Daniel Lee topped a field of 418 entrants in the inaugural PokerGO Tour Venetian Las Vegas Classic, claiming the trophy and a $250,000 first-place prize. The strong turnout for this initial running of the $3,300 buy-in tournament saw the $1 million guarantee easily surpassed, with $1,253,997 paid out in the end.
As is often the case when a major event wraps up in Vegas, the final table was stacked with familiar names. 2024 PGT Player of the Year Jeremy Ausmus entered as the chip leader, only to fall in seventh. Lily Kiletto, who has two World Poker Tour final table appearances to her credit, finished as the runner-up.
Doug Lee, the Canadian player who graced ESPN broadcasts 20 years ago during an impressive run on the original version of the WSOP Circuit, took third. Three-time WSOP bracelet winner and 2021 WSOP Poker Players Championship runner-up Ryan Leng (5th) was also in the mix. Adam Walton (8th), who made the official final table but not the final day of the event, finished 3rd in the 2023 WSOP main event.
But the day belonged to Daniel Lee. He started as the shortest stack among the final seven, but quickly doubled through Ausmus. His A♣K♥ didn’t connect with the board until the K♦ river, but that was enough to look up Ausmus’ jack-high river bluff with J♦10♦.
The stacks were bunched up enough that Lee surged into the chip lead. Kiletto shook things up when she doubled through Doug Lee, as her pocket aces held off Lee’s flopped pair of jacks. She’d soon pick off a big bluff from Doug Lee, and that put Kiletto into the lead.
The Chaos Continues
Daniel Lee slipped further down when his overs and double gutshot missed in an all-in against Leng. Doug Lee doubled back at the expense of Ausmus, shoving his last 10 big blinds with Q♦5♦ and smacking a 5♥ on the flop to beat Ausmus’ A♣8♦.
That left Ausmus with just over 1 big blind, and it went in against both Daniel Marcus and Santiago Montes. Marcus and Montes checked down a K♥9♠2♠A♥10♥ board, and Montes’ Q♠9♥ was good for the pot, sending Ausmus out in seventh. With 270 Card Player Player of the Year points bringing his total to 5,567, Ausmus currently sits 12th on the leaderboard presented by CoinPoker. The six-time bracelet winner has made 13 final tables and won two titles so far in 2025.
Lily Kiletto
Montes’ good fortune wouldn’t last. His all-in with A♦Q♣ received a call from Daniel Lee with 10♣10♠. The eight-high board offered nothing to Montes, and he was out in sixth.
Daniel Lee continued this upward trajectory by busting Leng in fifth. Lee’s A♠J♠ fell behind Leng’s K♣Q♦ on a Q♣10♠8♣ flop, but the 9♦ turn gave Lee a winning straight.
Kiletto had steadily extended her lead, but Daniel Lee quickly closed the gap. He took more than half of Marcus’ chips with a straight-over-straight. Lee then claimed the rest of Marcus’ stack as A♦J♣ beat Marcus’ K♣7♣ on an A♥Q♣9♦5♠8♦ runout.
Kiletto brought the stacks nearly even when she dispatched Doug Lee in third. Her K♣7♣ was ahead of his Q♦10♣, and remained so as it ran out 8♦7♥2♣9♣8♣.
An Abrupt Finale
While Kiletto pulled ahead slightly early on in the match, she and Daniel Lee ultimately clashed in a massive pot. That confrontation, with most of the chips in play involved, ultimately swung the tournament for good. Lee opened to 450,000, Kiletto called, and the flop fell J♣8♦4♣. Kiletto checked, Lee continued for 350,000 and Kiletto slid out a big check-raise to 900,000.
Lee clicked it back for 1.7 million. Kiletto shipped it all-in, having Lee slightly covered. Lee eventually called for 7,275,000, and the cards turned up.
Lee’s K♠J♠ was ahead, but Kiletto’s K♣2♣ could have won her the tournament with a club on the turn or river. The A♠ and 4♦ were blanks, though, and Kiletto was left with crumbs.
Kiletto wouldn’t go quietly, though. She turned a club flush with 5♣3♣ to crack Lee’s aces. She then turned J♣4♣ into two-pair to double again.
But ultimately, with a chance to double back to nearly even, the cards wouldn’t come. Kiletto shoved with A♣10♦ and Lee called with K♥J♥. The board ran out J♦8♠7♥7♠4♥, and with a pair of jacks, Lee’s victory was secured.
Daniel Lee speaks on his $250,000 PGT Venetian Las Vegas Classic win. pic.twitter.com/nNPb9vNb6B
— PGT (@PokerGOTour) September 16, 2025
Lee nearly matched his career-best result with this triumph. That $256,020 score came with the trophy in last year’s APT Manila main event. In addition to his first-place prize money, Lee walked away with 1,080 POY points. Lee also earned 250 PGT points towards the tour’s season-long leaderboard.
This was the second-largest result of Kiletto’s career. Her best result came in February 2013, when she finished second in the WPT Lucky Hearts Open.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Daniel Lee | $250,000 | 1080 | 250 |
| 2 | Lily Kiletto | $170,000 | 900 | 170 |
| 3 | Doug Lee | $120,000 | 720 | 120 |
| 4 | Daniel Marcus | $82,000 | 540 | 82 |
| 5 | Ryan Leng | $63,000 | 450 | 63 |
| 6 | Santiago Montes | $48,000 | 360 | 48 |
| 7 | Jeremy Ausmus | $35,000 | 270 | 35 |
| 8 | Adam Walton | $25,000 | 180 | 25 |
| 9 | Ryan Stiner | $20,000 | 90 | 20 |
Photo credit: PokerGO Tour/Antonio Abrego
