Ian Shaw wrote his name into the World Poker Tour‘s history books by taking down the inaugural WPT500 Mexico City Main Event.

The tournament was billed as being “OnLive,” and was only open to players that held a WPT Global account. In total, 763 players competed in the WPT500 Mexico City Main Event, with an impressive 514 of those entrants stemming from online Day 1s held at WPT Global.

WPT500 Mexico City Final Table Results

The top 91 finishers won a slice of a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. A min-cash weighed in at $1,310 with a final table appearance boosting that sum to $11,200.

Pablo Giron was the ninth-place finisher after losing a coinflip against Shaw’s ace-queen. Shaw min-raised to 400,000 before calling the 1,800,000 shove from Giron. Shaw turned over ace-queen, which beat Giron’s red deuces courtesy of an ace on the flop and a queen on the turn.

Francisco Rios Vallejo busted ten minutes after Giron fell, his four big blind shove with ace-king being called by Shaw’s dominated king-three. A three on the flop proved enough to reduce the player count by one.

WPT Global Spring Festival May 21-June 4 Has Something for Everyone

Sixth place and $18,700 went to Cesar David Reynoso Arredondo, who became Shaw’s latest victim. Shaw raised enough to set Arredondo all-in, and he called off his last six big blinds with a more than respectable ace-ten. However, Shaw flipped over ace-queen, and his queen-kicker won him the pot.

Angel Guillen‘s quest to take down a major tournament in his home town was left in ruins when his pocket three lost to Juan Jose Cepeda Dirzo‘s ace-queen, which left him with four big blinds. Guillen never recovered, and was part of a double elimination alongside Jonathan Miguel Aburto Solis.

Solis’ and Dirzo’s chips went into the middle of the felt, with Guillen all-in for 50,000 from the small blind. Dirzo showed pocket sixes, Solis pocket rockets, and Guillen the lowly seven-four of diamonds. Solis looked set for a timely double, but Dirzo flopped a set of sixes before improving to a full house on the river, busting Guillen infifth and Solis in fourth.

Shaw got back to doing what he does best, and that is busting foes. Santiago Gonzalez made a play with ten-nine for his last 5.5 big blinds, and Shaw looked him up with king-queen. A jack-high board was no help to Gonzalez, and he crashed out in third for $44,000.

Shaw went into the heads-up battle with Dirzo holding a 14,375,000 to 8,250,000 chip lead. It took less then 30-minutes for Shaw to eliminate his final opponent.

Exciting Changes Hit WPT Global; PLO Cash Leaderboards Launched & More Multi-tabling

Dirzo shoved from the button with ace-six, and Shaw instantly called with ace-queen. The five community cards fell without a six in sight, busting Dirzo, and leaving shaw to get his hands on the winner’s trophy and the $88,690 top prize.

The $88,690 Shaw banked is a career-high score, surpassing the $62,331 he collected for a fourth-place finish in a $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo/Stud Hi-Lo event at the 2018 World Series of Poker.

Join WPT Global Today

The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world’s largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.

Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

There are 95 bracelet events — most in history — on the2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule, all of which are important and worth your attention as a fan of the game. But if you can’t catch them all on PokerGO or follow along our live reporting updates, there are five tournaments you absolutely cannot miss.

The 54th annual summer poker extravaganza kicks off May 30 with, as is tradition, the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em. On that same day, there’s a $25,000 High Roller that would certainly be of interest to a true poker fan.

As mentioned, there are so many exciting bracelet events on the schedule. We strongly encourage you to lock in all summer long. But if your schedule won’t permit you to focus on poker daily, make sure you set aside time to follow these five bracelet events.

Event #8: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship

Many consider heads-up no-limit hold’em to be the purest form of poker. At the 2023 WSOP, you’ll get to witness some of the best heads-up players battle for a massive prize pool and one of the most coveted bracelets all summer.

Last year, the great Dan Smith finally won his first WSOP title in the heads-up tournament for $509,717. In doing so, he removed his name from the top of the “best to have never won a bracelet list.” This year’s version of the tournament — Event #8: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship — began today at noon and will last for three days.

Smith will almost certainly attempt to defend his title, but it won’t be easy given the expected difficult competition. The 2023 heads-up tournament is expected to draw in many of the same crushers from previous years, such as Chance Kornuth, Alex Foxen, and Christoph Vogelsang.

Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em

When poker players risk absurd amounts of money to compete in a tournament, it’s pretty much must-watch TV. It’s even more entertaining when the top grinders in the world compete, which will be the case when Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em begins June 16 at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

In 2022, Alex Foxen, the two-time GPI Player of the Year, claimed his first bracelet in this very same event. He beat out 56 entrants to secure a career-best $4,563,700.

Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship

Most would consider the Main Event the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. But there’s definitely an argument to be made about Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship as the second most important tournament. For mixed game players, this is their Main Event.

It used to be dubbed the “Michael Mizrachi Invitational” because Mizrachi, aka “The Grinder,” won it in 2010, 2012, and 2018. That title might soon change because Dan “Jungleman” Cates has taken it down the past two years. Cates will attempt to make it back-to-back-to-back, ala the 1990s Chicago Bulls. If he does, that would likely be widely considered the greatest accomplishment in poker history.

Last year, Jungleman beat out 112 players to win $1,449,300 and the coveted gold bracelet. This year’s edition will start on June 18 and have the same five-day structure as in the past.

Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em

When it comes to the lower buy-in tournaments — and there are plenty of juicy ones on the 2023 WSOP schedule — the most interesting one of them all each year is the Milly Maker.

June 23 is the start of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em, a five-day contest that guarantees the winner will take home at least $1 million. For such a low buy-in, the mere fact that one player will become a millionaire and receive a shiny gold bracelet makes this tournament one of the best on the schedule every year.

In 2022, the KFC fried chicken-loving Yuliyan Kolev came out victorious, outlasting a field of 7,961 entrants for the $1,125,141 first place prize.

Event #76: $10,000 Main Event

If you watch poker just once all year, it should be the Main Event, poker’s world championship tournament. Event #76: $10,000 Main Event will begin July 3 and play down to a winner on July 17.

Espen Jorstad is your reigning world champion after having taken down the second largest Main Event in history (8,663), and received a $10,000,000 payday.

PokerNews, as will be the case with all 95 bracelet events, will be on-hand live reporting the 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event from start to finish. PokerGO and CBS Sports Network will once again handle the television and live-streaming duties throughout the most prestigious poker tournament in the world.

Who will join the exclusive club that includes legends of the game such as Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson? We’ll find out at the end of the summer.

Phil Ivey ran deep in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Mexico City Mystery Bounty, a $3,000 buy-in tournament, but ultimately was eliminated in fourth place ($19,000). Luis Gonzalez, on the other hand, was the last player out of 69 standing and received $62,100 for his efforts.

WPT Mexico Feria also featured a WPT500 event that had a huge field of 763 entrants, creating a $500,000 prize pool with 91 players reaching the money. After all was said and done, Ian Shaw came out victorious for a $88,690. Juan Jose Cepeda Dirzo was the runner-up and earned a $59,000 consolation prize.

The WPT500 Mexico City event was a unique tournament in that it was a hybrid online-live event. Play began on the WPT Global platform and then the players who reached Day 2 returned to action to finish things up at the Frontón México entertainment venue.

Final Table Results

WPT Ambassadors in Action

The Mystery Bounty event, which awarded a top bounty prize of $75,000 on top of the main prize pool, brought out some big names in the game, including WPT ambassadors and personnel Ivey, Brad Owen, and Lynn Gilmartin.

Ivey not only ran deep but was the only American who finished in the money. Gilmartin came close to the money, but was eliminated in 11th place, two spots from a cash. Owen, the most popular poker vlogger of all-time, went out in 18th place.

No one could outlast Gonzalez, who defeated Tomas Szwarcberg heads-up for the title. The runner-up was paid $42,000.

Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

The first online bracelet event of the 2023 World Series of Poker was the $333 Triple Treys Summer Tip Off. It drew 1,330 entries (including re-entries), creating a total prize pool of $634,800. After nine hours and 33 minutes of play, it was Cody “1eggadaymike” Bell who had all the chips in play in his possession. For his efforts, he receives $87,665 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

$333 Triple Treys Summer Tip Off Final Table Results

“Lbird33” was the unfortunate soul wh popped the money bubble, busting in 241st place. The remaining 240 players secured at least $952, while those who navigated their way to the final two tables locked in at least $3,681.

Notable players who were eliminated before the final table included former bracelet winner Steve “gborooo” Gross (13th – $4,951), Benjamin “MrLarryDavid” Felson (31st – $1,904) and Vanessa “ContainsNuts” Kade (35th – $1,904).

