The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #56: $500 Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold’em started the final day with 14 players chasing poker’s most sought-after trophy, but by day’s end, Steven Genovese stood alone atop the 4,303-entry field to take home the $217,921 first-place prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet.

The money bubble was reached just a couple of levels into Day 2 with 646 of the 661 returning players going home with a payday, but through the rest of the day, fast-paced action condensed the field down to the two seven-handed tables that would return for Day 3 to crown a champion.

The fast pace continued on Day 3 with the field going from 14 to a final table of nine before the end of the first 40-minute level and the wild hands and bust outs certainly wouldn’t end there as players made a push to be the last man standing.

2023 WSOP Salute to Warriors Final Table Payouts

Final Table Action

The only bracelet winner that returned for the final day of the tournament would fall in ninth place when Dejuante Alexander ran into aces to end his run at a second bracelet. Just one level later, the tournament would find it’s eighth-place finisher in Youssef Hicham when he couldn’t win a flip versus Kelly Gall.

Raffaello Locatelli would soon follow in seventh-place when he remained unimproved through the river in a pot with then chip leader Ryan Stephens. Falling in the same level to take home sixth-place money would be David Elisofon when he also couldn’t find the help he needed to win a flip before heading to the exit.

Ryan Stephens found the door in fifth place after being on the wrong side of a suck-out to send him looking for the payout desk with Ali Alawadhi following just behind him in fourth-place due to a blind versus blind confrontation that saw him get his money in good as well but still come up second best.

Three-handed play was short-lived as William Butcher was ousted in a massive three-way all-in confrontation that sent him to the exit in third place and left Kelly Gall with just three big blinds to hang his hope of a comeback on.

Heads-up play lasted only two hands as Gall was able to find one double before ultimately getting his short stack in good before Genovese was able to make trips to send Gall to the exit and leave himself standing alone as the champion.

Winner’s Reaction

PokerNews was able to catch up with an elated Genovese after his victory to get his feelings on everything that had just transpired. On the run that helped him top a 4,303-entry field, Genovese said, “It feels amazing! I was pinching myself the whole time!”

Genovese acknowledged how good you’ve got to run to take down an event of this size and was over the moon to have been the one to pull it off having survived some key all-ins on Day 2 from behind that ultimately served in catapulting him into the winner’s circle. During his winner’s photos, he could even be heard saying that he was going to be, “smiling for days”.

Genovese is a long-time poker player, having played and loved the game since his early teenage years and when asked how it felt to have won the most coveted trophy the game has to offer with the people he loves railing him on, his voice got very sincere and even emotional in saying, “Everything,” in a way that made the gratitude and gravity of the moment for the retired fireman crystal clear.

His parting words to PokerNews and the poker community at large were a message of inspiration and hope, saying simply, “You can do it, too. If I can do it, you can do it.”

In a tournament that raised close to $200,000 for Veterans, it’s hard to imagine a more deserving champion than a man who spent his life running into dangerous situations to save the lives of others.

The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off back on May 30, and now bracelet winners are being minted every day. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team has been busy capturing all the action in our live updates, and they’ve witnessed some hands go down that proved to be either entertaining, game-changing or just flat out brutal.

Check out some of our past “Hands of the Week” recaps:

Below is a look at some of the best hands of the week from the 2023 WSOP!

Jacks Versus Queens Versus Kings

On Day 3 of Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller, it was Level 22 (300,000/600,000/600,000) when reporter James Murray caught a big hand. It began when Dan Smith raised to 1,300,000 from middle position with 8♥8♣ and was called by Chance Kornuth in the big blind with A♦8♦.

Kornuth check-folded the 10♦4♠Q♥ flop to a 900,000 bet from Smith.

Smith would pick up K♦K♣ and raise to 1,300,000 from middle position in the very next hand, with Chris Brewer picking up J♠J♣ in late position. Brewer put in a three-bet of 3,600,000, almost half of his remaining stack of 9,300,000.

But it wouldn’t end there. Artur Martirosian looked down at Q♠Q♥ from the big blind and moved all in over both players for 10,700,000. Smith would deliberate for a moment before making the call.

Brewer was able to sniff out the trouble and got out of the way.

The A♥5♣8♥ flop kept Smith in the lead, but with Martirosian halfway out the door, the Q♣ on the turn pulled him right back in and catapulted him into the lead in the hand.

The J♥ left Smith unimproved and Martirosian got the full double-up.

