After being told he wouldn’t be welcome to play in any other WSOP events this summer, WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage has stated that Will Kassouf was also banned from playing in the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Poker Championship that is currently underway.
Savage posted the news on X, and in the replies he added that it was a Venetian decision and that it hadn’t come directly from the WPT.
“The WPT doesn’t ban players," he said. "The partner casinos make the rules in regard to that, and we support their decisions,” Savage added. In reply to another account, he said, “It’s not my decision; we support the decisions of our partner casinos.”
Not a long-term blanket ban
Kassouf picked up his WSOP ban after a dramatic run through the Main Event that ended in 33rd place, netting him $300,000. Once he had been eliminated, Kassouf was informed that he would not be eligible to play any more WSOP events this year and was escorted out of the tournament area.
Some players were speculating that Kassouf may play the WPT event following this.
David Baker asked, “Will Kassouf be there, and what is the policy on him tanking and talking? Just want to know when I’m deciding where to go tomorrow.”
Another player pointed out that WPT has a shot clock, which would neutralize Kassouf's tanking anyway.
“If WPT already implements the 'action' clock, which effectively neutralizes Kassouf’s misbehavior, then why would he not have been able to play at WPT?”
Savage responded to another player on X and intimated that it was not a long-term ban, certainly with regard to wider WPT events.
He quote tweeted the following post, saying, “Absolutely!”
He followed up by saying, “‘Cooling off’ is the exact word used by the person(s) making the decision.” Savage also said that he has always been able to control Kassouf but added, “He was next level this year!"
PokerOrg has reached out to Savage for further comment.
The $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Championship is now down to 32 players on Day 3 — you can follow all the action on the WPT site.