Seven-Handed Final Table Reached

Benjamin “Pr0spector88” Palmer was eliminated in seventh place when his pocket aces were cracked. Palmer took home $14,409 for his deep run.

Nicholas “MrFinalT” Kiley, “CN_23”, and “JLEbrun” were next to fall by the wayside, leaving only three players in the hunt for the title and the all-important bracelet.

Bell held a massive chip lead over his two remaining opponents going into three-handed play. The rich became richer when Bell’s pocket fives cracked the kings of “Fzzypenguin” who exited third for $47,038.

It did not take long for Bell to finish off Douglas “OpenOpen” May in a brief one-on-one clash. who took $63,987 for his runner-up finish, while Bell took home $87,665 for the win as well as his first WSOP gold bracelet.

That wraps up PokerNews’ coverage of the first online event of the 2023 WSOP. Stay dialled into our live reporting pages for all of the action from every bracelet-awarding tournament on the bustling 2023 WSOP schedule.

The 888poker XL Spring Series draws to a thrilling conclusion on June 5 with the massive $500,000 guaranteed Main Event. While there are still a few Day 1s for you to get your teeth into, time is rapidly running out if you want to become the XL Spring Series Main Event champion.

At the time of writing, some 306 players have entered the $250 buy-in $500,000 guaranteed XL Spring Series Main Event, and only 54 have managed to punch their Day 2 tickets at the first time of asking.

British grinder “PasaukMamai” is the current chip leader, having turned their 10,000 starting stack into a tournament-leading 167,680 during their chosen starting flight. “PasaukMamai” is now on course to become this tournament’s champion and has enough chips to eliminate opponents when the massive mystery bounties become active on Day 2.

PokerNews believes the largest bounty to enter the mix on Day 2 will be worth $50,000! Can you imagine bagging a $50,000 bounty?

888poker XL Spring Series Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts

_{Chip counts are accurate as of 2:00 p.m. BST on June 2}

Remaining XL Spring Series Main Event Schedule

Clicking the table below reveals the remaining 888poker XL Spring Series Main Event Day 1s that you can jump into. Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 9:00 p.m. BST on June 5, with the final table streamed on the excellent 888poker Twitch channel from 7:00 p.m. BST on June 6.

Don’t worry if the $250 Main Event buy-in is out of the constraints of your bankroll because 888poker is running a plethora of satellites from as little as $0.01!

Why Not Get Your Grind On in Other 888poker Tournaments?

It is not only the $500,000 guaranteed XL Spring Series Main Event that is taking place at 888poker this weekend because this online poker giant has scores of tournaments running around the clock.

The PokerNews Online Tournament Calendar is perfect for you if you don’t want to spend time sifting through all the upcoming and in-play 888poker tournaments. Set a handful of filters to zero in on your perfect 888poker tournament without having to leave PokerNews!

Back in May, Borgata Poker and BetMGM, a leading sports betting and iGaming operator, presented Almighty Million, a $1,000 buy-in tournament boasting a $1 million guarantee. That was crushed as 2,761 entrants created a $1,955,065 prize pool – the largest in the history of the Almighty Million – which was paid out to the top 250 finishers.

There was a lot of money on the line at the final table, which is why the final 10 players opted to work a deal that ultimately saw Daniel Cosner claiming the trophy and $178,872 in prize money.

“I’m still in shock. It’s something I’ve dreamed about doing since I started playing poker. For now,” Cosner said after the win. In addition to taking six figures in prize money, Cosner also claimed a $6,500 package to the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA in Las Vegas which starts on June 9th and culminates with a live-streamed final table on June 13th.

“I plan on continuing to study,” he added. “I’m just hoping I can run deep again in a huge event. I also plan on bringing my dad with me so hopefully he can play the event as well and he can get his first big cash.”

Almighty Million Final Table Results

Others to cash the tournament were Joseph Licata (11th – $19,551), Will “The Thrill” Failla (13th – $13,197), John Parisi (17th – $10,069), Louis Russo (25th – $8,211), Eric Hayes (32nd – $6,940), Jaime Reyes (41st – $5,865), Mike Dentale (54th – $4,888), and Anthony Cicali (66th – $3,910).

“It was a pleasure to host a successful relaunch of the Almighty Million for the first time in more than three years. Our players made one thing very clear about this event, they love it and want more events like it. We cannot wait to make that happen,” said Kellie De Celis, the Director of Poker Operations at Borgata.

