Kristopher Dearie Wins PokerGO’s NFT Invitational at ARIA in Las Vegas

The first-ever PokerGO NFT Invitational event saw a field of 134 players end with a dramatic final table that featured seven players making the money. In the end, a PokerGO star was outlasted by a local as Kristopher Dearie won the top prize of $5,000 and a lot more.

For PokerGO, who this week expanded their current televised poker output as they grown their overall brand it is the latest in a long line of great final tables, with plenty more to come this month as the PGT Leaderboard plays down to a top 21 at ARIA in Las Vegas.

Freerolling for $25,000

With a field of players gathered through their possession of the PokerGO Genesis NFTs, the first non-fungible tokens put on release by the poker brand, there was $25,000 to be fought over. That would be awarded in cold hard cash and it was an invite-only set-up, with PokerGO’s own Donnie Peters making the final table.

The build-up had included an NFT holder Meet ‘N’ Greet on December 2^nd, where players got a chance to rub shoulders before trading three bets. It also gave them a chance to pre-register for the Invitational tournament and win exclusive PokerGO merch and prizes, such as signed memorabilia from the great and good in the game.

Some of the players who failed to make the final table included the 2013 WSOP Main Event world champion Ryan Riess, WSOP bracelet winner and Main Event runner-up David Williams, WPT Championship Club member Dylan Linde and ‘Chicago Joey’ Ingram himself. With a whole host of other NFT  holders in the mix, other big names such as controversial poker figure Robbi Jade Lew all fell before the final 23 players were paid.

Peters First to Poker-Go

With seven players making the final table, Kristopher Dearie started and ended the action with the chip lead and busted Donnie Peters in seventh place for a score of $1,200. Peters pocket eights weren’t good pizza against the pocket queens of Dearie and got sliced on the K-3-2-7-K board. PokerGO’s Senior Communication and PR Manager gave everyone a handshake and shared a delightful video on Twitter of his family watching him in action.

Next to leave was Joseph Hilleli, who busted in sixth place for $1,375 when his suited king-nine fell in a three-way hand against Brenden Deics and Devon Sampson. Sampson’s queen-ten took the lead on the turn of a ten after the seven-high flop had helped nobody, and no king on the river (Deics having folded king-jack on the turn) led to Hilleli hitting the rail.

With five players left, Deics was all-in and knocked out as his king-queen was deemed good enough to shove with, and Dearie called with ace-jack. A jack-high board saw Dearie make top pair with top kicker and that elevated him into the lead once more, Deics cashing for $1,625 in fifth.

Dearie Claims Entertaining Victory

With four players left, the race for the title was well and truly on. Wayne Strutt came into the final table with possibly the most headline-friendly surname, but his shove with nine-six of diamonds was doomed when Dearie made the call with ace-ten and flopped an ace. Both turn and river couldn’t help Strutt, and he sauntered from the room (we resisted strutted there – Ed) and won $2,000 in fourth place.

Three-handed poker saw an almost immediate elimination, as the Canadian player Sampson bowed out. All-in from the small blind with ace-six, he was skittled by the quiet man of the final table, Darik Conley, from the big blinds. He called with king-four and flopped a king, no ace coming to save the luckless Sampson, who busted for $2,750.

Despite winning that hand, Dearie was very much the underdog going into the final duel, holding just a third of Conley’s chipstack. That advantage proved a false dawn for Conley as Dearie went on to claim the win at his fellow American’s expense. Winning with nine-eight against king-five, Dearie moved to parity, and snuck into the lead before his ace-nine dominated and defeated Conley’s king-nine, trip aces on the flop doing the damage and pronouncing Dearie the PokerGO NFT Invitational champion for $5,000.

For Conley it was a case of so near and yet so far, as the Horseshoe Las Vegas dealer Dearie made good on his final table lead in the end. You can watch the final table rerun right here with commentary from Brent Hanks and Remko Rinkema.