Venetian DeepStack Showdown Underway With $1.1 Million in Guarantees
- angryaces4
- Aug 14
- 5 min read
The August edition of the Venetian DeepStack Showdown is underway in Las Vegas, with nearly three weeks of tournament action still ahead and more than $1.1 million in guaranteed prize pools across the full series.
Running Aug. 3-31 at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the festival features 37 numbered tournaments and a schedule built primarily around affordable No-Limit Hold’em events. Buy-ins for the series range from $200 to $600, with six multi-flight tournaments carrying guarantees of $100,000 or more.
The early action has already produced a guarantee-beating $600 event, several tournament winners and some added value for players in events that have fallen short of their posted guarantees.
Daniel Sprung Wins First $150,000-Guaranteed Event
Daniel Sprung claimed one of the first major titles of the series by winning Event #5, the $600 No-Limit Hold’em tournament with a $150,000 guarantee.
The tournament attracted 325 entries and generated a $164,125 prize pool, clearing the guarantee by more than $14,000. Sprung earned $28,654 for the victory, while Lithuania's Tomas Dailidonis collected $26,250 as runner-up. Pokerati reported that the final two players reached a heads-up deal before Sprung was declared the winner.
The field also included several recognizable tournament players deep in the results. Barry Shulman finished fourth for $12,096, John Riordan placed sixth for $6,821, James Collopy finished 10th for $2,633 and Kathy Liebert took 18th for $1,542.
Sprung's victory gave the series its first major multi-flight champion and provided an early sign that the lower buy-in DeepStack Showdown can still generate substantial payouts after the Las Vegas summer tournament season.
$300 Event Draws 589 Entries and Creates an Overlay
One of the most interesting developments of the series came in Event #12, a $300 No-Limit Hold’em tournament carrying another $150,000 guarantee.
Across six starting flights held Aug. 10-12, the tournament attracted 589 total entries. Venetian Poker reported that 77 players advanced to the Aug. 13 Day 2 restart, with the final prize pool remaining at the guaranteed $150,000.
That created added value for the remaining field.
The official tournament structure states that $240 from each $300 entry goes into the prize pool, with $60 withheld for house fees and staff. At 589 entries, player contributions accounted for $141,360 of the prize pool. That means the $150,000 guarantee resulted in an $8,640 overlay — money added beyond the amount generated by entries.
All 77 players returning for Day 2 were already in the money under the tournament structure. As of late Aug. 13, Card Player had not yet posted official final results for the event.
The overlay is particularly noteworthy for players following the remainder of the schedule because several more six-figure guarantees are still ahead.
Early Events Have Produced More Added Money
Event #12 is not the only tournament in which players have benefited from a guarantee.
Official Venetian result sheets show that the casino added money to several early bounty tournaments after their entry-generated prize pools came up short. Event #2 received $2,480 in added money, while Event #4 received $2,160. Event #7 required another $1,520 to reach its guarantee.
The $200 PokerAtlas Valuetown Bounty on Aug. 8 attracted 107 players and finished with a $20,000 prize pool, including $2,880 added by The Venetian. Wuji Tiger Yuan of Austin, Texas, won the event for $3,943, not including any additional bounty value he may have collected during play.
Those overlays do not guarantee similar added money in future tournaments, but they give players another reason to monitor field sizes as the festival continues.
More Six-Figure Guarantees Are Still Ahead
The DeepStack Showdown is not close to finished. Several of the largest remaining tournaments begin during the second half of August.
$400 No-Limit Hold’em — $100,000 guaranteed, Aug. 14-17
$250 No-Limit Hold’em — $125,000 guaranteed, Aug. 17-20
$300 No-Limit Hold’em — $100,000 guaranteed, Aug. 21-25
$300 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em — $20,000 guaranteed, Aug. 26
$250 No-Limit Hold’em — $100,000 guaranteed, Aug. 27-31
The next major event begins Friday, Aug. 14, when the $400 No-Limit Hold’em tournament opens with the first of three starting flights. Players begin with 40,000 chips, play 40-minute levels and have nine levels plus the following break to enter. Players who reach Day 2 are in the money, with the survivors returning Monday, Aug. 17 to play down to a winner.
That event will be another field worth watching. Because only $330 of each $400 entry goes into the prize pool, roughly 304 entries are needed to generate $100,000 from buy-ins alone. Whether the field surpasses that mark will determine if the guarantee again provides additional value.
DeepStack Showdown Keeps Las Vegas Tournament Poker Moving
The August DeepStack Showdown occupies an important spot on the Las Vegas poker calendar. It began one day after the Venetian DeepStack Championship concluded its lengthy summer run and gives players a lower-cost tournament option through the end of August.
Rather than relying on four-figure and five-figure buy-ins, this series concentrates on $200 to $600 tournaments while still attaching six-figure guarantees to its largest multi-flight events. That combination gives recreational players and regular tournament grinders several opportunities to compete for meaningful prize pools without entering the higher buy-in events that dominate much of the summer schedule.
With more than two weeks remaining, the strongest storylines are still developing. The final result from the $300, $150,000-guaranteed event is still to come, and four additional $100,000-plus guaranteed tournaments remain on the calendar.
For players in Las Vegas, the next several field sizes may be especially worth watching. Early results have already shown that some DeepStack Showdown guarantees are creating genuine added value when participation falls short of the amount needed to fund the advertised prize pool.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2026 Venetian DeepStack Showdown?
The August DeepStack Showdown runs from Aug. 3 through Aug. 31, 2026, at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
How much is guaranteed during the series?
The Venetian advertises more than $1.1 million in guaranteed tournament prize pools across the August series.
Who won the $600 DeepStack Showdown event?
Daniel Sprung won the $600 No-Limit Hold’em $150,000-guaranteed Event #5, earning $28,654 from a $164,125 prize pool.
Did the $300 $150,000-guaranteed event have an overlay?
Yes. The event drew 589 entries and finished with the guaranteed $150,000 prize pool. Because $240 from each entry went to the prize pool, the entries generated $141,360, implying $8,640 in added money to meet the guarantee.
Sources
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas official DeepStack Showdown schedule, structures and tournament results.
Venetian Poker Room official tournament updates.
Pokerati tournament coverage.
Card Player tournament database.
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