Craig Mason Wins WPT Venetian Fall Championship for $358,800

The WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship, with a $5,000 buy-in, attracted 510 entries over three starting flights, pushing the prizepool to $2,346,000, surpassing the originally guaranteed $2 million.

The top 64 players cashed, and the paid positions featured many well-known faces from the poker world, including Sam Soverel, Joe McKeehen, and Jesse Lonis.

Garnering significant attention was the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who once again attempted to capture his first World Poker Tour title. The legendary “Poker Brat” had to battle hard to advance from Day 1C, but after an impressive Day 2, his prospects improved significantly. His journey ended in 20th place, earning him $22,200.

Shortly after being eliminated, Hellmuth shared his feelings on the social network X. Despite his disappointment, he refused to complain: “Poker can be frustrating sometimes. I just lost a classic flip, A-Q against J-J. I have no regrets after this tournament and feel I played great.” 

The six-player final table saw the eventual winner, Craig Mason, entering from 5th place. With the field narrowed down to the final three players, an arrangement was made for prize distribution, leaving the trophy up for grabs.

In the decisive hand on the flop 9 s 6 d 3 h, Affleck went all-in, and Mason, with an almost identical stack, called with J d 9 d, putting him ahead against Affleck’s A s Q c. The 8 d on the turn and 4 h on the river confirmed the victory for Mason.

In addition to the $358,800 prize, Craig Mason secured the Venetian Lion trophy, his name etched forever on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, and he also received a ticket to the final WPT World Championship at Wynn valued at $10,400. 

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Final Table Results for the $5,000 WPT Venetian Fall Championship:

*3-way deal 

​​​​​​​Sources: WPT, Flickr

#result