Check below for some of the stories and characters from this year’s NAPT Main Event.

And, if you’re looking for Main Event results you can find them here.

Nick Marchington wins NAPT Las Vegas Main Event

It was a bigger event than last year, and a richer event than last year too. But you can never really predict how quickly a final table will play out. Few had this one down for around six hours.

But that’s how long it took Nick Marchington, a 26-year-old pro from the UK, to take the title, beating a tough final table to a first prize of $765,200.

Marchington took the lead into the final six and never looked like giving it up. He didn’t. It was a masterful performance in a fascinating final table that lived up to expectations for a tour returning in even better shape than before.

The story began six hours before with a final six.

After three hours of relatively muted action the eliminations suddenly began.

Yokosawa, who had smiled his way through several all-ins, was first to go. After Marchington raised with two red jacks Yokosawa shoved with pocket tens, only to see the Jacks hold. He left with handshakes, good YouTube content, and $155,550.

Carl Kohlberg followed almost immediately.

Before the final table he’d explained how he enjoys finding solutions with incomplete information, both in business and in poker. What he disliked most was losing.

In this case that missing information was Micka’s pocket nines. When he shoved for 2.3 million with ace-king he found himself in a race. The flop was good to Kohlberg, giving him straight draws, but Micka’s pair was enough. Kohlberg out in fifth place for $202,250.

The sudden frenetic pace didn’t end there.

Johnson was soon on his way also. He moved in with Ace-Four for about 2.2 million. Micka called with two black tens knowing the loser of the hand would either be out, or nearly out.

The 4-T-A flop hit everyone, but left Johnson with the bruise. The help he needed on the turn and river never came. Johnson departed in fourth place collecting $262,900.

That left three players. The unstoppable Marchington, the now veteran “young phenom” Madsen, and Micka, the bridesmaid. Runner up in two previous PokerStars events in South America and the PCA.

Madsen set about making himself hard to shift as the short stack. If there was a glimpse on what he was capable of today it came in a hand he actually lost against Yokosawa. The Japanese had played queen-six to the river. Madsen was ready to concede but called Yokosawa’s hand perfectly.

“Di you f**k with queen-six or something?” said Madsen.

The gesture of applause from Yokosawa was automatic.

Even as three-handed play began it would have been near impossible to find someone eager to bet against him. Madsen seemed more than capable of dictating his terms.

Marchington did look unstoppable. It’s one thing to have a big stack. It’s something else to use us. Marchington did, swinging it around with force to boost his stack to 20 million.

Madsen shoved five times without any takers. Then doubled on a hand against Micka, flopping two pairs. Micka had a draw and was a 91 per cent favourite before the river rescued Madsen.

Not a man who emotes visibly, Madsen allowed himself a smile and a high five with his rail.  And a gulp of wine. Make that two gulps.

Another pot then took him to 6.5 million. Relative safety. But only relative in a three-way game in which nobody was putting a foot wrong.

But now it was Micka’s turn to do a Madsen. Which he did. Two doubles bringing him back up to par.

But poker is a zero-sum game. With Marchington so easily ahead it looked certain it would be Madsen or Micka falling next.

It was Madsen.

After Micka had doubled through Marchington, Madsen got to work again. He 3-bet shoved with Ace-Queen to pick up a few chips, then Ace-Queen again to pick up a few more.

Then the hand that sent him out. Queens against Ace-Ten.

Madsen’s queens were ahead on 2♦ 5♥ 8♥ J♣ board until the river card A♣ ended his tournament in third place for $341,750.  

Marchington’s face gave away a surge of adrenaline. A smile had been appearing on his face with more frequency during his businesslike performance. Now it was becoming permanent.

With Madsen out of the way he had only Micka standing between him and the NAPT title. He also had an enormous chip lead.

Marchington – 21,475,000

Micka – 5,550,000

If the writing was on the wall, Marchington added his signature in the space of one hand.

Marchington completed from the button with 7♥ 4♠ and Micka checked his 5♦ 4♦ .

The flop of 5♣ J♠ 6♦ got the attention of everyone watching.

