The halfway point has been reached for the 10-event PokerAtlas Tour stop running from March 7-18 at Resorts World Las Vegas. Five winners have been decided so far at the festival, which features more than $700,000 in guaranteed prize money to be paid out along the way. Earlier this week we recapped the $200,000 guaranteed $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em kickoff event won by Benton Blakeman.
Benton Blakeman is primarily a cash-game player, but he made one of the few times per year he jumps into a tournament a good choice when he took down the title in the PokerAtlas Tour Madness Kickoff event at Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip. Blakeman was awarded $42,460 as the winner to take his career tournament earnings up to $274,421.
Below is a look at the four other tournaments that have played down to a winner so far.
Event 2 – $400 No-Limit Hold’em Giant Stack $25K GTD
A total of 91 entries were made in the
$25,000 guaranteed $400 buy-in no-limit hold’em ‘Giant Stack’ event, resulting in a final prize pool of $30,030 that was paid out among the top 12 finishers.
Xiang Zou walked away with the largest chunk of the prize money, taking home $9,000 as the champion. This was the largest live tournament score yet for Zhou, who also earned 86 Card Player Player of the Year points after coming out on top.
World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Anatoly Zharnitsky finished fifth for $1,802. This was his 117th recorded in-the-money finish, with more than $487,000 in total earnings accrued along the way.
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Xiang Zou | $9,000 | 86 |
| 2 | Jason Hodges | $6,233 | 72 |
| 3 | Harold Hyatt | $3,604 | 58 |
| 4 | Jay Park | $2,327 | 43 |
| 5 | Anatoly Zharnitsky | $1,802 | 36 |
| 6 | Steve Stolzmann | $1,426 | 29 |
| 7 | Frank Caravas | $1,201 | 22 |
| 8 | Sean Hampson | $1,051 | 14 |
| 9 | Danny Chen | $953 | 7 |
Event 3 – $260 No-Limit Hold’em $10K GTD
The $10,000 guarantee for event 3 on the schedule was also surpassed. A total of 63 entries were made in the
$260 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, creating a prize pool of $12,913. The top eight finishers cashed, with
Jackson Holtgraves ultimately walking away with the title, the trophy, and the top prize of $4,121.
This was the third recorded live tournament title for Holtgraves, who now has nearly $151,000 in lifetime cashes to his name. His largest came when he final tabled the 2022 WSOP Circuit Choctaw main event, earning $44,451 for a seventh-place finish.
Runner-up Nicole Schwartz cashed for $3,261. She now has more than $108,000 in career cashes under her belt.
| Place | Player | Earnings |
| 1 | Jackson Holtgraves | $4,121 |
| 2 | Nicole Schwartz | $3,261 |
| 3 | Sergei Saakian | $1,711 |
| 4 | Brian Richardson | $1,162 |
| 5 | Ryan Heitzman | $904 |
| 6 | Scott Herrmann | $710 |
| 7 | Philip Riley | $581 |
| 8 | Douglas Kim | $463 |
Event 5 – $400 Omaha 8/OB
The first non-hold’em event on the schedule was the
$400 Omaha eight-or-better tournament. With 92 entries, the prize pool swelled to $30,360. The top 12 finishers made the money, with four-figure payouts for the final eight.
This event eventually concluded via a chip chop between two Canadian players named ‘Adam’. The pair then did a flip for the trophy, with Adam Leiberman winning that hand to secure first-place honors.
Adam Schwartz, longtime poker podcast host, secured the largest payout as the chip leader at the time. He earned $7,915 to increase his career tournament earnings to $254,000.
David Levi and Kao Saechao, who both have seven figures in career tournament earnings, both made the final table but bowed out early.
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Adam Lieberman | $7,505 | 86 |
| 2 | Adam Schwartz | $7,915 | 72 |
| 3 | Dennis Axel | $3,640 | 58 |
| 4 | Thomas Eaglestaff | $2,350 | 43 |
| 5 | Paul Kim | $1,820 | 36 |
| 6 | Keith Sanders | $1,440 | 29 |
| 7 | Mohammad Jazayeri | $1,210 | 22 |
| 8 | Kao Saechao | $1,060 | 14 |
| 9 | David Levi | $960 | 7 |
Event 6 – $400 H.E.R.O.S.
The most recent tournament to wrap up at this series was the $400 H.E.R.O.S. event. The 93-entry turnout built a prize pool of $30,690.
The final eight finishers earned four-figure payouts, with the largest being the $9,736 secured by eventual champion Daniel Anton.
This was the second-largest payday secured by Anton, who also won a mixed-game event during the 2022 Grand Summer Series for $11,935. He now has $90,836 in total career cashes.
Mark Gregorich finished fifth for $1,841, bringing his lifetime earnings to nearly $21 million. Bracelet winner Carol Fuchs placed sixth for $1,458, increasing her total to $842,000.
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Daniel Anton | $9,736 | 86 |
| 2 | Benjamin Miner | $5,331 | 72 |
| 3 | Joshua Turner | $4,183 | 58 |
| 4 | Deborah Cheek | $2,378 | 43 |
| 5 | Mark Gregorich | $1,841 | 36 |
| 6 | Carol Fuchs | $1,458 | 29 |
| 7 | Volodymyr Kondratenko | $1,228 | 22 |
| 8 | Randy Holland | $1,074 | 14 |
For more information on Resorts World Las Vegas, check out the official website here. ♠
