Venetian Las Vegas Cancels $1.1 Million GTD Events, Sparks Outrage

The Venetian Las Vegas has found itself in hot water after abruptly cancelling two high-stakes poker events with a combined guarantee of $1.1 million. The events, part of the PokerGO Stairway to Millions series, were scheduled to take place at the Venetian's poker room.

The first event, with a $25,500 buy-in, featured a $500,000 guarantee. Those who cashed in this tournament would receive entry into a subsequent $600,000 GTD event with a $51,000 buy-in. However, less than 20 hours before the first event and 48 hours before the second, the guarantees were removed, leading to widespread criticism from the poker community.

Poker pro Adam Hendrix shared his experience on Twitter, revealing that he was offered cash or a rake deal in exchange for his seat after the guarantee was removed. Hendrix tweeted, “Yesterday played 10K Stairway to Millions event and prizepool consisted of 3 people being paid out with cash and each person receiving seat to 25k tournament with 500k gtd. Today I play the 15k and upon busting floor tells me they are removing guarantee of 25k and 50k tournament.”