Craig Mason Wins PGT Venetian Las Vegas Classic High Roller #3 for $85,750

The first-ever PGT Venetian Las Vegas Classic concluded at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, with High Roller #3: $5,100 No-Limit Hold'em.

Craig Mason emerged victorious and claimed $85,750, 86 PGT points, and the PGT gold cup for his outright win. This marks Mason's first PGT win and first-ever live tournament victory.

The final $5,100 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller event drew a 49-entrant field, generating a prize pool of $245,000. The final seven players finished in the money, and just missing out was Victoria Livschitz, who was the unfortunate bubble girl after she got her short stack in with jack-nine suited against Andrew Lichtenberger's sixes and failed to improve.

The final table began with Lichtenberger and Mason as the clear leaders, along with several short stacks that had dwindled on the bubble. Jim Collopy cashed in all three High Roller events and was the first to go at the final table in seventh place when his tens couldn't hold against Mason's ace-queen. Shannon Shorr was the next to hit the rail in sixth place when he got his chips in ahead on a flop and couldn't fade a three-outer on the river.

Bob Buckenmayer was eliminated in fifth place when he ran sevens into Mason's kings, and Landon Tice was knocked out next in fourth place when he got his shorter stack in with jack-nine suited and found himself dominated by Mason's ace-jack. Soon after, Joao Simao found himself facing a three-bet jam on the river and deliberated before he ultimately called off the rest of his stack. Lichtenberger tabled a flopped full house, and the Brazilian made his exit in third place.

Heads-up play began with Lichtenberger holding roughly 60% of the chips in play, and after he slowly whittled Mason down, Lichtenberger held a seemingly overwhelming chip lead. Mason was down to just five big blinds and found himself in a chip deficit of around 20:1. He then rivered a seven-outer to score a short-stacked double, and quickly doubled three more times to grab the chip lead. On the final hand, Lichtenberger got his chips in with pocket sixes and found himself pipped against Mason's pocket sevens. The runout changed nothing, and Lichtenberger was eliminated in second place, while Mason was the champion.

2025 PGT Venetian Las Vegas Classic High Roller #3 Payouts

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