A check-bet-call for a 3♠ on the turn got everyone even more excited. Micka had a draw. Marchington had the nuts. The chips went in.

The 2♥ on the river did it for Micka. Marchington was champion.

His reaction was to giggle. Then giggle some more. It was as if he knew the winning sensation would take a few minutes to take affect and had only just begun to tickle his feet.

“This is some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing poker” he told Joe Stapleton. “And I enjoy poker on the dullest of days. Never losing the chip lead was a lot of fun.”

“I felt really focused and in the zone. I really wanted to win, but not at any point did I think I was going to win. Then heads up came. The entire hand lasted about 45 seconds and I still don’t think I’ve processed that I’ve won.”

A word about Joel Micka, whose status as bridesmaid does him an injustice.

While the runner up doesn’t get the glory, perhaps there’s a case to be made that Micka’s aggregate glory adds up to something remarkable. He fell short today, as he had done at the PCA before, and the LAPT before that. But performances like those, and this one today, portend his time will come.

For now though the newest NAPT shard belongs to Nick Marchington. It was a treat to watch.

The Pre-Game

There’s a technical process that takes place before a televised final table. It involves the light touch of a man named Greg.

Greg is the sound guy. When a player is on the main feature stage, Greg’s work ensures we can hear everything they say. Without him, we’d be all set for a nine-hour silent movie.

Dressed in shorts and a deep tan, Greg’s job requires the application of microphone to each player. This isn’t like a clip-on thing you attach to a collar for your YouTube video. These devices involve a receiver, a microphone, and a wire connecting the two.

The wire is where the delicate touch is required. It must travel under clothing, often against the skin. You can see how a job like this involves a vital combination of delicacy and diplomacy.

Fortunately Greg has both. He does his job with a charming, light-hearted air. Before Carl Kohlberg even knew what was going on Greg was making him laugh and unzipping his coat to thread a cable under his shirt. After using sticking plaster to apply the microphone, he zipped Kohlberg’s jacket back up like he was sending him off to primary school.

“It’s amazing what I get away with,” he said later of this process he goes through multiple times in a regular day, on everyone from poker players to international sports stars. They all get the same treatment.

No complaints yet. The mark of an expert.

Final Table: Nick Marchington Leads

The NAPT Las Vegas 2024 Main Event final table lineup:

Seat 1: Curt Kohlberg, USA, 3,290,000
Seat 2: Marco Johnson, USA, 2,475,000
Seat 3: Masato Yokosawa, Japan, 1,085,000
Seat 4: Jeff Madsen, USA, 5,585,000
Seat 5: Joel Micka, USA, 4,475,000
Seat 6: Nick Marchington, United Kingdom, 9,990,000

The Players

Seat 1: Curt Kohlberg, 66, Weston, MA – 3,290,000

When Curt Kolhberg first picked up poker, none of his remaining opponents had been born yet. It was in the late 1970s when Kohlberg was a freshman at UMass. Back then, no-limit hold’em wasn’t the phenomenon it would become in the 21st century, so Kolhman mostly played draw and stud games.

Poker would never turn into Kolhberg’s primary income source. He majored in business at MIT and has thrived in that field ever since. In 1991, he founded Kolhberg & Associates, a consulting company that helps institutional funds optimize their operations.

Only in the late 1990s would Kolhberg dive into poker again. He had always been competitive – mainly in racket sports, in which he excelled in his teenage years.

Kohlberg has done pretty well in cards too, especially on the World Poker Tour circuit, where he notched six top-10 finishes in major events, including 2nd place for $586,109 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Florida

Seat 2: Marco Johnson, 35, Walnut Creek, CA – 2,475,000

When Marco Johnson grew up, his neighbor was Chip Reese. Inspired by the poker legend and Hall of Famer, Johnson, at 15 years of age, decided to pursue a career in the same industry. That path has proved very rewarding.

Similarly to Jeff Madsen, four years younger Johnson also notched his first reported live tournament results in 2006. He would have to wait seven more years for his first career bracelet.

