Date Time Event # Tournament Buy-In

Wednesday 6/14/23 11am 32Day2 Bar Poker Open Championship DAY 2 Invitational

    1pm 36 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $50K Guarantee $400

    7pm 37 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Thursday 6/15/23 11am 38 Bar Poker Open Pro-Am $1,000

    1pm 39 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    2pm 32FT Bar Poker Open Championship FINAL TABLE Invitational

    7pm 40 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Friday 6/16/23 11am 41A Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight A) $300

    1pm 42 Mixed PLO/8; Omaha 8/B; Big-O $10K Guarantee $300

    2pm 38FT Bar Poker Open Pro-Am Final Table $0

    3pm 41B Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight B) $300

    7pm 41C Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight C) $300

Saturday 6/17/23 11am 41D Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight D) $300

    1pm 43 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $10K Guarantee $150

    3pm 41E Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight E) $300

    7pm 41F Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight F) $300

Sunday 6/18/23 11am 41G Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight G) $300

    3pm 41H Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight H) $300

    7pm 41I Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE (Flight I) $300

Monday 6/19/23 11am 44 H.O.R.S.E. $10K Guarantee $300

    12pm 41Day2 Mystery Bounty NLHE $250K GUARANTEE – DAY 2 $0

    1pm 45 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $10K Guarantee $150

    7pm 46 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $3K Guarantee $130

Tuesday 6/20/23 11am 47 BIG-O $20K Guarantee $300

    1pm 48 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    6pm 49 Mixed PLO/8; Omaha 8/B; Big-O $5K Guarantee $200

    7pm 50 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Wednesday 6/21/23 11am 51 8 Game Mix (NLH, LH, R, ST, ST8, PLO, O/8, 2-7TD) $10K Guarantee $300

    1pm 52 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    6pm 53 Omaha Hi/Low 8 or Better $5K Guarantee $200

    7pm 54 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Thursday 6/22/23 11am 55 Mixed NL Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed $10K Guarantee $300

    1pm 56 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    7pm 57 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Friday 6/23/23 10am 58 Seniors No Limit Hold’em (50+) $100K GUARANTEE $400

    11am 59A Championship No Limit Hold’em $500K Guarantee Day 1A $600

    3pm 60 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    7pm 61 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Saturday 6/24/23 11am 59B Championship No Limit Hold’em $500K Guarantee Day 1B $600

    1pm 62 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    7pm 63 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Sunday 6/25/23 11am 55C Championship No Limit Hold’em $500K Guarantee Day 1C $600

    7pm 64 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Monday 6/26/23 11am 65 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low 8 or Better $10K Guarantee $300

    12pm 59Day2 Championship No Limit Hold’em $500K Guarantee Day 2 $0

    1pm 66 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    7pm 67 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Tuesday 6/27/23 11am 68 Omaha Hi/Low 8 or Better $10K Guarantee $300

    1pm 69 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    6pm 70 Omaha Hi/Low 8 or Better $5K Guarantee $200

    7pm 71 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Wednesday 6/28/23 10am 72 Super Seniors (60+ or played Seniors) $50K Guarantee $400

    11am 73 PokerNews Cup NLHE Mega Satellite – 10 Seat Guarantee $200

    1pm 74 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    6pm 75 Triple Stud $5K Guarantee $200

    7pm 76 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Thursday 6/29/23 10am 77 Seniors Championship NLHE (50+) $50K Guarantee $600

    11am 78A PokerNews Cup NLHE $1,000,000 Guarantee Mystery Bounty Day 1A $1,100

    1pm 79 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    7pm 80 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Friday 6/30/23 11am 78B PokerNews Cup NLHE $1,000,000 Guarantee Mystery Bounty Day 1B $1,100

    1pm 81 Ladies No Limit Hold’em $10K Guarantee $200

    7pm 82 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Saturday 7/1/23 11am 78C PokerNews Cup NLHE $1,000,000 Guarantee Mystery Bounty Day 1C $1,100

    7pm 83 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Sunday 7/2/23 11am 84 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em $10K Guarantee $300

