Play Poker Chicago

22/09/2026

Ok our first stream was a mess - to put it lightly lol. We bit off more that we could chew for the first time. But here is the early stream from the final table of the Gladiator.

I promise it will get better as we work through the kinks. We only set up one of the 3 side cameras and for some reason it stoped and we only had the overhead one working. Give us a little time to get it together.... a great journey starts with a stubbed toe or two.

Early final table action from Play Poker Chicago THE GLADIATOR.

22/09/2026

Stephen Gatses took down the Play Poker Chicago THE GLADIATOR multi-day tournament over the weekend. He beat out 233 other players to take down the title of THE GLADIATOR 2026!

The final table finish order was:

9th - William Blackman
8th - Ricardo Carrillo
7th - Jane Bond
6th - Cris Montes
5th - Brian Hocraffer
4th - Jason Sherlock
3rd - Travis Cooley
2nd - Guillermo "Memo" Magdaleno

A special shout to Rick Freeman who came in with a short stack and played very well on the day and just fell short of the final table finishing in 10th.

Stephen a long time regular in the room said that this was his first poker Trophy win. Stephen has a long history in the poker community and has dealt to some of the great poker players and in some of the biggest rooms in Las Vegas. He and his wife Samantha's are the owners of one of my favorite post poker stops, Submarine City Lockport

The entire PPC team want to thank all of our players that made this event one of our biggest ever. We can't wait to do it again..... It's going to be a battle to take down the 2027 GLADIATOR..... get ready!

20/09/2026

The last bags have been locked down! David Spillett bagged 147,000 along with Jason Selock is moving forward with 239,000 and Casey Rose improved on his last bag to stack 306,000.

Remember if you made Day 2. All chips will be in play at 12:00 Noon. If you are not in the room at your seat by the end of the first break your chips will be removed from play and you will get the next cash on the ladder.

Remember we will be at Stone City VFW located at 124 Stone City Drive in Joliet.

Even if you're not in the Gladiator we have a full slate of tournaments and cash games on tap:

12:00 PM - The Gladiator Day 2
1:00 PM - DeepStack Classic $150.00
3:00 PM - Door Buster $25.00
4:00 PM - Cash Tables Open
6:00 PM - Hold' em Blood River $50.00
8:00 PM - The Stacker $60.00

20/09/2026

4 Additional players moved to day 2 of the Play Poker Chicago THE GLADIATOR tournament. One last flight going on now. Day 2 starts at Noon September 20th at the Stone City VFW located at 124 Stone City Drive in Joliet. William moves forward with 340,000. Anthony Moves on with 149,000. Brian H bagged 121,000 and Stephen bagged a second time to add a min cash for himself.

Even if you're not in the Gladiator we have a full slate of tournaments and cash games.

12:00 PM - The Gladiator Day 2
1:00 PM - DeepStack Classic $150.00
3:00 PM - Door Buster $25.00
4:00 PM - Cash Tables Open
6:00 PM - Hold' em Blood River $50.00
8:00 PM - The Stacker $60.00

19/09/2026

5 Players advanced to the Day 2 Of THE GLADIATOR - Don't miss your chance to join them for Day 2. Jace Molinets 145,000, Andrew Luck 271,000, Guillermo Magdaleno 344,000, Robert Dillon 95,000, Ricardo Carrillo 229,000 and Ken Sapyta Bagged his third bag to get a min cash.

Saturday September 19th: You have 2 MORE CHANCES - Cards fly at 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM to get into Day 2. Join us at Stone City VFW, located at 124 Stone City Drive in Joliet.

10/09/2026

2 events this weekend out at
Cantigny VFW
826 Horseshoe Dr
Joliet Il


River Rat Poker

10/09/2026

Well we can now say a WPT Champion has played at PPC. Congrats to Blake for taking down the WPT Bestbet Jacksonville Scramble.

it is now hereby decreed that the 6 4 of Hearts will be known as "The Blake" throughout the room.

Here is how he did it:

HAND #158 - Blake Ellinghaus limps for 150,000, and Jared Reinstein checks his option in the big blind.

Both players check to the turn on a board of Spade JDiamond 8Heart 5Diamond 3, Reinstein bets 200,000, Ellinghaus raises to 850,000, and Reinstein calls.

The river card is the Club 7, Reinstein checks, Ellinghaus moves all in, and Reinstein uses one Time Chip to tank for a while before he calls with Heart 7Diamond 6 for a rivered pair of sevens.

But Ellinghaus turns over Heart 6Diamond 4 to win the pot -- and the WPT title -- with an eight-high straight.

Jared Reinstein finishes as the runner-up, earning $184,000.

Blake Ellinghaus wins the WPT bestbet Scramble Championship, earning $294,900. That amount includes his $10,400 entry into the season-ending WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. Ellinghaus will also have his name engraved on the one-and-only Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, alongside every other WPT champion from all 24 seasons of the World Poker Tour.

Congratulations to Blake Ellinghaus!

1st: Blake Ellinghaus - $294,900*
2nd: Jared Reinstein - $184,000
3rd: Bryan Paris - $135,000
4th: Skyler Dennis - $100,000
5th: Michael Macchia - $75,000
6th: Hugh Membrino - $57,000