This Week in Vegas: The Chainsaw Series Cuts To The Action

Seven days of poker action lie ahead for Las Vegas poker players, but with mixed games battling for attention with No Limit Hold’em, where’s the value? 

I’ve scoured Sin City to find the best places to play over the next week with a packed schedule of action. While both the Signature Series and DeepStack Showdown continue, there’s another series that is worth your time and money, and we have a unique way to pass the time between events. 

Playing The Board: The Chainsaw Series Cuts Through

Allen Kessler is famously known for his curmudgeonly nature at the felt, but there’s nothing stingy about his Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker, which is currently on at Caesars Palace.

The event series, which takes place in a wide variety of mixed game formats, runs through Monday, August 31, features low buy-ins, and is a great entry point for anyone looking to refine their skills in mixed games.

Caesars Palace hosts the Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker, which runs all week, with buy-ins set at $400 for side events, which feature 40,000-chip starting stacks and 30-minute levels.

The headline $800 T.O.R.S.E. Championship is a format Kessler is infinitely passionate about and gives more seasoned mixed game players the chance to maximize their edge. 

The numbers have been strong so far, with a good example being the $400 H.O.R.S.E. event, which had 46 entries and paid a very healthy top prize of $5,337.

The fee structure holds up too. Each $400 event puts $340 into the prize pool, with $60 covering administrative and point-of-sale fees, so you are paying 15%. The $800 T.O.R.S.E. Championship drops that to 10%, with $720 of your buy-in playing. For a mixed game championship, that is genuinely good value.

You won’t want to miss out on the final four events. They include a $400 5-Way Limit Triple Draw event on August 28^th featuring Ace-5, Deuce-Seven, Badacey, Badeucey and Badugi. 

The next night sees a $400 Pot-Limit Big O tournament, while the following night sees Day 1 of the headline event, the $800 T.O.R.S.E. Championship, which takes place in a 6-Max format, you should be aware of. Monday closes things out with the T.O.R.S.E. Championship final day, as well as a one-day $400 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw event. 

Don’t take my word for it and make sure you play at least one event this weekend.

Here’s what’s happening this week in Las Vegas – Friday 28^th August to Thursday 3^rd September 2026.

Around the Rooms: Signature or Showdown? 

The Wynn Signature Series remains one of the major attractions in Las Vegas this week. The series runs from August 17 through September 7, with a mixture of buy-ins and formats throughout the festival. 

The $600-entry Event #20 is my pick for a simple reason: it has a $300,000 guarantee attached. You can start with 40,000 chips and the regular flights feature 40-minute levels. At the other end of the week, Thursday, September 3, sees the start of the $1,100 tournament, Event #33 carries a $400,000 guarantee, with Day 1a beginning at 11.00 am.

At The Venetian, their DeepStack Showdown goes out with a bang: the $250-entry, $ 100,000-guarantee Event #31 is essentially the Main Event of the weekend. It’s only a 30,000 starting stack in that one, but the same 40-minute levels. 

The final event of the series kicks off early Monday, with cards in the air at 11.10am. The $300 No Limit Hold’em event has a $20,000 guarantee, more than enough to save the series if your week faded early.

The Orleans is another option worth keeping an eye on this Sunday, with its $200 NLHE event starting at 11.05 am and having a $50,000 guarantee. If the crowds are elsewhere, keep an eye on that as either an alternative or a saver should you bust early at the Wynn or Venetian. That’s my low buy-in tournament of the weekend.

One to Swerve: The Too-Late Show at South Point 

I’m in no way bringing down the efforts of South Point, who genuinely run a terrific cardroom that caters for local players magnificently, but during big tournament series such as those on at Wynn Las Vegas and Venetian, why do they continue to run their 10.10 pm entry event? 

Costing $120 to play, the most recent event had just 26 entrants and paid four places. The winner, who likely chopped due to exhaustion, won less than the original top prize of just $766. If they went with an even chop heads-up, then their win was worth just $623. While there are big series elsewhere, we’d love to see the South Point cardroom take the mature stance of making their last tournament entry at 6.10 pm. 

Anything after that seems counter-productive. 

If you want a late game this weekend, the Orleans Sunday $200 is the better use of the money.

Off the Felt: The Emerald Kayak Experience 

If you’ve been swimming with sharks at the felt, then we’d recommend taking a kayak onto shallow waters, specifically the Colorado River. The clear water lights up like the Emerald City and is just 45 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. 

There are a number of operators, but I’d go with experienced guides, such as River Dogs. Perfect for beginners and guaranteed to get the blood pumping, I’d recommend a guided row through the crystal-clear waters, where you’ll learn some of Vegas’ rich history, getting some exercise in a very different seat to the one you’re rooted to all week.

Over the next seven days, I’d recommend trying your hand at mixed games in the friendly environment of the Chainsaw Mixed Games Series at Caesars Palace, whatever level you are at. You might find that by expanding your poker palette, you’ve a new appetite for tournament action.