    12pm 78Day2 PokerNews Cup NLHE $1,000,000 Guarantee Mystery Bounty Day 2 $0

    1pm 85 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $25K Guarantee $200

    7pm 86 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Monday 7/3/23 11am 87 Super Deep Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $200

    1pm 88 Daily Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em $10K Guarantee $200

    2pm 78FT PokerNews Cup NLHE $1,000,000 Guarantee Mystery Bounty FT $0

    7pm 89 Nightly No Limit Hold’em $5K Guarantee $130

Just a few days ago, Josh Arieh won his fifth World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship. Shaun Deeb, in a friendly boast, then made a promise: he would get to number 6 before Arieh or would retire. It took only a few days, but Deeb can now take a deep breath. Deeb emerged as the champion of Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix after one of the most tension-filled final hands in recent memory, earning $198,854 and his sixth WSOP bracelet that puts him in some elite company including the likes of Daniel Negreanu. And Arieh, as well as Negreanu, was there on the rail to witness it.

The 15th day of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is in the bag, and what a fantastic advertisement for poker it was. A trio of grinders got their hands on coveted WSOP bracelets, including two of the game’s superstars, while another six events filled the vast tournament areas.

It didn’t take long for the first bracelet of the day to find its owner. Event #26: $800 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack finished with only two players on June 12, Renji Mao and Matthew Elsby. Twenty minutes after the start to the impromptu third day, Mao had overturned a chip deficit and become the latest champion of the 2023 WSOP.

Some 789 mixed game specialists bought into Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix a couple of days ago, and the one and only Shaun Deeb outlasted them all. Deeb defeated Aloisio Dourado heads-up to capture this event’s bracelet, his sixth, and a $198,854 top prize.

Ben Lamb became a WSOP champion for the second time after coming out on top in Event #25: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. Lamb overcame a stacked final table to clinch a bankroll-boosting $492,795 payout, ending a 12-year wait for his second bracelet.

Only 17 Remain in the $1,500 NLHE Freezeout; Hunt Leads

British pro and coach Matthew Hunt (9,380,000) is the player to catch in Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, where only 17 players remain in contention for the title and the $406,403 top prize.

Hunt holds a significant chip advantage over the chasing pack, which includes Benjamin Hector (5,690,000), fellow Brit Dean Hutchison (4,000,000), and German star Dietrich Fast (2,595,000).

Cards are back in the air from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 14, so return to PokerNews then for all the action as this event crowns its worthy champion.

Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout Day 3 Top 10 Counts

Arends Leads Six High Rollers Into Battle on the Final Day

Dutchman Jans “Graftekkel” Arends (16,625,000) leads the way in Event #29: $100,000 High Roller as he hunts down his second WSOP bracelet. Only five opponents stand between Arends and his second piece of WSOP hardware, but that quintet of players are some of the best players in the business.

Cary Katz (12,775,000) is Arends’ nearest opponent in terms of chips, with Biao Ding (8,800,000) rounding off the podium places.

Four-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos (7,175,000) returns in fourth place, Jeremy Ausmus (5,750,000) fifth, and although Chance Kornuth (4,600,000) is bringing up the rear, he’s not there to only make up the numbers.

The six superstars return to the action from 12:00 p.m. local time on June 14, with the grand finale streamed via PokerGO. This results in a 60-minute delay in the coverage for security reasons.

Event #29: $100,000 High Roller Final Day Seat Draw

$1,500 2-7 Triple Draw Reaches Third Day With Glaser Leading

Having won his tenth PokerStars Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) title a few weeks ago, Benny Glaser (1,185,000) is now on course to reel in the fifth WSOP bracelet of his career.

Glaser bagged up a tournament-leading stack in Event #30: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw at the end of Day 2. Although Glaser is supremely talented, he will have to work hard for his fifth bracelet because there are some dangerous foes hot on his heels.

John Monnette (1,155,000), Michael Rodrigues (1,100,000), and Patrick Leonard (1,090,000) return with top five stacks, while Allen Kessler (900,000), Carol Fuchs (595,000), Ryan Hughes (275,000), and Tom Schneider (250,000) know their way around a poker table.

Join PokerNews from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 14 to discover if Glaser can get the job done once again.

