The 2023 World Series of Poker is soon to enter its fourth week of festivities, and the contest for WSOP Player of the Year is starting to heat up.

Chad Eveslage was the early frontrunner because of his back-to-back bracelet victories. However, Ian Matakis and Shaun Deeb have surpassed the only double bracelet winner of the series, thanks to a recent run of fine results.

Michael Moncek has also shot up from sixth to fourth in the POY standings after he came close to grabbing his second bracelet of the series in the $10,000 Razz Championship.

Jan Arends rounds out the top five following his sun run in some of the high roller bracelet events. The Dutch poker pro finished in third place in the $50,000 High Roller days before taking down the $100,000 High Roller for $2,576,729, the biggest payout of the 2023 WSOP so far.

Defending champion Dan Zack currently sits outside the top 100, of which you can see here.

Current 2023 WSOP POY Standings

Matakis Magics His Way to Top Spot

Matakis’ route to the top of the table started around two weeks ago after he picked up his first bracelet in Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder for $120,686 and 983.3 POY points.

Since then, he’s put in some deep runs on the live felt as well as making another WSOP Online final table.

Overall, Matakis has cashed in nine events and sees his series earnings swell to $257,841 at the time of writing.

Ian Matakis’ 2023 WSOP Cashes

Deeb Surges to Second Place

A sixth WSOP bracelet was presented to Deeb on June 14 off the back of his victory in $1,500 Eight Game Mix. The feat is truly remarkable, as Deeb added his name to the short list of players who have managed to win six bracelets within a decade. Only Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Moss, Layne Flack, and Jeffrey Lisandro are the other players to have done it.

Deeb, who is in the midst of a $1 million weight loss prop bet, collected $198,854 for the triumph but it’s not the only six-figure payday he’s seen this summer. The 2018 WSOP POY padded his bankroll with an extra $105,708 after he ended up as the runner-up in Online Event #3: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack.

He was awarded 1,006.5 POY points for his tournament win, and he secured another 492.7 from his silver medal performance. His 342.2 points he received from making the final table of the $1,500 Seven Card Stud is also another major contributor to his acceleration up the leaderboard.

If Deeb goes the distance, he will become the second-ever two-time WSOP POY winner after Negreanu reigned supreme in 2004 and 2013.

Shaun Deeb’s 2023 WSOP Cashes

Players Taking POY Prop Bets

While another POY banner would delight Deeb, it would also mean he gets the spoils from the POY prop bet that he has with his pal Ben Lamb, who also picked up a bracelet hours before Deeb claimed his latest one.

PokerNews understands that Deeb laid ten-to-one odds on Lamb not ending up as the 2023 WSOP POY and put up $500,000 to Lamb’s $50,000.

Lamb ended a twelve-year bracelet drought in $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, which has helped him rise to 16th place with 1,392.30 points. The now two-time bracelet winner needs to replicate his O8 performance in other events to have any hopes of catching Deeb.

Lamb’s success also had the poker world laughing at the expense of Poker Hall of Famer John Hennigan. ‘Johnny World’ jokingly offered a swap to Lamb to which the latter accepted only for Hennigan to then leave him hanging.

The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is upon us. It’s the most wonderful time of the year—two months of back-to-back-to-back poker tournaments, harvest time for the Las Vegas cash game pros, and all the poker streaming your eyes and an internet connection can take.

However, if you’re in Las Vegas for the 2023 WSOP you may want to (or have to) step away from the tables for a bit. When looking for something Vegas it is easy to be blinded by choice. So it is lucky that many a traveler has walked these desert roads before you and the more helpful of them have left reviews behind them.

Check out the top ten non-poker tours, attractions, day trips, and shows according to the users of TripAdvisor.

1. Fountains at the Bellagio

One of the most iconic images of Vegas is the Bellagio Fountain. 1,214 water nozzles and nearly 5,000 lights set in an eight-and-a-half-acre pond.

At the push of a control-room button, the nozzles and lights perform to music, sending jets of water up to 140 metres in the air in a choreographed show that has appeared in more movies and holiday snaps than can be easily counted.

2. Red Rock Canyon

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is in Clark County, Nevada, just outside Vegas.

This area of outstanding natural beauty is a popular hiking destination and a great place to reconnect with nature after the high-stakes hustle and bustle of the WSOP.

Fans of geology and magnificent views can book trips out to the canyon on foot, on bikes, or aboard a chopper.

3. Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden

The Bellagio’s second attraction on this list brings nature to you and curates it into a vegetal theme park.

Plants imported from all over the world are arranged and planted in cartoon bowers and watched over by enormous plaster swans and peacocks.

Read the full schedule for the 2023 WSOP

4. “O” by Cirque du Soleil

Co-founded by poker’s own Guy Laliberte, Cirque du Soleil’s 2023 show simply titled “O” has 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor from 451 reviewers.

O is a water-themed variety show sporting “mesmerizing choreography, gravity-defying acrobatics, and hypnotic music.”

Another win for the Bellagio, at which the Cirque has a residency.

5. Fremont Street Experience

Another festival of lights and music, the Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall running for five blocks at the western end of Fremont Street.

The most recognizable feature of the experience is the 27-meter LED barrel vault which plays a light show. Three stages host regular free concerts and all through the area designated busking areas ensure new entertainment every few feet.

Check out the PokerNews coverage of the 2023 WSOP

6. The High Roller Ferris Wheel

Standing 168 meters high, the High Roller is the second biggest Ferris wheel in the world. The wheel, located outside CET’s LINQ hotel, takes 1,128 people on a ride taking thirty minutes to complete.

Once you board the pod, you settle in for views of the strip which is co-incidentally, number 7 on this list.

7. The Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is a four-mile section of Las Vegas Boulevard in the unincorporated town of Paradise, Nevada.

This is where you can find some of the most famous casinos in the world: the MGM Grand, New York-New York, The Venetian, Caesars Palace, and the 2023 WSOP’s home casinos of the Horseshoe and Paris.

8.Hoover Dam

Another technical marvel, this time from the 1930s. The Hoover Dam holds back Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S.

Tourists can book day trips out to the dam as part of a tour visiting other sites like the Grand Canyon and Red Rock Canyon. Or if you’re feeling flush, you can book a helicopter to take you over the top of the dam for a view of the structure and its environs.

9. Mob Museum

Las Vegas history is intimately tied to that of the mob.

Ever since Bugsy Seigel pivoted from bootlegging to gambling after the end of prohibition, the Syndicate, the Mafia, and Murder, Inc were as much part of the Vegas myth as names like the Pair o’Dice Club and the Flamingo.

At the mob museum, you can discover this history through artifacts like the St. Valentines Day Massacre Wall and actual tickets from the 1919 World Series.

Read About Recent 2023 WSOP Bracelet Winner Jerry Wong

10. The Stratosphere Tower

The Strat Hotel, Casino and SkyPod as the Stratosphere is now called, hosts a 350-meter observation deck.

This is the tallest observation deck in the U.S. with views of all Vegas, stretching out to the desert.