2024 NAPT Las Vegas
Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.
In the 19th episode, Connor speaks with former poker pro Eugene Katchalov, one of Ukraine's all-time money leaders who fled the country in 2022 after Russia's invasion and has since returned to the war-torn region with his family.
Katchalov, a former PokerStars ambassador, talked about growing up in New York City, his poker glory days and 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic victory for $2.5 million, returning to Ukraine and misconceptions about the longstanding conflict with Russia. He also discussed his venture into esports and new plans to get back into poker with a project aimed at leveling the playing field between pros and recreationals.
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Eugene Katchalov by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
In the 863rd episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by the free-to-play WSOP App, Chad Holloway and Kyna England are joined by Connor Richards at Level 9 Studio to kick off the 2024 Pokerstars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) at Resorts World!
The series runs November 1-10 and will offer players and Gold Pass winners the opportunity to become the “Loose Cannon” on the PokerStars Big Game, which will also see future football Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski compete at the felt. Speaking of Gold Pass winners, we highlight more players who won their way to Las Vegas including Luis Viera, who won his Gold Pass in the PokerNews Podcast giveaway, and Canada's Steve Maddison, who our PokerNews Ontario Ambassador Kyle Anderson interviewed as a part of the show.
And let's not forget about the NAPT Women’s Event on Nov. 5 featuring a $30,000 guarantee and CardPlayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival IX from Nov. 3-7.
Connor then shares his thoughts on the Life Outside Poker Meet-Up Game and shares the tragic story of Jim Weger, who passed away in a motorcycle accident the night before the 10th Annual Pawn Stars Poker Run. You'll also get to hear about winners from the 2024 Norwegian Poker Championship, and finally, you can see Chad take part in a $100 flip during an impromptu appearance on The Absolute Nuts show, which was filming their cash game at Resorts World during the PokerNews MUG.
The podcast has a new sponsor in the #1 free-to-play WSOP app, and as part of it, we run another "WSOP Replay" segment in which Chad reviews a famous poker hand through the lens of the WSOP App. Check it out and remember to use bonus code "POKERNEWS" if you download and play for an extra 1,000,000 in chips!
A new PokerNews Podcast will drop weekly every Friday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
Day 2 of the $550 Mystery Bounty at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) festival at Resorts World Las Vegas gets underway today at noon local time and will play down to a winner, who will earn the first PokerStars Spade of the series.
Leading the way across five starting flights is Day 1e chip leader Rhett Van Leeuwen with a stack of just over 700,000. The next closest is Day 1a leader Chris Shebat with 570,000, followed by Quang Vu (568,000), Justin Young (522,000) and PokerStars Ambassador and recent Life Outside Poker guest Maria Konnikova (505,000).
$550 Mystery Bounty Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhett Van Leeuwen | United States | 701,000 | 140 |
| 2 | Daniel Samson | United Kingdom | 631,000 | 126 |
| 3 | Chris Shebat | United States | 570,000 | 114 |
| 4 | Quang Vu | United States | 568,000 | 114 |
| 5 | Justin Young | United States | 522,000 | 104 |
| 6 | Maria Konnikova | United States | 505,000 | 101 |
| 7 | Victor Paredes | United States | 479,000 | 96 |
| 8 | Joshua Bergman | United States | 452,000 | 90 |
| 9 | Karel Kratochvil | Czech Republic | 437,000 | 87 |
| 10 | Leon Dejoras | United States | 436,000 | 87 |
Others who will be in the Day 2 field include Christian Roberts, Matthew Lambrecht, Tim Reilly, Ori Hasson and Frank Lagodich.
The event drew a total of 1,201 players to nearly double the $300,000 prize pool with a total of $576,480. That's split into $300,250 in the bounty prize pool and $276,230 in the regular prize pool. Prize pool and bounty specifics will be made available later today.
Action will pick back up with 19 minutes left in Level 16 with blinds of 2,000/5,000/5,000. All eyes will be on the top bounties of $25,000 ahead of a day of bounty poker that will surely be full of carnage.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on-site at Resorts World Las Vegas tomorrow for continued coverage of the NAPT Las Vegas kickoff.