Event #30: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Top 10 Chip Counts

Another Huge Field Turns Out for the $600 NLHE/PLO Mix

Some 2,758 players turned out for Event #31: $600 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack but only 122 of those starters had chips in front of them at the end of the 22nd level.

Troy Nowlin (2,200,000) emerged with the chip lead once the dust had settled; Nowlin was the only Day 1 player to finish with more than two million chips.

Charlie Combes (1,405,000) bagged and tagged enough chips for 11th place at the restart, with fellow Brit and two-time bracelet winner Barny Boatman (900,000) also progressing to Day 2.

Others to look out for in the PokerNews live updates include the likes of Ian O’Hara (1,020,000), Matthew Wantman (870,000), Irish Open champion Patrick Clarke (675,000), Michael Moncek (545,000), and Phillip Hui (300,000).

Day 2 shuffles up nice and early at 10:00 a.m. on June 14, and PokerNews will be on the ground throughout proceedings until the champion is known.

Event #31: $600 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack Top 10 Chip Counts

Hunichen Bags $3,000 NLHE 6-Max Day 1 Chip Lead

Chris “Big Huni” Hunichen bagged the largest stack of the 57 surviving players in Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em (6-Handed). Hunichen crammed 2,405,000 chips into an overnight bag, and has given himself every chance to becoming a WSOP bracelet winner.

Short-handed events always attract seasoned professionals, and this tournament was no different. Asher Conniff (2,170,000), Ian Matakis (1,560,000), Roman Hrabec (1,515,000), and Noah Schwartz (1,450,00) each bagged and tagged top ten stacks.

Ben Diebold (1,035,000), Jareth East (975,000), Maria Ho (860,000), Eric Baldwin (795,000), Paul Volpe (765,000), Alex Foxen (750,000), and WSOP Main Event winners Martin Jacobson (465,000) and Ryan Riess (390,000) also return for another spell at the felt.

Noon local time on June 14 is when the battle recommences. Join PokerNews then for all the updates from this star-studded event.

Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em (6-Handed) Top 10 Chip Counts

Thung Tops the $10,000 Razz Championship Day 1 Field; Owen in the Top 3

Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship saw 102 players buy in and 54 progress, although those numbers are subject to change because late registration remains open until Day 2 starts. We already know Shaun Deeb is keen to jump into this event after his fifth bracelet win, so that is one extra player for Day 2.

High-stakes non-hold’em events attract elite players like moths to a flame. Although Roy Thung (303,000) bagged up the chip lead, the likes of Scott Bohlman (271,000), Adam Owen (252,000), Bryce Yockey (244,500), Brian Yoon (241,500), Brad Ruben (214,000), and Dan Zack (203,000) are not going to let Thung have everything his own way.

Further down the overnight chip counts is where you find such stars as Ben Yu (160,000), Dutch Boyd (137,000), Talal Shakerchi (136,500), John Hennigan (127,000), Brandon Shack-Harris (86,500), Anthony Zinno (83,000), Brian Rast (80,500), and Nick Schulman (77,000).

Day 2 kicks off at 1:00 p.m. local time sharp on June 14, the PokerNews live reporting team will see you then.

Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 16 of the 2023 WSOP

There are three new events for you to feast your eyes on, each kicking off at various points of June 14. Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha should attract yet another large field, as should the super-exciting Event #35: $10,000 Secret Bounty, which is a new event for 2023, one where $3,000 from each buy-in goes into the bounty prize pool.

Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix is not to be missed if you love your mixed game tournaments.

Of course, running alongside these new tournaments are Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, Event #29: $100,000 High Roller, Event #30: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Event #31: $600 No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack, Event #32: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em (6-Handed), and Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship.

It is going to be a busy one, so make sure you do not miss any of the action from the 2023 WSOP.

Just a few days ago, Josh Arieh won his fifth World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship. Shaun Deeb, in a friendly boast, then made a promise: he would get to number 6 before Arieh or would retire.

It took only a few days, but Deeb can now take a deep breath. Deeb emerged as the champion of Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix after one of the most tension-filled final hands in recent memory, earning $198,854 and his sixth WSOP bracelet that puts him in some elite company including the likes of Daniel Negreanu. And Arieh, as well as Negreanu, was there on the rail to witness it.