BetMGM Director of Poker Luke Staudenmaier, an industry veteran, stated: “Almighty Million proved to be another fantastic omnichannel event with BetMGM Poker and Borgata Poker. From online qualifiers to a record prize pool, players have shown a high level of enthusiasm for the return of Almighty Million to the premier poker room on the East Coast.”

PokerNews reached out to Luke Staudenmaier to ask him some additional questions regarding the event, BetMGM Online & Live plans, and much more.

Q&A Luke Staudenmaier, Director of Poker, BetMGM

PokerNews: The Borgata just wrapped its Almighty Million. How did it go?

Almighty Million was a resounding success and we were so thrilled to be able to support the Borgata Poker team for this event. From a numbers point of view, over 170 players qualified/registered for the event using the BetMGM Poker app and the event resulted in a prize pool that reached $1.9 million, the largest in the history of Almighty Million.

Are there future plans for tournaments at the Borgata?

Absolutely! We have ambitious plans to continuously iterate on our successes, ranging from new tactics for qualifying players to raising the bar when it comes to player experience once they arrive at Borgata. The relationship with the Borgata Poker team, MGM Resorts, and BetMGM is extremely collaborative, everyone brings creative ideas to the table.

In regards to the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA – what can you tell us about promotions leading up to the event? Will you be qualifying players online?

We are currently qualifying players online in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ontario for the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA. Last year we sent nearly 70 players to this championship and this year we are aiming to reach 100. We’re really pulling out all the stops: depositor satellites each week, ambitious qualifier guarantees, engaging ‘Spin the Wheel’ promotions, and communicating with a wide range of players, not just professionals. Our partners at MGM Resorts have doubled the guarantee from $1 million to $2 million, so there’s a lot of work to do!

Who are the current BetMGM Poker Ambassadors? Any chance we might see more in the future?

We have worked closely with four-time WPT champion Darren Elias. Darren is a consummate professional and is passionate about both online and land-based poker. There is always a chance that we’ll find new partners to work with. As a team of passionate poker players, our eyes are always peeled for new talent.

What else is coming up this summer for BetMGM Poker? Any online tournament series? Special promotions? That sort of thing?

While we know that the summer weather has an impact on online poker traffic, it also presents an opportunity to put new ideas to the test and to gauge player feedback. We are constantly working on new tournament promotions to keep players interested in our larger seasonal championship series. Progressive knockouts, low buy-ins, high rollers, PLO – we’ll try them all and let our players decide if we keep them or not.

In regards to the future of US online poker, can you give us any sort of idea of what BetMGM Poker is either preparing for or would like to see happen?

It is our hope that more states adopt sensible regulations and that the great game of poker continues to thrive in the USA, both in the digital and land-based spaces. As states adopt legislation, more players will discover the game, more poker content will be created and shared, and more innovative opportunities to connect digital and land-based poker players will surface.

Executive Editor U.S.

Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

The third day of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas gave an indication of things to come, with no fewer than six events taking place across the vast tournament areas. Throw into the mix the first bracelet-awarding online event of the series, and you have all of the ingredients for a super busy day of poker.

Two events crowned their champions; the $25,000 High Roller 6-Handed was the first. Switzerland’s Alexandre Vuilleumier came out on top in that event, clinching $1,215,864 and his first piece of poker hardware. Amazingly, Vuilleumier only started dedicating himself to tournament poker in January 2022, yet here he is, winning some poker gold and the 2023 WSOP’s first seven figure score.

Bracelet number two went to Cody “1eggadaymke” Bell, who took down the first online event of the summer, the $333 No-Limit Hold’em Triple Treys Summer Tip Off for $87,666.

Pro-Heavy Dealer’s Choice Down to Only 11 Players

Andrew “AJ” Kelsall is one of only 11 players that survived an action-packed Day 2 in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-handed. The day started with 135 players hoping to progress to Day 3, but the field was decimated over the course of ten hours of poker.

Kelsall tops the chip counts with a 1,950,000 stack, but there are some supremely talented players hot on his heels. Such luminaries as Nick Pupillo (1,105,000), Chad Eveslage (1,095,000), David Levi (645,000), and John Racener (565,000) are still in the mix.

Day 2 saw many big hitters fall by the wayside. Jeff Lisandro, Phil Hellmuth, David Bach, Marco Johnson, Frank Kassela, Daniel Negreanu, and Benny Glaser were just a handful of stellar names that cannot win this event.

Event #5: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed Seat Draw

Join PokerNews from 1:00 p.m. on June 2 as the final 11 players fight it out until one player has all of the chip in play.

