"A Lot of Hard Work": Samuel Laskowitz Bursts Onto the Scene With a Win in the $5,300 NAPT Las Vegas High Roller ($180,850)
The $5,300 High Roller at PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas has come to an end and Samuel Laskowitz is the winner after six players returned for the Day 3 finale at Resorts World Las Vegas.
The tournament drew 150 entries and the top 20 players took a piece of the $727,500 prize pool. Laskowitz takes home $180,850 for the victory.
Laskowitz defeated Shannon Shorr in a short round of heads-up play to win the top prize. Shorr fought back from the short stack in the late stages of the day and finished in second when Jesse Lonis ran out of steam. Lonis finished in third, failing to secure his second trophy of the week after a win in the $10,300 Super High Roller.
John Riordan finished in fourth and John Andress finished in fifth. Alexander Condon couldn’t spin up the short stack and he rounded out the top six results.
$5,300 High Roller Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Laskowitz | United States | $180,850 |
| 2 | Shannon Shorr | United States | $113,030 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $80,740 |
| 4 | John Riordan | United States | $62,105 |
| 5 | John Andress | United States | $47,770 |
| 6 | Alexander Condon | United States | $36,745 |
“Very gratifying. It makes me feel like I belong, and that I can play at this level and succeed,” Laskowitz said in his post-win interview.
The win adds to Laskowitz’s $1.1 million in career earnings, which only dates back to June of 2022 when he finished as runner-up in the $400 Colossus at the World Series of Poker. The $256,170 score was the first in Laskowitz’s recorded history, and he has been on a tear ever since.
He won the $1,300 Mystery Bounty at Borgata’s The Return in January of 2023 and he finished eighth in that main event — both six-figure wins. Laskowitz posted results all over the country throughout 2023, most recently at PokerGO’s Poker Masters and a runner-up finish in the $1,600 Mystery Bounty at the Wynn Fall Classic.
Laskowitz went on to reflect on the key to his recent success.
“A lot of hard work and good luck. Obviously, you have to run good and hit a couple of big tournaments to get a bankroll. You have to study and work hard and keep at it and you’ll get to the levels you want to go.”
Day 3 Highlights
Condon started out as the short stack and he found an early double with pocket eights against Andress, but he was out in sixth after he shoved pocket sevens into the jacks of Lonis. The board ran out with all low cards and Lonis picked up right where he left off on Day 2.
Riordan gained traction early in the day with a jump over one million chips while Andress went in the other direction. Andress shoved with a suited king-five, but Shorr was there with pocket sevens to send him to the rail in fifth place.
Laskowitz had the lead in final four play, while Lonis was close behind and the only other player with over two million chips. Shorr and Riordan were both above a million but battling over the short stack. Lonis and Laskowitz soon clashed, and Lonis took the lead when he caught the better of a straight vs. straight battle.
Riordan bounced back in final-four play with a double through Lonis. Lonis had ace-eight, but Riordan caught up with ace-seven to stay alive. That was temporary, however, and Riordan was out in fourth place when he jammed his top pair of nines into the pocket jacks of Lonis. It was another elimination for Lonis, who looked to be unstoppable when three-handed play began.
Laskowitz had different designs and he soon reclaimed the lead. Lonis was just behind and Shorr had fallen into a distant third place. The two big stacks focused on getting Shorr out of the way, but the Alabama native fought back and closed the gap with Lonis and Laskowitz.
Lonis briefly took back the lead and then gave some chips to Shorr when the latter picked up quad jacks to chip. That appeared to be the end for the Super High Roller champ and he drifted to the bottom of the counts before he got it in with ace-six. Laskowitz called with ace-two and flopped the deuce to send Lonis home in third place.
Heads-up play did not last long and Shorr could not get any further traction against the monster stack of Laskowitz. The big moment came when Shorr shoved with queen-ten and ran into the king-ten of the champ.
That wraps up coverage of the $5,300 High Roller at PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from your favorite tournaments around the world.