“It was only, what, four days ago, three days ago, I don’t even remember,” Deeb said about his wager with Arieh. “Battling with your friends is so much fun. The camaraderie. Me and Josh are family men the rest of the year. So we come out here, we have fun, we bullshit, we see each other, we’re talking trash all the time in our group chat. When he won five, it definitely lit a fire.”

Final Table Results

Deeb took the chip lead early on Day 3 and bullied his way through the competition the rest of the day, staying near the top of the leaderboard. On his last hand, holding a slight advantage over Brazilian Aloisio Dourado, Deeb jammed the river holding a full house with king-ten and Dourado called with pocket queens. The atmosphere surrounding the table during the hand was intense, the joy on the new mixed-game champion palpable.

What Deeb has accomplished in a short period of time places him in rarefied air when it comes to past WSOP legends. All six of his bracelets have come since 2015. Only Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Moss, Layne Flack, and Jeffrey Lisandro have ever won six bracelets in less than ten years. All of them except Lisandro are in the Poker Hall of Fame. Deeb, still not eligible for another few years, will certainly join them one day, even if he recognizes the role chance has played in his remarkable success.

“There’s a ton of variance in these tournaments. Anything can happen. You can lose a flip,” Deeb said. “Obviously, the winning hand I got super lucky. I beat a pair of queens with king-ten in a spot where he would only call off if it came ten-ten. I was going to lose a big pot a lot of the time there.”

Deeb has been the focus of the poker world in the past few months for something that goes beyond his play on the felt. He has a $1 million bet pending with Bill Perkins to get down to 17 percent body fat by next year. It’s a prop bet that requires discipline and focus most of the time, traits that should help in poker, except, Deeb says, at the WSOP.

“I haven’t learned anything. My poker game is still my poker game. I put the weight loss bet slightly on hold for the World Series. I really wanted to go hard for Player of the Year. Hell, I might even be leading right now, if not I’m right in there with Chad [Eveslage]. So I’m going to battle super hard. Just been an awesome couple of weeks of the series. It feels like it’s almost over and we’re not even halfway through. I’m so pumped for the rest of the events.”

Day 3 Action

Deeb enjoyed a fairy tale run through the record-breaking Eight Game Mix field of 789 entries, which is remarkable because he nearly didn’t even make it to the tournament. Deeb was still playing the $600 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em event and late registered for this event at the last moment. He then built up a chip-leading stack by the end of Day 1 and was still sitting near the top on Day 2 until a late swoon put him in 10th place out of the 21 remaining players who returned today.

It didn’t take long for Deeb to return to the top. On one of the first hands of the day, he picked up queens against Robert Mizrachi‘s jacks and doubled up. Mizrachi (21st), fellow bracelet winners Quinn Do (20th) and Allan Le (18th), as well as start-of-day chip leader Chad Campbell (19th), all fell short of the final table. Nick Schulman, already with a bracelet in 2023, busted in 11th place, while David “Bakes” Baker finished in ninth.

Deeb began the seven-handed unofficial final table with 7,705,000, more than double Dourado in second place. “I had the hottest start ever. Once I got chips, I knew everyone was afraid of me,” Deeb said. “I was running so good, and I was definitely playing some of the best poker I’ve ever played.”

“Hollywood” Dave Stann, a fixture of the poker boom who spent nearly a decade away from the game, was eliminated in seventh place when he ran tens into the kings of Dourado in a hand of Pot-Limit Omaha. It then took several hours for the next elimination as first Deeb, then Dourado and Daniel Strelitz, took turns exchanging the chip lead. Deeb won a big pot off Strelitz in Limit Hold’em when he flopped trip threes, receiving some playful jeering from Arieh, the Limit Hold’em champion, on the rail. Craig Carrillo finally busted in sixth place in a hand of Stud Hi-Lo when he missed a low draw and couldn’t connect with a pair.