Heated Words for Martin Kabrhel

Not long after in the same level, James Murray caught another hand when Martin Kabrhel raised to 1,700,000 from late position and Dan Smith pushed all in for his remaining 5,900,000 from the big blind. Kabrhel made the call.

Dan Smith: A♦Q♦
Martin Kabrhel: 10♦6♦

Smith went in with the best hand and the covering suit, but the 8♣4♣6♥ flop would deliver Kabrhel the lead.

Smith would be unable to catch back up on the 8♥ turn and the K♠ river, sending him to the payout desk, but not before expressing his displeasure with the polarizing antics of Kabrhel.

“Good luck, most of you. I hope you get barred,” said Smith while gesturing to Kabrhel.

“What does it mean?” replied Kabrhel.

“Banned,” clarified Smith.

“Why?” asked Kabrhel.

“Your antics are the worst of anybody I’ve ever met. Everyone else is a great player.”

“Somebody must be worse,” noted Kabrhel, which marked the end of the conversation.

RWIII Puts Brutal Beat on Biton

In Event #41: $1,500 Big O, it was Day 3 in Level 28 (50,000/100,000/100,000) when reporter Liam Gannon caught a bad beat. It happened when Robert Williamson III raised to 250,000 in late position and Patrice Biton called on the button.

The flop rolled out 9♠9♥7♣ and Williamson checked over to Biton who bet 300,000. Williamson moved all in for 1,200,000 effective and Biton called. Williamson shook his head and said “I guess you have a nine.”

Patrice Biton: A♣A♥Q♥10♠9♣
Robert Williamson III: K♦K♥5♥4♣3♦

“I folded the other two kings,” said William Haffner in another seat at the table.

The turn of 6♠ put a potential low draw out there to give Williamson III some hope, and the river 5♦ gave him all he needed to not only make a low, but make a seven high straight to take the whole pot, leaving Biton to exit the tournament in eighth place for $35,098.

Click here to see how RWIII finished in Event #41.

Kings vs. Kings But Only One Winner

On Day 5 of Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship, just five players remained at the final table in Level 37 (400,000/800,000/800,000) when Liam Gannon reported a sick beat.

Shannon Fahey raised to 2,200,000 in the cutoff and in the small blind, Gordon Eng moved all in for 7,700,000 which saw action fold back to Fahey who called.

Gordon Eng: K♣K♠
Shannon Fahey: K♥K♦

The flop of J♥10♥2♥ saw the crowd give an audible gasp as the pot that had initially looked to be a chop gave Fahey a flush draw. The turn of 4♥ secured the pot for Fahey before the 2♦ river came out and Eng shook his tablemates’ hands as he left the tournament.

https://twitter.com/PokerGO/status/1673447031350886400

Seidel Doubles With Quads

In Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, it was Day 1 in Level 6 (800/1,600/1,600) when reporter Connor Richards caught the following.

In a three-way pot on a flop of 10♠4♥4♠, Erik Seidel and Allan Le checked from the blinds, and the button bet 7,000. Le called and Seidel check-raised to 20,000. The button called and Le folded.

Seidel bet 25,000 on the 10♦ turn and his opponent again called. Seidel then bet 60,000 on the K♣ river before his opponent moved all in with Seidel covered. Seidel quickly called.

The button showed a full house with K♠4♦3♦8♠, but it was no good against the quads of Seidel as the Poker Hall of Famer turned over A♣10♥10♣6♥ to double up and leave his opponent with crumbs.

The Endlessly Creative Side of Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel

Royal Flush Over Quads

On Day 1 of Event #59: $3,000 NLH Freezeout, it was Level 8 (600/1,200/1,200) when reporter Ollie Garland caught a unicorn of a hand.

Thomas Eychenne recounted to PokerNews that on a board of Q♣Q♠10♥J♠, all the money went in on the turn and the cards were tabled.

Opponent: Q♦Q♥
Thomas Eychenne: A♠K♠

Eychenne was still alive against quads as he had one out to a Royal flush. The river landed the 10♠ and Eychenne hit his one-outer for the Royal to defeat quad queens!

Rhode Island is set to become the latest state in the US to offer online poker after lawmakers passed two bills legalizing online poker and casino gaming.

Rhode Island lawmakers passed identical bills in the House and Senate instructing the State Lottery Division to “implement, operate, conduct, and control iGaming, at the Twin River and the Twin River-Tiverton gaming facilities.”