Johnson is a well-versed player, which he proved when he paired his WSOP silverware in 2016, topping the $3k H.O.R.S.E. event for $259,730. That is currently Johnson’s third-best score.

The parallel with Madsen stretches further. Johnson has also successfully navigated through both no-limit and mixed-games waters for nearly two decades, and just as Madsen will have a chance to improve his long time career high – $491,273 from June 2008 –should he go all the way.

Seat 3: Masato Yokosawa, 31, Tokyo, Japan – 1,085,000

Masato Yokosawa has over $1.6 million on his live tournament resume, which puts him in 9th place on the Japanese all-time money list. That’s an impressive pedigree, but Yokosawa’s mark on poker has been far bigger than that.

With more than 930,000 subscribers to his “World Wide” channel, the 31-year-old is the most followed poker streamer in the world. He won the People’s Choice Award for Poker Personality in 2021, voted by fans.

Yokosawa’s audience follows his stories from the best venues and events around the world, including the European Poker Tour and cash game rooms in Las Vegas.

Yokosawa hopes to pioneer the legalization of live poker tournaments in his home country.

A crowned WPT champion (winning $100,000 in South Korea back in 2013), Yokosawa is now on the brink of eclipsing his best result. That came last year when he finished 45th in the WSOP Main Event for $188,400. If he fades the first elimination of the final day, he will be celebrating a new career high

Seat 4: Jeff Madsen, 39, Las Vegas, NV – 5,585,000

Jeff Madsen has been one of the most recognizable faces in poker. Originally from Santa Monica, Madsen could play at the Chumash Casino after he turned 18 while he studied film at UCSB.

He would drop out in his final year following tremendous success in the game. He had a rocket start to his WSOP career, celebrating two triumphs at age 21 and earning the Player of the Year honors.

While the first two major wins – both in no-limit hold’em – remain his best scores to date, Madsen has been widely regarded for his mixed-games expertise, especially PLO and PLO8, games which he’s dominated at the World Series.

Here at NAPT Las Vegas 2024, the 39-year-old four-time bracelet winner has showcased his perseverance and longevity, qualities highly rated in poker with the games’ getting ever tougher. After 18 years, he would finally improve his top result ($660,948) with a victory in the NAPT Main Event

Seat 5: Joel Micka, 36, Everett, WA – 4,475,000

PokerStars was Joel “JMPRODIGY” Micka’s gateway to stardom. When he was 18, Micka played online satellite and qualified for the LAPT in San Jose. At the time, he thought he was going to travel to California but only later realized that he would need to travel to Costa Rica’s capital.

The trip, on which he brought his dad, propelled Micka into a professional poker career. He’d succeeded in the game before, but the $148,993 score for a runner-up finish in the LAPT Main Event allowed him to expand the horizon and start taking poker seriously.

Just over four years later, Micka would once again finish second, a somewhat unpopular finish in a poker tournament but typically very rewarding. Especially in a PCA Main Event, in which only two lost coin flips against Dimitar Danchev stopped Micka from winning the title. He would still walk away with a whopping $1,190,000.

That massive result came already after poker’s Black Friday. Micka had been traveling around the world, oftentimes playing but never committing his full year-round focus entirely to the game. That lifestyle has characterized his journey, with golfing and hooping among his top activities. He claims he’s never had a real job in his life.

Seat 6: Nick Marchington, 26, London, UK – 9,990,000

Nick Marchington may be the youngest NAPT Las Vegas Main Event finalist, but that won’t intimidate him. He’s already been through a big poker story framed that way – five years ago when he reached the WSOP Main Event final table.

Then 21-year-old Marchington had a chance to eclipse Joe Cada as the youngest champion in history. Marchington, a novice to live tournaments at the time, finished in 7th place for $1,525,000.

Back then he’d played poker professionally for only a year. Now, much more experienced, Marchington can capitalize on both online and live tournament and cash game grind.

2024 has already seen Marchington lift a trophy, for his victory at Grosvenor UK Poker Open in Coventry.

Marchington said he really wanted to win his first live event title, an achievement he’d chased for a few years. With that ticked off, the Brit can now focus on the next milestone – earning the elusive PokerStars shard prepared for the NAPT
champ.