Strelitz ran into Deeb’s wheel in 2-7 Triple Draw, then pushed all in for 1,200,000 in No-Limit Hold’em with king-ten, but Dourado woke up with aces on the button to send the two-time bracelet winner to the rail in fifth place. John Bunch was next to fall, losing most of his stack when he tried a king-high bluff in Seven Card Stud but was picked off by Dourado. Bunch was eliminated shortly afterward and declined Arieh’s $500 offer for his Allen Kessler shirt.

Dourado, followed around by a Brazilian film crew who had him mic’d up for the final table, retook the lead from Deeb when he called with 8-7 and beat Deeb’s 10-6 in 2-7 Triple Draw. The two opponents were destined to clash heads-up, and that battle was sealed when Kyle Loman was all in with a 7-6 draw but paired his deuce on his last card, losing to Dourado’s jack-low.

Dourado led 11,950,000 to 7,750,000 at the start of heads-up, but Deeb narrowed the gap quickly when he won a big pot with a 10-7. Then came the final hand, when Deeb had the entire room standing in anticipation.

Deeb would be forgiven if he took some time to celebrate his win. But that’s not for him. Hardly any player embraces the grind of the WSOP more than Deeb, who was looking to see if he could still register for the $10,000 Razz Championship after securing the bracelet. “I don’t take days off. I don’t even take hours off. I wish the Razz was still running right now, I would hop in right now,” he said.

“I love to grind. I wish the World Series was longer. I wish they had more events. The fields have been great. The players I’ve met have been awesome. Just so happy.”

Deeb and his sparkly black hat are hard to miss in any WSOP event. And today, the glare from another gold bracelet added to his collection shone brightly for all the poker world to see.

That concludes PokerNews‘ coverage of the $1,500 Eight Game Mix. Stay tuned for more action throughout the 2023 WSOP.

In just the franchise’s seventh season, the Vegas Golden Knights have captured the Stanley Cup trophy, and the Las Vegas poker community has erupted in celebration.

The Knights defeated the Florida Panthers in a 9-3 rout at T-Mobile Arena on the Strip Tuesday night, just down the road from the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the fifth game of the best-of-seven series.

For Vegas it was the team’s second trip to the Stanley Cup Final. In 2018, two years into the expansion team’s existence, the Knights fell to the Washington Capitals 4-1. This time around, however, there was nothing that could stand in their way, not even a fierce opponent like the Panthers, a team that underachieved during the regular season and got hot during the playoffs.

Golden Knights are the Champs

The Las Vegas poker community has adopted the Golden Knights as the favorite team. During Tuesday’s WSOP events, the game was on the big screens inside the tournament areas at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Many players were as zoned in on the hockey game as they were the action on the felt. And then there were those who skipped the WSOP, such as Mike Matusow, in favor of watching their beloved NHL team.

Vegas opened the scoring in the first period with a Mark Stone goal. Shortly after, Nicolas Hague would make the score 2-0. In the second period, the game got out of hand. Heading into the second and final intermission, the Knights held a 6-1 lead and everyone in attendance knew the game was out of reach.

When all was said and done, after both teams tacked on some third period goals, Vegas won Game 5 by a score of 9-3 and captured the series 4-1. In doing so, the Knights captured their first Stanley Cup title just seven seasons into the franchise’s existence.

Vegas Poker Community Erupts

Matusow was one of numerous high-profile players at T-Mobile Arena for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Daniel Negreanu, who played a role in bringing the team to Las Vegas in 2017, was in attendance. The long-time Toronto Maple Leafs fan who mostly switched allegiances after the Knights came to Vegas, is still in search of his first WSOP title since 2013, but at least he now he can celebrate claiming The Cup.

Negreanu expressed a lack of confidence in the team around midseason when he questioned if they’d even make the playoffs. But he did predict a Game 5 win on Twitter prior to its start.

Todd Brunson, who last month assisted in the Golden Knights honoring his late father and fellow Poker Hall of Famer, Doyle Brunson, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of Game 5.

Chris Hunichen, who had tickets to the game, had to sell his Game 5 tickets as he bagged a big stack on Day 1 (Monday) of Event #29: $100,000 High Roller. However, he busted on Day 2 short of the money in 19th place (top 14 paid).

The Knights had their ups and downs this year, much like the poker tournament grind. But in the end, the best team prevailed, much like the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces did in 2022.

