The $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship has become the first World Poker Tour event held in the United States to use slide dealing. Dealers are sliding face-down hole cards across the table rather than pitching them through the air, as the series plays at The Venetian Resort through Nov. 10.
Venetian dealers had been required to abandon the conventional pitch technique and learn slide dealing in October, before the championship began.
The method keeps cards close to the felt, reducing the chance that their undersides can be seen by opponents or captured by concealed cameras at table level. Tommy LaRosa told F5 Poker that the procedure reduces the possibility of exposed cards during a deal and improves player security.
As covered in October, Venetian had already introduced slide dealing across its Las Vegas poker room. The 50-table room also installed smoother speed felts and deals cards directly from a shoe.
The PokerStars European Poker Tour announced a gradual introduction of slide dealing at EPT Barcelona in August 2024, while a recent WPT event in Sydney used the method without reported player complaints. WIRED has reported that felt-level hidden cameras can capture card faces during a conventional pitch and transmit that information to an accomplice.
The adjustment has drawn some reservations in Las Vegas, where players and poker officials have cited the cost of retraining dealers and the possibility of fewer hands per hour while staff become proficient. Daniel Negreanu is among those backing the security benefits.
The championship carries a $2 million guaranteed prize pool. Official WPT updates showed 103 entries in Day 1a, with 32 players advancing; Cherish Andrews led them into Day 1b with 344,500 chips, or 138 big blinds. Day 1c is scheduled for Nov. 7, followed by Day 2 on Nov. 8, and the final table is set to be livestreamed on PokerGO from the Venetian Poker Room’s streaming room.
