Industry Insiders: Tommy LaRosa Talks Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series

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Apr 26, 2019 3 min read Last updated Apr 29, 2019

Las Vegas is the place to be for poker during the summer months, not only for the annual World Series of Poker but also for great tournament series around town. Those include series at the Golden Nugget, Planet Hollywood, and The Orleans, just to name a few.

There’s also the DeepStack Championship Poker Series at The Venetian from May 13-July 28. During that time more than $24 million in guarantee prize money will be awarded over the 11-week span, which will be comprised of 136 tournaments. Those include a variety of formats such as bounties, turbos, etc., as well as variants like PLO, H.O.R.S.E., Limit Omaha and more.

Other highlights include:

• $1,100 NLH Summer Kick Off $400K GTD (May 27-28)
• MSPT $1,100 NLH $3 Million GTD (June 3-8)
• $1,100 NLH Monster Stack $500K GTD (June 8-9)
• MSPT $1,600 NLH $3 Million GTD (June 17-21)
• $3,500 NLH $2,000,000 GTD (June 24)
• $600 NLH EpicStack $750,000 GTD (June 14-16 and June 21-23)
• $1,100 NLH Summer Saver I & II $1 Million GTD (July 5-6 & July 9-11)
• $5,000 Card Player Poker Tour NLH $2 Million GTD (July 16-20)

Chatting with Tommy

PokerNews recently caught up with The Venetian Director of Poker Operations Tommy LaRosa to chat about the DeepStack Championship Poker Series and what sort of changes players can expect from last year’s series.

PokerNews: What are some of the premiere Venetian events over the summer players can expect?

LaRosa: Without a doubt, both Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) events – the $1,100 NLH $3 Million Guarantee and $1,600 NLH $3 Million Guarantee – will be must-plays on everyone’s summer schedule. These events are always garner large fields and a lot of attention.

"Players should know that the MSPT events will have some of the largest fields all summer and I recommend registering the night before if possible."

You revealed that the summer series will be held in the main poker room this year and not in the convention space like last year. How come? Will the convention space ever make a comeback?

We weren’t able to host the DeepStack Championship Poker Series in the Sands Expo this year due to a group that is occupying the space until early June. If we waited until the group left, we’d miss some of the best weeks of the summer and that isn’t something we wanted to risk in the interest of our loyal players. We’re planning on getting the series back in the Sands Expo in 2020.

For those who might be concerned about long alternate lines, is there anything they can do to avoid them?

We’ll have 76 tables this summer, which will provide space to host the large fields we’re expecting and get the players seated. I also lightened up the schedule in key areas to help avoid some of those challenges. Players should know that the MSPT events will have some of the largest fields all summer and I recommend registering the night before if possible. However, players should keep in mind that all pre-registered stacks will be in play at the start of the event.

Similarly, are there any other changes players can expect from last year to this year (i.e. buy-ins, structures, number of tournaments, etc.)?

We didn’t institute any major changes compared to 2018, but we are introducing larger chips stacks into some events which should increase the value to our players even more.

How come it’s taken so long for the Venetian to release their summer tournament schedule this year?

There are quite a few considerations when developing a tournament schedule, and a main factor was working out the details for the location. Once that was nailed down, the schedule was the easy part.

What sort of things do you expect the Venetian to either be offering or doing this summer to set itself apart from the competition?

Everything from our dealers and floor staff, to our amenities like our self-service beverage station, to the spaciousness of the room, provide an unmatched experience for our players. Without a doubt, this schedule provides great value with some of the largest guarantees.

For more on The Venetian poker room and their summer series check out the Venetian Deepstack schedule on PokerNews, and the venetianpokerroom.blog.

_{Images courtesy of The Venetian.}

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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