The bills give control of igaming to Bally’s Corporation, which owns the Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort and Tiverton Casino & Hotel.

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed the bills earlier this month, which are set to go into effect on March 1, 2024.

The legislation makes Rhode Island the eighth state to legalize online poker more than a decade after the nationwide shutdown of online poker on Black Friday. The other states are Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Connecticut.

Find Out More About Playing Online Poker in the US

As one of the least populated US states, Rhode Island will likely join an interstate compact, allowing for a shared pool of online poker players across state lines. The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) currently consists of New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.

Rhode Island lawmakers previously legalized sports betting back in 2019. Soon, the state’s 1.1 million residents also have the option to play online poker and casino games.

Every poker tournament is a marathon and not a sprint. And with its two-hour levels across nine arduous days of play, no tournament is more of a marathon than the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

Unlike other marathons, the Main Event requires its runners to navigate through a field of landmines as they hope to cement their name in poker history by becoming the next WSOP champion.

With the 2023 Main Event just around the corner, here’s a look back at a hand from each day of the 2022 Main Event that left us asking, how would you play these hands with $10 million on the line?

Day 1b – Queens No Good For Margets

During the second of four starting flights, an early-position player raised and Shijia Liu three-bet to 3,200 from the hijack. Leo Margets, from the button, four-bet to around 8,500. The original raiser folded and Liu took his time before calling.

The flop came 3♣7♠10♥ and Liu checked over to Margets who continued for 5,500. Liu raised to 15,000 and Margets, after thinking for a minute, called.

The 5♦ arrived on the turn and both players would slowly tap the table.

On the 2♦ river, Liu took over a minute before putting in 45,000, which effectively put Margets all in.

Margets only had 38,500 left behind her and the Spanish WSOP bracelet winner took about two minutes before putting in a crying call.

Liu turned over A♠A♣ and Margets could only reply “Yup” as she tabled Q♠Q♣ and told the players at the table “Good luck!”

Meanwhile, Liu immediately becomes one of the biggest stacks in the red section with over 140,000.

Day 2abc – Kulev Hits Combo Draw on River to Double Up

During Day 2abc with 35,000 in the middle on a 10♦8♦6♣A♠ board, Alex Kulev, from the big blind, put in a bet of 16,500.

His opponent, from the small blind, put Kulev all in for 90,000 total.

Kulev then went into the tank for a couple of minutes before coming out with a call.

Alex Kulev: A♦7♦
Big Blind: 6♦6♠

Kulev’s top pair was well behind the big blind’s set of sixes. However, he still had a 25% chance to hit his flush or his straight.

Luckily for Kulev, the J♦ arrived on the river to double him up and take him to over 200,000.

Day 2d – Polk Gets Flushed to the Rail

On Day 2d, recent $25,000 Heads-Up Championship runner-up Doug Polk raised it up to 4,500 in middle position and Justin Chu defended from the big blind. The flop came 5♠4♠3♥ and Chu check-called a bet of 4,000 from Polk.

The turn brought the J♥ and Chu checked again. Polk tossed in another bet of 14,000 this time and Chu check-raised all in. Polk had just over 40,500 remaining and gave it some thought before making the call for his tournament life.

Doug Polk: J♠10♥
Justin Chu: K♥4♥

Polk turned top pair but Chu had a pair and a flush draw. The river was the 6♥ and Chu improved to a flush, sending Polk to the rail but not before everyone got a “good game”.

Read More About 2022 Mai Event Champion Espen Jorstad

Day 3 – Pumpernick Doesn’t Believe Mustafov

Here’s a hand that took place on Day 3 as 2,993 players returned. Three ways to the 8♦2♣2♥ flop, it checked to Fahredin Mustafov and he then bet 17,000. Roman Pumpernick in the small blind was the only caller and the 4♦ fell on the turn. Pumpernick now bet 15,000 only for Mustafov to raise it up to 75,000, which the Austrian snap-called.

They headed to the 4♣ on the river and Pumpernick now checked. Mustafov bet 131,000 for nearly half of his remaining stack and Pumpernick eventually called to win the pot with Q♣8♣, as Mustafov had bluffed all the way with 10♣7♣.

Day 4 – Wien Correctly Calls Off Stack, Earns Full Double Up

On Day 4 with the field dwindled down to 1,299 runners, a player under the gun opened to 40,000 and Jeremy Wien three-bet to 130,000 from the button. The original raiser called.

