Kassouf Barred from WPT Venetian Following Controversy at WSOP Tournament
The poker world is abuzz with news about the ban of professional player Will Kassouf from the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Poker Championship. The ban comes after Kassouf's disruptive behavior at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, where he was also banned for the remainder of the WSOP series.
Kassouf's ban from the WSOP was due to excessive slow play, trash-talking, and disrupted game flow, which violated WSOP rules on player conduct. After his elimination in 33rd place from the WSOP Main Event, Kassouf was escorted off the premises and banned from the rest of the WSOP series.
The day after, The Venetian casino decided to ban him from its WPT event. Matt Savage, WPT Executive Tour Director, made the announcement. Savage stated that he has always been able to control Kassouf but added that Kassouf was particularly challenging this year.
However, the policy on Kassouf's behavior during the WPT event has not been explicitly stated. What is known is that the WPT does not ban players, but supports the decisions of their partner casinos. The ban at The Venetian's WPT event appears to be a decision made by the casino, not a long-term ban imposed broadly across all WPT tournaments.
David Baker, another poker player, asked about Kassouf's potential participation in the WPT event and the policy on his tanking and talking. In response, Savage quote tweeted a post and said, "Absolutely!" Matt Savage also responded to a player's question and intimated that the ban was not long-term.
As of now, the $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Championship has reached Day 3 and is now down to 32 players. The tournament can be followed on the WPT site.
PokerOrg has reached out to Savage for further comment on the situation. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
[1] WSOP announces player conduct rule changes following Kassouf incident, PokerNews, 2025. [2] Kassouf banned from WPT Venetian Las Vegas Poker Championship, PokerOrg, 2025. [3] Kassouf's behavior at WSOP Main Event sparks discussion on player conduct, PokerStrategy, 2025.
Sports enthusiasts may be interested to know that the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Poker Championship has banned professional poker player Will Kassouf, following his disruptive behavior at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Despite the WPT's policy against banning players, the decision was made by The Venetian casino, not a long-term ban imposed broadly across all WPT tournaments.
