As 2019 draws to a close, PocketFives takes a look back at the year that was in poker news, going month-by-month through the biggest and most important stories of the year. In September, the long-rumored sale of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino was finally announced leaving players to wonder what’s next for the WSOP.

Caesars Sells The Rio, Retains WSOP

The rumors that the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino would be sold came to fruition in September as Caesars Entertainment Corp CEO Tony Rodio announced that New York real estate company Imperial Companies purchased the home of the World Series of Poker for $516.3 million.

For poker players, the immediate concern was what exactly would happen to the World Series of Poker summer series.

“The World Series of Poker will be hosted at the Rio in 2020 and Caesars will retain the rights to the event. The site of future WSOP events will be announced at a later date.”

“The retention of the World Series of Poker and retention of Caesars Rewards customers are all factors that make this a valuable transaction for Caesars,” Rodio said.

Now that the Rio has officially been sold and the deal closed, speculation will begin as to where the WSOP will land when their deal with Imperial Companies is complete.

Venetian’s ‘Total Prize Pool’ Scheme Earns Criticism

The Venetian Poker Room in Las Vegas drew the ire of the poker community when they decided to try something new with their guaranteed in their upcoming Lucky Shot Poker Series and Drawing.

Rather than offer a traditional guarantee, which can be exceeded if things go well for the poker room, allowing players to battle for larger prize pools – the Venetian rolled out a ‘Total Prize Pool’ scheme which locked in an amount no matter how many people showed up to buy-in.

“Any funds collected above and beyond the total prize pool will be the sole property of The Venetian Poker Room,” the structure sheet read. This meant that while the Venetian was on the hook for the advertised prize pool, they were in the position to collect unlimited rake depending on how well the tournament did.

In the end, the Venetian’s Lucky Shot Poker Series and Drawing ended up with a $27K overlay.

Ken Strauss Arrest Report Shows Troubling Tale

After Ken Strauss’s wild display at the World Series of Poker, one that got him disqualified for exposing himself at the table, his legal troubles continued. In the end, he was arrested in September on terrorism charges.

In the midst of his bizarre behavior at the Rio and a tabletop dance on a craps table at the Luxor, Strauss drew the attention of authorities based on some troubling tweets and that he told employees at the Venetian that he would ‘harm anyone who comes near him and would also harm himself.”

Strauss was arrested, charged with a Class B felony and had bail set at $150,000.

‘BigBlindBets’ Wins WCOOP Main Event

High stakes cash game player ‘BigBlindBets’ topped the field of 2,236 entries in the $5,200 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event to take home $1.665 million in prize money.

Danilo ‘dans170’ Demetrio finished as the runner-up, taking home $1.187 million for second place while well-known high stakes pro Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi added $846,528 to his already substantial bankroll by finishing in third place.

‘LarsLuzak’ Crushes In September For PLB Win

At one time Sami ‘LarsLuzak’ Kelopuro was more well known for his battles at the nosebleed cash game tables. In 2019, he emerged as one of the best tournament poker players of the year, rising to take the worldwide #1 rank.

In September, Kelopuro added to his accolades by winning the PocketFives Monthly PLB and scoring an astounding $4.275 million in a single month thanks to the high stakes tournament scene happening on GGPoker.