Action resumes Sunday, November 10, at 12:30 p.m. PT (21:30 CET), with blinds at 50,000/100,000 for the first 70 minutes of play. PokerStars TV live stream starts at 13:00 local time (22:00 CET).

Remaining payouts:

1st – $765,200
2nd – $478,450
3rd – $341,750
4th – $262,900
5th – $202,250
6th – $155,550

Curt Kohlberg and Cold Shoulders

Curt Kohlberg is looking over his shoulder. Actually, he’s looking across to the other side of the stage where the outer table is. He walked there earlier, but got asked not to block the view of the camera. The camera operator was extremely apologetic, but Kohlberg got the message and has kept back since.

The reason is he’s the short stack. And with pay jumps coming he’s doing all he can to hold on for maximum money.

Looking over your shoulder is not really the done things in Las Vegas. There’s typically no one here to tell you not to do those things you might not do elsewhere.

There’s no concept of closing time for instance, no one to tell you to go to bed or eat your vegetables. What happens here, well, you know the rest. The city is build on their being no shoulder, either to look over or to cry on.

But Kohlberg keeps checking. He wants that pay jump, and with pocket sixes manages to get a call for his shove. The flop is kind. The turn is kinder. He allows himself a smile as he doubles up.

The most popular man in the room

Two tables left in the Main Event, both behind a rope line. Inside a battery of cameras keep an eye on the key players. Nothing will be missed for posterity, or for anyone watching from home.

Most of the tournament room is consumed by side events right now. Some players take passing interest in the main stage, strolling over for a look. But most are oblivious. The tournament you’re playing is usually more important than anything taking place anywhere else.

But anyone getting a close look will see is a mix of styles from the professional and the famously professional.

In the latter category is Matt Affleck.

Veteran of major events, his demeanour is one of furrowed concentration. His eyes are never still. He scans the faces of opponents for useful information, like a high stakes game of wink murder.

Others at the table take a more defensive approach.

Martin Canero has the edge of his hoodie pulled across his face, hiding his moustache (one of many moustaches spotted in the field this week). David Baker is another who prefers to keep his face partially concealed, although it’s also possible there’s a draft.

Not so Mosato Yokosawa, who plays with a permanent grin, and a permanent camera following behind.

For their part the camera team are as focused as Affleck, capturing every moment and nuance with laser focus.

Nearly all.

Emerging from the side of the stage comes a man in black. The headphones give away his status as a member of the production team. The large cardboard box he carries will explain why he’s about to become the most popular man in town.

The box, which sags in the middle, is full of treats. Cold drinks, chips, fruit, candy, and chocolate.  He takes it to his colleagues who discover the only thing more compelling than aces and kings is a free Tootsie Roll or Butterfinger.

It serves as a temporary and welcome distraction. A small boost for energy levels with a long day ahead. One man chooses a banana. You wonder if he’ll come to regret his nod to good health.

After a couple of circuits, the most popular man in town leaves his new friends and heads back to where he came from. Somewhere behind stage, in a fantasy grotto where he keeps his treasure.

Affleck meanwhile forces Canero off a hand, stacking some new chips. Poker chips this time. The only kind he’s interested in.

Moment for Seniors

In the corner of tournament room, away from the main event and the TV stage, the Seniors event got underway this afternoon.

Having been in this game myself nearly 20 years, I’m not far off meeting the entry requirements myself.

But it’s also full of players who once were new players. They made the same errors we all make when starting out. They also all have their own unique way into the game. Although penny poker and grandmother’s kitchen table is remarkably common.

CAROL DOWNEY

Carol Downey is from Illinois, south of Chicago, learned to play poker at home with her father and uncles as a teenager. She’s in town with her daughter who is currently in another casino taking part in a bingo tournament. Carol though is strictly poker.

“The first time I played poker in Vegas I guess I played regular poker for ever since I’ve been coming. But hold’em I’ve been playing for I guess when it first became popular. Probably the 80s.”

