The 2024 DeepStack Extravaganza I series kicked off on January 31 at Venetian Las Vegas – which is slated to open a new poker room this summer – and wrapped up back on February 18.
The 31-event series had some big winners including Rick Whitesell of Vancouver, Washington, who was the only two-time champ of the series. He first topped a field of 40 runners to win Event #2: $200 NLH Bounty for $1,120, and then four days later bested a 52-entry field and took down Event #8: $200 NLH Bounty for $1,572.
Others to claim big paydays were Steve Krupnick (Event #6: $800 NLH Ultimate Stack for $56,992), Tyler Westra (Event #11: $500 NLH Epic Stack for $13,445), Sean Berman (Event #13: $1,100 MSPT Mystery Bounty for $37,479), and David Ouellette (Event #31: $200 NLH Bounty for $1,672).
Here’s a look at a few of the other big winners from the 2024 DeepStack Extravaganza I.
Check out the Venetian Poker Room review here on PokerNews!
Jeremy Becker Does It Again
Jeremy Becker, who has never studied a solver, is a crusher when it comes to the lower buy-in tournaments across Las Vegas; so much so, that Daniel Negreanu facilitated a big cross book bet between the young phenom and Landon Tice, another successful young crusher who came up in the solver world.
Becker took down yet another tournament back on February 13 when he topped a field of 202 entries in Event #21: $400 NLH Epic Bounty, good for a $8,379 payday. Becker did so by defeating well-known Venetian grinder Kao Saechao in heads-up play.
Others to cash the tournament were Jerome Finck (4th place – $2,953), Mario Fauceglia (11th place – $703), and Mohamed Serry (17th place – $538).
Event #21 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy Becker | Tampa, FL | $8,379 |
| 2 | Kao Saechao | Seattle, WA | $5,786 |
| 3 | Nadav Yakobi | Israel | $4,087 |
| 4 | Jerome Finck | France | $2,953 |
| 5 | Vincent Piscitelli | Branford, CT | $2,185 |
| 6 | Haribhai Gopaul | Corpus Christi, TX | $1,656 |
| 7 | John Vigliotti | Branford, CT | $1,286 |
| 8 | Robenito Roxas | Las Vegas, NV | $1,024 |
| 9 | Joseph Jacobsen | Alpharetta, CA | $837 |
Andrew Rodgers Wins CPPT Event for $103,936
The biggest tournament on the schedule was the $1,600 buy-in Event #26: CardPlayer Poker Tour, which had 458 entrants and awarded a $650,360 prize pool to the top 59 finishers. Among those to cash were WPT World Champion Daniel Sepiol (4th place – $43,976), the aforementioned Jeremy Becker (6th place – $24,788), Aaron Massey (11th place – $9,503), Scott Ball (17th place – $6,490), and Mitchell Halverson (31st place – $4,746).
In the end, it was Alaska’s Andrew Rodgers defeating Ankush Mandavia in heads-up play to win the tournament for a six-figure payday of $103,936.
Event #26 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Rodgers | Anchorage, AK | $103,936 |
| 2 | Ankush Mandavia | Richmond, TX | $95,149 |
| 3 | Richard Collins | Hampton Cove, AL | $59,914 |
| 4 | Daniel Sepiol | Las Vegas, NV | $43,976 |
| 5 | Zichuan Huang | Belmont, CA | $32,766 |
| 6 | Jeremy Becker | Tampa, FL | $24,788 |
| 7 | Zachary Donovan | Henderson, NV | $19,046 |
| 8 | Dan Ciltan | Romania | $14,865 |
| 9 | Edward Holstein Jr. | Las Vegas, NV | $11,790 |
Louise Francoeur Nabs One of the Last Titles
One of the last tournaments took place on February 18. Event #30: $500 NLH Epic Bounty attracted 100 players and offered up a $42,200 prize pool, of which $14,700 were bounties. Some players to cash the tournament but fell short of the final table were David Button (10th place – $727), Samy Dighlawi (11th place – $727), Warwick Dunnett (12th place – $687), and Bradley Henry (13th place – $687).
Coming out on top was none other than Las Vegas grinder Louise Francoeur, who defeated Israel’s Nadav Yakobi in heads-up play to win the title and $6,623 first-place prize.