Davis Bags Big on Day 1b of the Mystery Millions

Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions is shaping up to be massive thanks to another 2,957 players turning out for Day 1b, taking the total attendance to 4,980 with two flights remaining.

Twenty-two levels reduced the near-3,000 Day 1b field to a more manageable 146. Shaun Davis (2,475,000) emerged as the flight’s chip leader once the dust had settled, and Davis now has a good chance of capturing this tournament’s bracelet.

Israel’s Tal Avivi (2,380,000), and Joseph Dornish (2,250,000) each bagged up stacks of more than two million chips. Bracelet winner Leo Soma (1,805,000) has also started well, and finished fourth on the Day 1b overnight leaderboard.

Others who progressed included former soccer star Max Kruse (1,560,000), and the 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (1,180,000), the latter riding his luck in a key hand during the 17th level of the night.

Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions End of Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 1c shuffles up and deals at 10:00 a.m. local time on June 2, and it will not be surprising to see more than 3,000 players take to their seats.

Wilson Leads the Way in the Tournament of Champions

Only 31 players remain in the hunt for the $200,000 top prize of Event #4: Tournament of Champions, as the event moves into its final day.

Scott Wilson shone brightest on Day 2, bagging up 2,885,000 chips, some 44 big blinds more than Brent Gregory (2,000,000) in second place. Two other players, Dakota Britton (1,400,000) and Vincent Moscati (1,120,000) crammed more than one million chips into their overnight bags, and will fancy their chance of glory when the tournament resumes.

Further down the chip counts, in 24th place, is Jason Somerville (405,000). Somerville is the last remaining bracelet winner in the field; he’ll be hoping to become a two-time WSOP champion by the time this tournament concludes.

Event #4: Tournament of Champions Top 10 Chip Counts

Cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 2, and PokerNews will be with you every step of the way.

Fernando “Jnandez” Habegger Shines on Day 1 of the NLHE/PLO Mix

Some 547 players bought into Event #6: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha, but only 48 had chips requiring bagging up by the time the curtain came down on proceedings.

Fernando Habegger, known in online poker circles as “Jnandez” bagged up a tournament-leading stack of 1,625,000, and will fancy his chances of capturing his first piece of poker jewellery.

The Swiss PLO specialist is being hunted down by some formidable opponents. They include bracelet winners Michael Banducci (1,250,000), Michael Moncek (1,210,000), and Gregory Kolo (1,040,000), who all occupy top ten spots in the overnight chip counts.

Kristen Foxen (895,000), Alex Livingston (785,000), Joao Vieira (750,000), and Yuval Bronshtein (465,000) are also in with a shout.

Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Top 10 Chip Counts

The plan for this event is to resume play at 12:00 p.m. on June 2 and play down to the final table. Fire up PokerNews’ live updates to discover which players navigate their way to that grand finale.

Mike Leah Second in Chips in the Limit Hold’em Event

Fixed Limit Hold’em is not as popular as it once was, but that did not stop 527 players paying $1,500 to compete in this event. Day 1 saw 15 levels completed, and 358 players busted during that time, leaving 169 grinders heading through to Day 2.

Dana Davidson (208,500) is the overnight leader, but Canada’s Mike Leah (200,000) is only a big bet behind in the standings. Leah won a bracelet in 2014 when the WSOP headed to Australia. He triumphed in the A$25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller. Can he secure his second piece of poker gold in Las Vegas?

Sure to be pushing the leaders all the way are the likes of Nick Schulman (180,500), mixed game specialist Adam Friedman (156,500), Jim Collopy (85,000), Patrick Leonard (85,000), Erick Lindgren (56,500), and Joe McKeehen (14,900).

Event #7: $1,500 Limit Hold’em Top 10 Chip Counts

1:00 p.m. local time on June 2 is when Day 2 kicks off. Return to PokerNews at that time for all the clicking it back you can handle!

What to Expect on Day 4 of the 2023 WSOP

Day 4 of the 2023 WSOP is another busy affair, with two more events joining the five that are already in play.

Day 1c of the Mystery Millions will fill vast areas of the tournament floor. It runs alongside Day 3 of the Tournament of Champions, and the $1,500 Dealer’s Choice.

Also in play are second days of the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha, and the $1,500 Limit Hold’em.

The new events starting are the eagerly anticipated $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, and the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud. Our team cannot wait to get back into the action and bring you updates from all seven of these amazing tournaments.