“I remember the first game I played. They wanted to know if I wanted to chop and I had no idea what chop meant. I just I just sat there and they were disgusted with me because I wouldn’t chop.”

With close to 150 players in the seniors event, I put it to her that she could be in contention to win more than her daughter in the bingo.

“You know what, I haven’t looked at to see what the thing is because the Bingo term is big. They could win like a hundred and some thousand.”

PEG FRANCHETTI

Peg Franchetti is another who was taught how to play by that golden generation of grandmothers with their kitchen tables. Penny poker was the game where she learned the ropes, although it was 5-card draw back in those day.

Peg didn’t start playing tournaments until relatively recently. In 2011 she found herself with more time after a career of 80-hour weeks in the financial industry.

“I didn’t learn this game or no limit until again until 2011. But I had wanted to, for several years prior to that. I just never really got around to doing it.”

This then is more like the reward, to be able to play.

“Absolutely. I enjoy retirement every day of it and I do play poker every day.”

Resorts World is very much home turf for Peg. She lives in Las Vegas and is a regular in the cardroom downstairs. With occasional trips across the street to the Wynn or Aria.

In any case, playing the seniors event is a step up for her.

“I had a decent October and November started out. I can splurge a little bit.”

BOB GRUBER

Bob Gruber started playing online back in the glory days of online poker, around 2005/06. Then Black Friday changed all that.

From just north of West Palm Beach in Florida, Bob played as a kid, but not seriously.

“I was always good at card games, you know, playing gin playing different stuff like that. That translated into poker.”

When he did put the time in it took him years before he considered himself a good player.

“When I started playing the 2006 that era, there wasn’t all the training sites. Then they really started coming out. And people started figuring out the game.

Bob didn’t start playing in Las Vegas until 2016 or so but still recalls the legendary poker stories of old.

“I can remember when I was a kid, there was a guy who was a sales rep, and this is probably in the late 1970s. And he was playing in the [WSOP] Main Event, which was rare. I mean, ten thousand dollars. I don’t know if he was ever any good but I remember him saying.. that’s crazy, right?”

FAYE SONNTAG

Faye Sonntag has been playing for 17 years. You guessed it, she learned when she was 7 years old, at the kitchen table. Taught by her father who played poker again all manner of folks, reputable and not to reputable.  

“He taught me every card game there was.”

Born in Minnesota but raised in Chicago she moved to Las Vegas 25 years ago to leave Illinois behind.

She recalls some of the big changes in the game in her time here.

“When I first started to play poker when I moved here. No Limit Wasn’t being played yet? And tournaments started. Bellagio really was the place to play tournaments and then Venetian took over.”

DAYANNA CIABATON

Dayanna Ciabaton, from Naples, Florida, has been playing poker for more than 20 years. But didn’t start playing large tournaments until late in 2021. All prompted by the pandemic, and the familiar story of her four kids growing up.

“After the pandemic, my youngest of four was a junior in high school so she only had like one more year, she’s now a sophomore in college. But I knew that they were all going to be out of the house. So this was my time that I could start travelling, and playing.

Plus it made a change from her all male weekly home game, which was doable, although her husband doesn’t play.

“It’s something that I always wanted to do.

STEVE MONOK AND A 2,200 MILE GOLD PASS

You could say bingo was Steve Monok’s game. He’s worked in the bingo business practically all his life. Everything from bingo calling, bingo managing, and not into the software side.

But, as he explains, it’s poker that allows him to be himself.

“Poker is a way for me to relax. Life is all about everyone else. Poker is about me.”

And so he and his wife think nothing of the three hour drive from his home in Sioux Ste-Marie to the nearest poker room in Michigan.

“I love live poker and talk to people, get their story. Work was too stressful, so my wife told me to play poker. I like playing poker to relax and forget about the real world for a while.”

Steve is an affable guy at the table, wearing a Vancouver Cannucks bowling shirt (it was a Sponge Bob one yesterday), a big grey beard, and an eager slouch.   

It’s for this reason the online game isn’t usually his first option. He’s a talker. But after playing live a few times and he checked out PokerStars, noticed he could win his way to an NAPT event and gave it a shot.

