With so many current events in action, it would be easy for PokerStake investors to miss out on the action that approaches at the end of February in Las Vegas. The PokerGO Tour has already paid off for PokerStake players in the PokerGO Cup and PGT Kick-Off events, and with the PGT Mixed Games series on its way, there are more ways to win from home as you back your favorite in Las Vegas.
Josh Arieh – “I Look Forward to the Big Bet Games!”
It’s no surprise to see PokerStake’s de facto ‘captain’ Josh Arieh heading to find the value in mixed games, given his success in so many different game variants in recent years. He told us that its not just the cards pulling him to Las Vegas.
“To be honest, I just wanted to escape the nasty Georgia winter weather,” he laughs. “What better place to spend a week than ARIA and the PokerGO studio?”
Josh is selling to both the 8-Game Mix and H.O.R.S.E. events.
“I like 8 Game the best,” he says. “I look forward to the big bet games. It changes the monotony of flinging chips around in the limit games.”
When buying pieces, Josh says that PokerStake users should figure out how much they want to spend and divide it up evenly between all the available bullets for that player. “There’s no worse feeling than finding out that the player is on bullet two, when you blew your budget on their first bullet,” he reveals. “Being a first-time buyer, it’s very important to start small. Mistakes will be made, so don’t make a mistake that is going to really hurt you. It’s like everything – success comes with experience… and a little luck mixed in.”
Josh is, like seemingly every professional poker player in the world, a huge fan of the PokerGO Studio at ARIA and calls it his favorite cardroom.
“Everything there is top notch. They have absolutely the best floor staff in the business, with great dealers that love their jobs and understand that they are in the big leagues. Plus, the ARIA is my favorite hotel in the world – I could write an essay on what I love about playing at the PokerGO Studio!”
Allen Kessler – “You Get to Play with the Best Players in the World.”
Another player selling action to the PGT Mixed Games series is Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler. The famously morose tournament crusher is quite the opposite about the PGT Mixed Games series – he loves it!
“I’ve only played two events at the PokerGO Studio and had a deep run and cashed in one of them.”
If that wasn’t enough reason to play the first four events as a kick off, the playing conditions are the ultimate sell. Allen is well known for hunting value wherever he goes and rightly holds casinos to the high standards he himself exhibits. He’s a big fan of the PokerGO set up.
“It’s very well run by Paul Campbell, and you get a chance to play with the best players in the world,” he says. “The PokerGO studio is such a great poker venue.”
It wouldn’t be Allen if he didn’t at least have room for one improvement as he sees it.
“The structures are a bit fast for these buy-ins, but that’s what these players want,” he says. “They have to reach the final table in one day so Day 2 can be streamed [on PokerGO].”
Other Big Names to Follow
With the PGT Mixed Games series featuring three other PokerStake players, you’d be mad to miss out on the value of backing at least one player of the five selling action.
Ed Smith might not be the first name to spring to mind for some when looking to back players, but he probably should be. The humble poker hero ended his 2024 with two wins – in a WSOP-C event in Northern California and in a RunGood Poker Series Limit Omaha 8 or Better event, before cashing in Lincoln once again to kick off 2025. Ed then came second in a WSOP Circuit event playing 6-Max NLHE event for a result of $11,100 after buying in for $515 just a month ago. He’s selling to the first event only at present but may well sell to others as he moves through the series.
Another lesser-known name who has moved through the gears in recent months is French player Nicolas Milgrom, who is flying the flag for France at this year’s PokerGO Tour Mixed Games festival and will do so with great confidence. Nicolas has wins in Limit Omaha 8 of Better and H.O.R.S.E. in the past eight weeks for over $63,000. Nicolas also cashed in the Wynn Signature Series in PLO 8 or Better just a month ago, so back him in any of the first four events and make profit yourself.
Finally but by no means least, Matt Vengrin has over $1.7m in live tournament winnings alone and in our exclusive chat with him at the end of 2024, told us about his epic journey to this stage of his career. A mixed game specialist, Matt is selling to both event #1, the $5,300-entry H.O.R.S.E. event and the $5,300 buy-in Event #2 in 8-Game.
Who’ll mix it with the best in Las Vegas at this year’s PGT Mixed Games series? We can’t wait to find out!
