This content was AI generated based on the original article published on https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/10/will-kassouf-wins-third-place-money-despite-busting-day-2-in-52658.htm. All credits for the original reporting belong to them.
La Notte Degli Assi, held at the world’s oldest casino in Venice, wrapped up its €1,000,000 guaranteed Main Event after drawing 2,630 entries across ten Day 1 flights. The tournament stood out for its unusual structure, offering variable buy-ins and the option to re-buy, a feature rarely seen in modern poker events.
Buy-ins ranged from €400 in the first four flights to €600 in the remaining six, with re-buy costs set accordingly. A distinctive “Caccia al Tesoro,” or treasure hunt, promotion added further intrigue, allocating €200,000 of the overall prize pool to bonus prizes worth between €900 and €50,000.
Fifty tickets for the treasure hunt draw were awarded to the top five chip stacks from each Day 1 flight, with players able to earn multiple entries if they qualified more than once. Anyone finishing a flight with chips secured at least €900, though only their largest stack carried over to Day 2.
Will Kassouf, known for his brash table talk and deep World Series of Poker runs, earned a ticket by bagging the fourth-largest stack during the Last Chance flight, finishing with 2,900,000 in chips from a 200,000 starting stack.
Although Kassouf failed to advance deep into the tournament after busting during Day 2, his treasure hunt ticket proved decisive. He drew the event’s top bonus prize of €50,000, a sum just shy of the official third-place payout of €56,600.
Other sizeable treasure hunt prizes of €30,000, €20,000, and €15,000 went to additional Day 1 chip leaders, highlighting the format’s unique blend of early-stage reward and later-stage drama.
