Alexander Tafesh | Las Vegas, NV | $11,192 |
| 2/1/23 | Event #43: $300 NLH Bounty Survivor | 47 | $11,750 | 4 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 2/5/23 | Event #44: $800 NLH Ultimate Stack | 732 | $505,080 | Jason Obinger | Las Vegas, NV | $90,893 |
| 2/2/23 | Event #45: $300 NLH Survivor | 89 | $22,250 | 8 winners | N/A | $2,500 |
| 2/3/23 | Event #46: $300 NLH Survivor | 77 | $19,250 | 10 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 2/5/23 | Event #47: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 157 | $66,254 | Konstantin Polin | Las Vegas, NV | $18,304 |
| 2/5/23 | Event #48: $300 NLH Bounty Survivor | 81 | $20,250 | 8 winners | N/A | $2,000 |
| 2/6/23 | Event #49: $600 NLH Monster Stack | 145 | $73,950 | Spencer Champlin | Scarborough, ME | $21,075 |
| 2/6/23 | Event #50: $300 NLH Survivor | 98 | $24,500 | 8 winners | N/A | $2,500 |
| 2/9/23 | Event #51: $1,100 MSPT Poker Bowl | 665 | $117,060 | Zack Fuentes | Austin, TX | $117,060 |
| 2/7/23 | Event #52: $300 NLH Survivor | 100 | $25,000 | 10 winners | N/A | $2,500 |
| Event #53: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 2/11/23 | Event #54: $1,600 MSPT Poker Bowl | 721 | $1,027,425 | James Romero | Portland, OR | $170,167 |
| Event #55: Mega Satellite | ||||||
| 2/11/23 | Event #56: $1,100 NLH Monster Bounty | 140 | $135,800 | James Prosser | England | $23,597 |
| 2/12/23 | Event #57: $300 NLH Bounty | 81 | $20,250 | Jason Faircloth | Houston, TX | $3,126 |
What’s Coming Up Next?
The Venetian is already hosting their DeepStack Extravaganza I, which kicked off on February 13 and will run through March 5. That series will offer more than $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools across 35 events.
Click here for a look at the full DeepStack Extravaganza I schedule.
*Images courtesy of Venetian.
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.