Event #30 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louise Francoeur | Las Vegas, NV | $6,623 |
| 2 | Nadav Yakobi | Israel | $5,987 |
| 3 | Aram Torossian | Cypress, CA | $3,478 |
| 4 | Konstantin Polin | Las Vegas, NV | $2,482 |
| 5 | Wing Yam | Orlando, FL | $1,835 |
| 6 | Carl Oman | Vancouver, WA | $1,408 |
| 7 | Daniel Auckland | Burien, WA | $1,408 |
| 8 | Brian Brenneke | Leo, IN | $931 |
| 9 | Rambo Halpern | Portland, OR | $805 |
Eric Baldwin Goes Back-to-Back at MSPT Venetian; Umut Ozturk Wins Tight POY Race
2024 DeepStack Showdown January Winners
| Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Overlay | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/31/24 | Event #1: $400 NLH Ultimate Stack | 387 | $127,710 | $0 | Francis Anderson | Las Vegas, NV | $21,500 |
| 1/29/24 | Event #2: $200 NLH Bounty | 40 | $6,400 | $0 | Rick Whitesell | Vancouver, WA | $1,120 |
| 1/30/24 | Event #3: $200 NLH Bounty | 57 | $9,120 | $0 | Brian Wise | Arlington, VA | $1,190 |
| 1/31/24 | Event #4: $400 NLH Epic Bounty | 137 | $45,621 | $0 | Charles Sims | St. George, UT | $6,318 |
| 1/31/24 | Event #5: $200 NLH Bounty | 55 | $8,800 | $0 | Carol Harmon | Seward, AK | $1,414 |
| 2/4/24 | Event #6: $800 NLH Ultimate Stack | 460 | $317,400 | $0 | Steven Krupnick | Miami Beach, FL | $56,992 |
| 2/1/24 | Event #7: $200 NLH Bounty | 62 | $9,920 | $0 | Michael Brenneman | Canada | $2,000 |
| 2/2/24 | Event #8: $200 NLH Bounty | 52 | $8,320 | $0 | Rick Whitesell | Vancouver, WA | $1,572 |
| 2/3/24 | Event #9: $200 NLH Bounty | 50 | $8,000 | $0 | Lauchlin McKinnon | Las Vegas, NV | $1,285 |
| 2/4/24 | Event #10: $200 NLH Milestone Survivor | 51 | $8,160 | $0 | 5 winners | N/A | $1,600 |
| 2/5/24 | Event #11: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 123 | $51,906 | $0 | Tyler Westra | Sioux Falls, SD | $13,445 |
| 2/5/24 | Event #12: $200 NLH Milestone Survivor | 39 | $6,240 | $0 | 3 winners | N/A | $1,600 |
| 2/8/24 | Event #13: $1,100 MSPT Mystery Bounty | 318 | $306,870 | $0 | Sean Berman | Los Angeles, CA | $37,479 |
| 2/6/24 | Event #14: $200 NLH Milestone Survivor | 59 | $9,440 | $0 | 3 winners | N/A | $1,600 |
| Event #15: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| 2/10/24 | Event #16: $1,600 MSPT | 360 | $513,000 | $0 | Terry Fleischer | Henderson, NV | $98,101 |
| Event #17: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| 2/10/24 | Event #18: $1,100 Monster Bounty | 106 | $102,820 | $0 | Dineshkumar Purohit | Mechanicsburg, PA | $19,227 |
| 2/12/24 | Event #19: $600 NLH Seniors | 158 | $80,580 | $0 | Tracy Sibson | Muskegon, MI | $15,926 |
| 2/12/24 | Event #20: $200 NLH Bounty | 65 | $10,400 | $0 | Barry Schultz | Arlington, TN | $2,189 |
| 2/13/24 | Event #21: $400 NLH Epic Bounty | 202 | $30,100 | $0 | Jeremy Becker | Tampa, FL | $8,379 |
| 2/13/24 | Event #22: $200 NLH Milestone Survivor | 56 | $8,960 | $0 | 5 winners | N/A | $1,600 |
| 2/14/24 | Event #23: $500 NLH Epic Stack | 104 | $43,888 | $0 | Nathaniel Zoller | Superior, CO | $8,000 |
| Event #24: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| Event #25: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| 2/18/24 | Event #26: $1,600 CardPlayer Poker Tour | 458 | $650,360 | $0 | Andrew Rodgers | Anchorage, AK | $103,936 |
| Event #27: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| Event #28: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| Event #29: Mega Satellite | |||||||
| 2/18/24 | Event #30: $500 NLH Epic Bounty | 100 | $14,700 | $0 | Louise Francoeur | Las Vegas, NV | $6,623 |
| 2/18/24 | Event #31: $200 NLH Bounty | 44 | $7,040 | $0 | David Ouellette | Dickinson, ND | $1,672 |
What’s Coming Up Next?
The next series is already underway at the Venetian. The 2024 DeepStack Showdown (March), which kicked off back on February 19, offers more than $1.7 million in guaranteed prize pools through March 31.
Click here to view the entire schedule.
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.