After four days of play, a winner has been crowned at the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship, which took place inside the ARIA Resort and Casino as well as the PokerGO Studio.

Michigan’s Leo Taffe was the last player standing from the 1,026 entry field after defeating Mike Vanier at heads-up to capture the title and $560,442. He followed in the footsteps of Joey Weissman, who won the inaugural edition of this event in 2022.

Taffe’s prize is more than double that Weissman claimed due to the fantastic turnout this time around. Boosting the number of entries this year were the 94 BetMGM Poker qualifiers, who all booked their seat for a fraction of the price.

Thirteen of the qualifiers took home a slice of the $3,283,200 prize pool, with former Major League Baseball player Jason Kipnis (107th – $6,534) being the most notable name from the crop. Danny DeJesus went the furthest, making it through to Day 3 before bowing out in 28th place for $14,512.

2023 BetMGM Poker Championship Final Table Results

Taffe Elated and Embarrassed After Victory

Speaking to PokerNews after his first major live tournament win, Taffe noted he was “elated” with the result while also “embarrassed” about how well he ran.

Taffe woke up with big pairs anytime his opponents jammed into him and held out to scoop each time. Taffe knew the situation he came into today was very unique with his overwhelming chip lead, and he said the only thing on his mind was not to choke.

The winner’s spoils set Taffe up now to tackle bigger events, but he has no firm plans for the summer except for “sleeping for the next 24 hours.”

Prior to today, Taffe’s live tournament earnings stood at $271,497, with his former biggest cash being the $182,603 he received from finishing third in the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Cherokee Main Event earlier in the year. Taffe mainly plies his trade on BetMGM Poker Michigan, where he plays under the “NuttyWolves” screen name.

Taffe Dominates Final Table

Just seven players returned for Day 4, and Taffe came onto the final table with an uncatchable chip lead. The 24-year-old started with 115 big blinds, which nearly accounted for half of the chips in play. The finalists had all locked up $94,523 at this point, with the pay jump hitting the six-figure mark when six remain.

Sundiata DeVore was nearly the first to leave on Day 4, but he correctly folded his pocket jacks on a ten-high board. Taffe had pocket kings and put him all in on the turn, but DeVore opted to save his chips with considerable ICM implications on the line.

The opening elimination ended up being the short-stacked Kevin Berthelsen, who was ousted by 2022 GPI Player of the Year and WSOP bracelet winner Stephen Song. The latter had Berthelsen dominated and held out to seal the pot. Song had made it to the final table thanks to surviving numerous all-ins the previous day to keep him on track to securing his tenth live tournament win.

Soon after, Pot-Limit Omaha specialist Johann Ibanez left the final table after he ran into Taffe’s aces and then DeVore bowed out when he did the same thing. DeVore has had a year to remember so far as he banked another six-figure score which follows the $926,128 he banked from being the runner-up at The Return – A Borgata Championship Event in January.

Play would slow down for a short while, but things picked up again when Song’s all-in was called by Taffe. Song moved in with ace-deuce while Taffe had another premium hand in pocket queens. Taffe continued to run well and avoided his opponent pairing their ace to bring the tournament to its final three players.

It was then Zhou’s turn to end up on the wrong side of the rail. After doubling up Vanier, the American then finished him off after his ace-seven beat Zhou’s ace-king. The $254,645 third place marked Zhou’s first tournament cash in the United States.

Taffe went into heads-up with a nearly two-to-one chip lead and would have to navigate the final stage of the tournament more cautiously as Vanier finally had a stack that could do some damage.

However, Taffe picked up aces once again, and they held out for a third time. Vanier could not improve to two pair or better, and he had to settle for the $392,704 runners-up prize.

It took just three and a half hours on the final day of Event #25: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship to determine a champion and Ben Lamb has become the latest card shark to earn his second WSOP gold bracelet, and the first in 12 years!

It was yet another record field for a Championship Event of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP), which drew a staggering 212 unique entries, and the top 32 finishers secured a portion of the $1,971,600 prize pool.

Lamb entered the final day with a narrow lead at the top of the leaderboard and proceeded to knock out all six of his opponents to secure the live poker’s most coveted prize and $492,795 for the efforts. James Chen finished as the runner-up in a brief heads-up encounter while Poker Hall of Fame member Erik Seidel was eliminated in fourth place.

