The PokerGO studio at the Aria debuted for the first time during a festival when neither No Limit Hold’em nor Pot Limit Omaha had a presence, at least in their solo form.
The PGT Mixed Games is the American manufacturer’s response to the suggestions of some of the High Rollers circuit’s regular players. The organization identified a particular desire in introducing uncommon formats to the poker stratosphere and suggested eight tournaments with a diverse distribution of games, totaling 20 various modalities.
The majority of the games were priced at $10,300, with a $25,500 10-Game Championship and a $5,300 NL 2-7 Single Draw to round off the tournament.
These are the reasons we chose to feature these three players in the lead paragraph.
The creator of the previous Poker Central, the precursor of Poker GO, is the most notable player on the circuit organized by his production firm, having won an event and entered seven times for prizes over the two festivals played to far.
Katz needed just one more cash to defend his PokerGO Tour lead throughout the first seven events of the festival and win the PokerGO Cup. After winning the PokerGO Cup without hoisting a trophy, he went on to win the $5,300 NL 2-7 Single Draw that concluded the PGT Mixed Games, in case there was any question about his deservingness.
Katz has won $739,000 on the PokerGO Tour in 2023, which is equivalent to 543 points overall, 99 more than Anthony Hu and ahead of Alex Foxen, Ike Haxton, and Daniel Zack, who are all in the top five overall.
Since we’re on the topic of Zack, the WSOP 2022 Player of the Year was a fixture at the festival’s final tables. He participated in five of the eight contests, with varying outcomes.
He is one of the clearest instances of why PokerGO scheduled this tournament. Daniel Zack seldom attends events outside of the WSOP, and this was his first time visiting the Aria TV studio.
His finest performance was a second-place result in the festival’s highest PGT points competition, the $25k 10-Game Championship, but his consistency throughout the festival earned him the top spot in the overall rankings. As the winner of the PGT Mixed Games, he was awarded the PGT Cup and a $25,000 bonus.
The former Pokerstars Team Pro, one of the circuit’s unquestionable stars over the last two decades since his international debut with victory at the 2008 EPT Sanremo, has also not yet made his debut in the Aria section of the PGT event organization.
He entered just the main event, the $25,500 10-Game Championship, and prepared by playing a few mixed-game cash games in the days coming up to the tournament.
Jason believed he had “oiled my 10-Game rotation nicely,” and the game’s progression indicated he was correct. “That was quite enjoyable. In NL 2-7, I performed well, only risked elimination by going all-in once, and my opponent had little chance of winning the hand.”
The 57 NL 2-7 Championship participants all succumbed to Jason, with the exception of Daniel Zack, who was briefly spared the scythe when Mercier was acknowledged as the opponent entitled to the biggest reward in a contract. Finally, he followed the same route as the others by losing a series of PLO flips, which was the chosen technique for determining a winner.
Mercier’s prize was $367,500, his highest payout since winning the SHRPO $50k High Roller in August 2019, which was also his last event victory as he opted to balance poker and family life as much as possible and seldom goes outside of Florida.
The remaining festival outcomes were as follows:
Event #1: $10,300 H.O.R.S.E. (87 players): Shaun Deeb won $208,800 as the winner.
Event #2: $10,300 8-Game (88 players): John Monette placed first. $211,200.
Event #3: $10,300 Triple Stud Mix (60 players): 1st – Eli Elezra $155,000.
Event #4: $10,300 Big Bet Mix (69 players): 1st – Ben Lamb $186,300.
Event #5: $10,300 Triple Draw Mix (69 players): Nicholas Guagenti wins $171,075 and places first.
Event #6: $10,300 Dealer’s Pick (56 players): 1st place, $179,200, Scott Abrams.
Event #7: $25,500 First place in the 10-Game Championship (57 players): $367,500 to Jason Mercier.
Event #8: $5,300 NL 2-7 Single Draw (52 participants): Cary Katz, first place, $83,200.
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