It was an exciting final day of festivities at Resorts World Las Vegas, as the first PokerStars North American Poker Tour stop in over a decade ended.
While dozens of tables were in the running on the final day across several events, all eyes and cameras were directed toward the final table of the $5300 NAPT High Roller. This event played down to just six players a day earlier, with Nadya Magnus busting on the final table bubble.
Thousands of fans tuned in to PokerStars’ live stream to watch the final moments of action from the NAPT, and they were given quite a show, with the likes of Jesse Lonis and Shannon Shorr in contention for the title.
Eventually, a far less experienced New Yorker, Samuel Laskowitz, lifted the High Roller trophy and took home $180,850 for his troubles. Despite starting the day with the chip lead, Lonis had to be satisfied with a third-place finish, while Shorr could not close the deal in a heads-up match against Laskowitz.
The 2023 NAPT Las Vegas festival is now officially over. However, PokerStars will be running a few charity events later in the week related to the historic return of Formula 1 to Las Vegas at the same venue.
Poker fans and players will eagerly await the announcement of further PokerStars NAPT stops, which we expect to appear on the calendar for early next year.
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Laskowitz Turns the Tables on Lonis
When the final day of the NAPT High Roller started, it was Jesse Lonis, who had won the $10,300 Super High Roller just days ago, with the chip lead and all the momentum in his favor, while Laskowitz followed in second place by chip counts.
Very early in the day, Lonis was able to provide the first elimination of the official final table, taking out Alex Condon with his pocket Jacks. Shannon Shorr built up his stack by eliminating John Andress, and just like that, the event was down to four players.
The two players traded chip leads back and forth, but Lonis lost momentum after being forced to fold a couple of hands. In the end, Lonis got all his chips in with A6 against A2 of Laskowitz, but the board improved the New Yorker and saw Jesse go home in third.
The heads-up match was fairly short, with Shannon Shorr unable to build up from his small starting stack. He got his last 11 big blinds into the pot holding QT, only to be dominated by Laskowitz’s KT, which was good enough for the win.
With that hand, Laskowitz was able to put the final touch on his victory, overcoming a field of 150 and winning the most significant trophy of his fairly short poker career.
Here are the full standings and payouts for the final six players in NAPT Las Vegas High Roller:
| Position | Player | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Laskowitz | USA | $180,850 |
| 2 | Shannon Shorr | USA | $113,030 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | USA | $80,740 |
| 4 | John Riordan | USA | $62,105 |
| 5 | John Andress | Spain | $47,770 |
| 6 | Alexander Condon | USA | $36,745 |
Cody Raymond and Timothy Ruthenford Win on the Sidelines
While the NAPT High Roller was easily the most notable event played on the final day of the Las Vegas NAPT, plenty of action was also going on at the side tables.
The $550 PokerStars Cup played down to a champion yesterday, with Canadian Cody Raymond officially taking down the title, but only after making a deal with Karim Ghozlani from Switzerland and American Andrew Roland, which saw all three players take home just over $40k in cash.
The $1100 Mystery Bounty event saw 265 players sign up to play, 41 of whom made the money. Champion Timothy Ruthenford took home $27,650 for his troubles but only managed to score $3k in bounty prizes.
The second-place finisher, Quing Liu, was the day’s big winner, cashing $38,370 in total, $23k of which came from bounty prizes.
The absolute final event of the festival, $1100 NLH Last Chance Super Hyper Turbo, received 41 entries in total and saw poker veteran Griffin Benger secure the title and $17,250 in prize money.
With this event wrapped up, it was time to pull up the curtains at the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room, which hosted a highly successful NAPT festival, one of many to come, according to the poker room’s official Twitter page.
More NAPT Festivals Coming Soon?
The return of NAPT came somewhat unexpectedly but left those who attended it with great impressions, as PokerStars and Resorts Las Vegas did a fine job of replicating the player experience we are used to seeing at PokerStars live events.
Further stops of the new NAPT season have not yet been announced, but with NAPT Las Vegas now behind us, some updates will likely be available in the coming weeks.
Until then, PokerStars offers plenty of action for both international players and those in select US states through its online platform, so make sure to head on over and sign up for your free account and a chance to qualify for future NAPT events ahead of your competitors.