He started with a daily free roll. Things went well. In fact, when he won a step four he thought he’d won his seat, only to realise there was a fifth step.

Steve was calm about it. “Okay let’s do this all over again!”

With 36 players taking part Steve knew needed to finish in the top three, although fourth place was worth $5,000. Not a bad consolation.

Four hours later things were getting tense.

“I have past heart issues,” he explained, “so I had my puffer our for my nitro just in case!”

Then it was done.

“Boom it’s over. Okay I won. Wow. Shit.”

With his package secured he and his wife made plans for the trip, in their case a 2,200 mile drive from Ontario to Nevada. You get the idea this man will drive any distance for a decent game of poker.

But then this is the biggest poker game he’s ever played. And with family, including his grandson, on their way to be here, there’s even more reason to make the most of it.

Bingo.

FAMILY, HARD WORK AND POKER. IN THAT ORDER FOR GOLD PASS WINNER BILL MCLAY

Bill McLay was about ten years old when his grandmother taught him to play poker. He’s been in love with the game ever since.

She knew he had a knack for it and before long was taking him to her weekly home.

“At first, I’m sure they were just humoring me, allowing me at the table,” says Bill, now 38. “That is, until I started winning hands and taking down pots. We played games like 7-card stud, 5-card draw, Follow the Queen and Pass the Ace. I fell in love with the challenges that these games presented, and years later began playing Holdem as well. 

“And then I was at just the right age for the poker, boom.”

Bill had some small but significant wins in that time. He played a lot online and at a local casino.

“I really fell in love with it. But that’s around when I had to make the decision and career or try to push it with poker.”

There were good reasons for his decision, a choice of pragmatism or idealism, the head or the heart.

He chose head.

Read the full story…

How Chris Jennings used poker to transform his life

The effort to learn everything he could about poker soon started paying off for Chris Jennings. Nothing big at first but three figure wins grew to four figures. He won the Big $3.30. Then came second in the Big $27.50. These were landmark results for a new player slowly moving up in stakes.

“That’s the great thing about PokerStars, especially back in 2008,” he said. “There was a lot of opportunity to win into things that were ‘dreams come true’ for zero dollars. So, just being able to play for nothing at all, but learning the game, reading books, honing my skills, and then moving up into low stakes buy-ins and learning all the nuance to them and getting higher and Higher, kind of thing. Because at every level it’s so different.”

HOW TO FIT POKER INTO REAL LIFE

But as Chris’s passion for poker continued to grow, the real world brought him down to earth.

Working as a supervisor at a local arena, he found his job taking up more of his time, leaving little left for anything else. Including poker.

“There was actually a time when myself and my friends were going on a poker trip. And I had to not go because work came up. It was getting in the way of my life and my happiness.”

Chris knew something had to change. It wasn’t that he hated where he worked, and he loved the people. But supervisor wasn’t for him.

And after trying and failing to get his old job back he came up with a solution. It was ambitious as it was difficult. But it was aspirational. It ticked all the boxes Chris needed. It was challenging. It would push him to the limits of his ability. And, if it worked, would give him the freedom he desperately craved.

“I made it my goal to win a hundred thousand dollars in a single poker tournament and step down for my job,” he says.

Read the full story here…

Looking across the field

Scott Haze is another Gold Pass winner in the Main Event field today. Unlike Bradley Mickelson who we wrote about earlier, Scott’s problem is not a lack of experience. It’s the experience of the players he’s up against.

At his table is Vanessa Kade is in seat one. Matt Affleck is in seat three. And that’s Griffin Benger in seat five.

Here’s a glimpse of some of the rest of the Main Event field on Day 1A.

Terror on the inside, calm and collected on the outside

We wrote last week about Bradley Mickelson’s journey to Las Vegas, courtesy of Fintan Hand and his entire Twitch community. It’s a story well worth getting familiar with. Just in case he pulls off the impossible.

To give the short version Bradley had, before today, never played a single hand of live poker. Never. Around here that’s the kind of thing people think is hard to believe.

