Holtz, Romero, and Saechao Win Titles at the 2023 Venetian DeepStack Showdown

The 2023 DeepStack Showdown took place at Venetian Las Vegas between January 9 and February 12. It was a 57-poker series with millions in guarantees. 7,274 players signed up for the series excluding satellite entries and created a $3,544,569 prize pool.

The series featured two Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) tournaments that awarded players like Robin Visser titles. He won $10,939 in Event No.11: $500 NLH Epic Stack and $2,868 in Event No.18: $300 NLH Bounty.

George Heim from Anchorage won $9,058 in Event No.17: $400 NLH Epic Stack and $9,761 in Event No.21: $500 NLH Epic Stack. Steve won $3,746 in Event No.12: $400 Big O, Spencer got $21,075 in Event No.49: $600 NLH Monster Stack, and Peter Hengsakul won $7,068 in Event No.27: $400 NLH Epic Stack.

James Romero and Zack Fuentes Claim MSPT Venetian Titles

A $1,100 buy-in event was the first MSPT Venetian tournament. Zack Fuentes was the last player left at the table after beating 664 opponents and winning $117,060. A $1,600 MSPT Venetian tournament followed, attracting 721 players.

It lasted for three days and James Romero topped bagging $171,167 after beating Zack Donovan in a heads-up match. The latter got a $150,000 second-place consolation prize.

Romero informed MSPT officials that he has played live poker for five years and professional poker for 15 years. He has won a trophy in each hotel, an achievement that many players haven't made so far.

What Were the Top Finalists' Prizes?

James Romero from Portland, Oregon-$171,167
Zach Donovan from Franklin, Massachusetts-$150,000
Mark Fink from Sioux Falls, South Dakota-$95,537
Ha Duong from Vietnam-$68,110
Rob Wazwaz from Minneapolis, Minnesota-$51,777
Matt McEwan from Newport Beach, California-$38,347
Reg Powell from Elk River, Minnesota-$27,946
Spiro Lempesis from Elgin, Illinois-$21,781
Matt Stone from West Windsor, New Jersey-$17,261

Kao Saechao Bags Three Poker Titles

Kao Saechao won $9,546 on January 4 in Event No.47: $400 NLH Monster Stack. Still, he won $9,271 in Event No.3: $400 NLH Epic Stack a few days later and $5,143 in Event No.14: $400 PLO after defeating 38 rivals. The poker pro won $2,900 in Event No.40: $300 NLH Bounty.

Event No.3: $400 NLH Epic Stack Players' Prizes

Kao Saechao from Seattle, Washington-$9,271
Andrew Rodgers from Henderson, Nevada-$5,736
Jacob Perry from Branchville, New Jersey-$3,998
William Chan from New York-$2,926
James Clancy from Canada-$2,144
Paul Aichele from Walnut Creek, California-$2,144
Paul Dahl from Vancouver, Washington-$1,275
Dominick French from Canada-$1,072
Calem McNeil from Canada-$927

Mike Holtz Tops in Epic Stack

Event No.32: $500 NLH Epic Stack took place on January 25 and attracted 138 players who formed a $58,236 prize pool that the top 15 finalists shared. They included Jaime Sanchez, Kimberly Olenak, and Peter Hengsakul.

Mike Holtz beat Rob Goldstein in a heads-up battle bagging the $16,597 top prize and title. The former is a regular player at WSOP.com and uses the tag "BrockLesnar." He won the 2021 WSOP.com Player of the Year award and got his maiden WSOP bracelet in the WSOP Online Event No.17: $777 NLH Lucky 7s.