Event #25: Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Lamb wrapped up the victory in lightning fashion and even before the winner shots were taken, he headed over to the side feature tables to embrace Shaun Deeb on the final two tables of Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix.

“I guess I am not any more confident than I was, I mean, I don’t know. Cards come and go, you have a hot streak and a cold streak, and I ran hotter than the fuckin sun, which was nice. Again, I think I am playing pretty good poker. I haven’t been playing a lot but when I have been playing, I have been more emotionally invested and focusing harder,” Lamb clarified during the winner interview, which perfectly sums up the run-good of the now two-time champion on the final day.

Since his first WSOP victory, Lamb had a few close calls including a third-place finish in Event #28: $50,000 HIGH ROLLER Pot-Limit Omaha and a runner-up finish in Event #60: $10,000 Short Deck No-Limit Hold’em one year ago during the 2022 WSOP. Lamb described the former as “that one hurt a lot” but he has now redeemed himself in the four-card variant.

A potential bid for a second WSOP Player of the Year title may also be on the cards as Lamb intends to increase his volume of play. “You will definitely see me in some tournaments that I don’t normally play, whether that’s the $250k or the 10k Razz.”

Lamb expressed his particular love for the four-card variant with the special environment it is in. Where other high-stakes competitions may be rather dull and tense, that is not necessarily the case with four cards at everyone’s disposal according to Lamb: “It is a very social game. If you play PLO, it is a bunch of people in PLO cash, they like having a good time, laughing and running it twice,” he clarified.

With his bracelet counter now up to two, Lamb can now change the tunes on the golf course where the banter and prop bets are flowing. Whether or not it feels sweeter to win the money on the felt or the green is still not settled, however. “In golf you just go out there and can say, you won that … in poker, in the first hour and a half, I played good. I made like thirty wheels, I scooped so many pots. It is always that thought in the back of your mind – did I play good or run good, or a combination of both. In golf, if you win you beat them”.

Having played poker for more than 16 years, the thought of earning more WSOP gold bracelets wasn’t as important during the first couple of years, especially given that may change in the near future. “Now the last couple of years I got some close shots, like damn, I wanted to win another bracelet. Now to get that monkey off my back, of course, but no one is ever happy with two … or sixteen,” Lamb said with a smirk on the face.

While Lamb didn’t experience any swings on the final day, making it that far was a whole different story, however, as the eventual champion endured a roller coaster ride during the late stages of Day 3.

“You know, tilt is a funny thing. I went from chip leader nine-handed to low stack nine-handed and ended up chip leader seven-handed. Everybody gets tilted, like in my mind I was yelling at everyone and could stay in a dark place but if you think logically, I think you can just make your chips. Just slow down and think before you put chips in the pot and don’t let that anger win.”

Action of the Final Day

The conclusion on the final day stands in stark contrast to the long hours of the previous days and last year’s edition, which featured a marathon heads-up duel of more than seven hours. Lamb was the chip leader by one full bet when the action resumed but it took only one level for him to establish a commanding lead.

He first scooped Brad Ruben and then Luis Velador in quick succession before knocking out German mixed game expert Johannes Becker. In three-way action, Becker flopped the top two pair and a gutshot only to see Lamb turn over top set when the remaining chips went in after the turn. The run-good of Lamb continued when he turned a wheel against Ruben’s set and flush draw to cut down the field to the final five at the end of the first level.

Once the cards went back in the air, short stack Robert Yass quickly bowed out and Seidel became short before losing the last few chips to Lamb, too. During three-handed play, Velador tripled up while Chen was left short only for the one-time bracelet winner to become the next casualty when he couldn’t beat the aces of Lamb.

Heads-up play between Lamb and Chen was a lopsided affair and the former held a lead of fifteen to one. Chen dropped all the way to just two big bets and survived three consecutive all-in showdowns via split pot before Lamb out-flopped him to seal the victory.

This concludes the PokerNews reporting for this event but you can follow the live updates of various other WSOP gold bracelet events in the 2023 WSOP hub.