He’d handled chips, he said, but not in a home game or anything like that. He owns some, enough to fidget with while working from home.

This is all very much new ground.

There’s a cardroom near to where he lives in South Florida, but reality always just got in the way. Either in the form of Covid, or Hurricane Ian, which tore through his town leaving devastation everywhere. With his neighbours picking up the pieces of their lives it just didn’t seem right to go play cards.

Flash forward two years and Bradley is in the Main Event, supported by Fintan Hand and his entire Twitch community.

He admitted to some basic errors (a bet reduced to a call), the type we’ve all made, albeit at lower stakes. It might not be his last one either. But with each hand that experience builds up.

You wouldn’t know he was a ball of nerves who had been worried about this moment all week. In that regard things are going fine. On the outside at least.

Main Event Day

Rooms with no windows (or in our case with curtains closed) suit poker tournaments perfectly.

There should be no interference from the outside world. No hint of time passing or the matters of the day. Our world is neatly confined within these four walls. Poker tables, chairs, dealer buttons. Plus, hundreds of poker players from around the country and the world speaking the language of cards and chips.

And from today you have a ring side seat for the return of the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event. It’s bigger this year, which we hope will mean better. And the proof will reveal itself over the next six days.

As always, the PokerStars Blog will feature stories, vignettes, and highlights along the way. For the hand for hand detail head over to PokerNews. They’ll be marching back and forth all day flagging up the big hands, some of the small hands, and all the scores at the close of play in something like 12 hours from now.

Between now and then you can catch up on some of the stories already started on this road to an NAPT champion. More than 100 Gold Pass winners are in town, some experiencing Las Vegas for the first time. Some experiencing live poker for the first time. We’re here to see what happens.

EXCITING PLAYER ACTIVITIES AWAY FROM THE TABLE

Among the highlights of the event is the PokerStars Players Party taking place on Thursday 7, with all participants and their guests invited to join PokerStars ambassadors and other players for a night of entertainment to celebrate the NAPT.

Other activities to get involved in away from the tables include:

• Monday 4: Gold Pass Welcome Event at Jalisco Underground – A welcome night for Gold Pass winners to come together with PokerStars ambassadors to celebrate the beginning of the NAPT.

• Wednesday 6: Las Vegas Sphere – An opportunity for players to visit the iconic Sphere.

• Thursday 7: PokerStars Players Party – Celebrate the NAPT at Zouk Empire room.

• Friday 8: Go Karting – Race other players Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix.

• Saturday 9: Karaoke – Sing the night away at Zouk Red Tail.

• Monday 4 – Tuesday 12: Strat Tower – Collect tickets from the information desk and visit the Strat Tower in your free time to see Las Vegas from high in the sky.

The PokerStars Players lounge will be open for players to enjoy throughout the event. Visit the PokerStars Travel desk for more information and to sign up for activities.

But for now, let’s cover the key info:

NAPT LAS VEGAS 2024 KEY INFO

Venue: Resorts World, Las Vegas

Dates: November 1 – 10, 2024

Main Event: $5,300 buy-in, November 5 – 10

“Last year, the NAPT smashed all expectations, so this year, we’re going even bigger,” said Steve Preiss, VP of PokerStars North America. “With a premier partner like Resorts World Las Vegas, we’re stepping up our game: bigger tournaments, buy-ins, and player-focused events.”

Leon Wheeler, Director of Poker Operations at Resorts World Las Vegas, added: “Resorts World Las Vegas is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated return of PokerStars and the NAPT this November. After last year’s tremendous success, we are eager to capitalize on that momentum and host an even more spectacular festival in 2024.”

Check out the full schedule here. But the highlights are below.

• NAPT Mystery Bounty: November 1-4 – $550 / $300,000 GTD

• NAPT Super High Roller: November 4-6 – $25,000

• NAPT Main Event: November 5-10 – $5,300 / $3,000,000 GTD

• Women’s Event: November 5 – $330 / $30,000 GTD

• NAPT High Roller: November 8-10 – $10,300

• NAPT Cup: November 8-10 – $550 / $300,000 GTD

This year will see the addition of several co-branded events too, adding even more excitement to the schedule.

• RunGood Open – November 4 – $1,100 / $400,000 GTD – second largest GTD of the festival

• Cardplayer Lifestyle H.E.R.O.S. – November 7 – $550

• Cardplayer Lifestyle 8-Game – November 8 $5,300

• Cardplayer Lifestyle 8-Game – November 9 – $550

BIG GAME RETURNS TO NAPT LAS VEGAS

The Big Game on Tour – which was revived in 2023 after a 12-year hiatus – will also be back for a brand new season at NAPT Las Vegas 2024 and that means it’s time to find some new Loose Cannons. 

There will be qualifiers running throughout the NAPT, and the winners will make it through to the audition process.

But Las Vegas Gold Pass winners? They’re guaranteed an audition, so try your best to win one.

Learn more here.

MIXED GAME FESTIVAL

Sometimes two cards and one game just aren’t enough.

That’s why PokerStars is excited to announce that the beloved Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival will return to NAPT Las Vegas in November for its biggest and best run yet.

The festival takes place at Resorts World Las Vegas from November 3-7, running alongside NAPT Las Vegas (November 1-10), giving players even more choice and value. There will be three co-branded mixed game tournaments on the schedule, as well as the hallmark of the festivities: low-stakes dealer’s choice cash games.

Find out more here.

PACKAGE ADDED TO NAPT LAS VEGAS WOMEN’S EVENT

The winner of the Women’s Event at the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Las Vegas will now find themselves hopping on a plane to London as a Women’s Winter Festival package has been added to the prize pool.

The $330 buy-in Women’s Event takes place at Resorts World Las Vegas on Tuesday, November 5th, with $30K already guaranteed in the prize pool. But along with the prize money, the winner will also receive a full package to London including:

• Entry to the Women’s Winter Festival Main Event (£440 buy-in, £100K Gtd)
• Economy return flights from US to London
• Accommodation at the Z Hotel on Tottenham Court Road (November 21-25)
• Entry to the Women’s Closer freeroll which offers a full package to EPT Prague

For more details on the Women’s Winter Festival head to our coverage hub.

MEET THE GOLD PASS WINNERS

The iconic North America Poker Tour (NAPT) is heading back to Las Vegas from November 1 – 10, 2024, following a successful return last year.

Some of the players gearing up for the trip will live their dreams thanks to winning a Gold Pass worth $10K on PokerStars. Here, we’re going to meet as many of them as we can so we can root for them in the $5,300 Main Event.

Meet the NAPT Las Vegas Gold Pass winners.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR?

RELIVE THIS EVENT THROUGH OUR COVERAGE HUB

It had been a long wait, but in November 2023, we brought everything back to poker’s spiritual home for a gold-tinted month. It was the first major live poker festival in Vegas under the PokerStars banner in 12 years.

NAPT Las Vegas 2023 was an incredible festival with huge events, fantastic activities away from the tables, and countless fascinating stories from qualifiers and pros alike.

It was Sami Bechahed — a five-year poker pro from Costa Mesa, California — who took down the $1,650 Main Event, earning his fourth six-figure score.

1st. Sami Bechahed (United States) $268,945
2nd. Jonathan Borenstein (United States) $168,175
3rd. David Coleman (United States) $120,130
4th. Ping Liu (United States) $92,410
5th. Sergio Aido (Spain) $71,080
6th. Nick Schulman (United States) $54,680
7th. Sandeep Pallampati (United States) $42,060

Meanwhile it was Samuel Laskowitz from New York took down the $5,300 buy-in North American Poker Tour High Roller to close things out. Laskowitz picked up $180,850 and lifted the trophy after defeating a field of 150 entries.

NAPT LAS VEGAS HIGH ROLLER RESULTS

1st – Samuel Laskowitz, USA, $180,850
2nd – Shannon Shorr, USA, $113,030
3rd – Jesse Lonis, USA, $80,740
4th – John Riordan, USA, $62,105
5th – John Andress, USA, $47,770
6th – Alexander Condon, USA, $36,745

Read more about last year’s festival here.

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