The flop came A♦2♦9♣ and Wien continued for 105,000. The under-the-gun player called.

On the 6♠ turn, Wien bet once again, this time for 180,000. His opponent called a second time.

The river brought the K♦ and after his opponent checked, Wien bet for 260,000, leaving 500,000 behind. His opponent, who had Wien covered, deliberated for a few seconds before announcing all in.

Wien stood up immediately and muttered “This is so sick” and questioned whether or not his opponent had the same hand or queen-jack of diamonds.

Finally, after a few minutes and apologizing to the table for taking his time, Wien announced “If this is the way I go out, then this is the way I go out” and made the call, turning over A♣K♣.

His opponent tapped the table and said “Nice call”, showing J♦J♠ to double Wien up.

Day 5 – Crazy Bluff From Lococo

On Day 5 that began with 380 players, Alejandro Lococo raised it up from the hijack and Karim Rebei defended from the big blind. The flop came 9♠8♥7♥ and both players checked to the K♠ on the turn.

Rebei led out with a bet of 140,000 and Lococo raised to 485,000. Rebei responded with a three-bet to 1,135,000 and this is where things got interesting. Lococo announced a raise but put in the wrong amount, therefore was committed to a min-raise of 1,785,000.

Rebei took the opportunity to push out a five-bet to 4,000,000 which put Lococo into the tank for at least six minutes. After looking visibly distressed, Lococo eventually announced all-in for 5,710,000.

“Oops,” Rebei said to the rail as he shrugged his shoulders. He still asked for a count and gave it some thought for a couple of minutes and even got the chips ready to call. However, Rebei opted to lay his hand down and Lococo flashed the A♣J♦ as he started clapping and shouting “Let’s go!” as he dragged in a massive pot.

Snippets of the hand, played on the outer feature table without hole cards, can be seen below (courtesy of PokerGO).

Day 6 – Playing the Main Event Blind

After 123 players returned for Day 6, Victor Li raised to 400,000 from early position without looking at his cards and Efthymia Litsou called in the big blind, also without looking.

Both players checked dark on the 7♣4♣3♦ flop before the turn came the 2♣. Litsou bet out 3,000,000.

“What did I get myself into,” Li said before finally looking at his cards and shoving all in. Litsou quickly called for 5,600,000 and showed J♣10♣ for a flush.

Li had 5♦3♣ as the river came the A♣, taking another look at the board to make sure he didn’t get a straight flush.

Litsou later admitted she had, in fact, looked at her hand. “You lied to me,” Li said before handing over the chips.

“That was the most bizarre hand I’ve ever played,” Litsou said.

Day 7 – Huge Laydown With a Full House Keeps Diaz in Contention

As Day 7 began with only 35 players remaining, Jeffrey Farnes raised to 2,300,000 in early position with the K♠K♦ and David Diaz called from the small blind with the A♠Q♥. The flop came K♥Q♦2♦ and Diaz check-called a bet of 2,700,000 from Farnes.

The Q♠ paired the board on the turn and Diaz led out with a bet of 4,000,000. Farnes called and the 2♠ completed the board. Diaz reached for a bet of 7,000,000 on the river and Farnes ripped all in after around two minutes, sending a dry smile on Diaz’ face who instantly shook his head.

Diaz was put to the test for his remaining 11,800,000 as he dipped deep into the tank. After six minutes went by, Diaz finally threw his queens full in the muck and the players went on a break.

Day 8 – Folding Nines to a Single Raise?

On Day 8 in Hand 151 at the final table, eventual champion Espen Jorstad raised to 6,000,000 with J♦10♦ and runner-up Adrian Attenborough called in the cutoff with A♥Q♣. Michael Duek folded 9x9x in the small blind and the flop came 8♠5♣2♦. It checked to the 9♣ turn. Jorstad bet 16,000,000 and Attenborough folded.

The tight fold by the third-place finisher evoked strong reactions from the poker Twitter community.

Day 9 – The Final Hand

In Hand #215, which ended up being the final hand of the tournament, Jorstad limped in as Attenborough checked his option to see a flop of 4♥2♥2♣. Attenborough check-raised from 4,000,000 to 14,000,000 and Jorstad then clicked it back to 32,000,000 following one minute of consideration. Attenborough called rather quickly and the 8♠ followed on the turn.

The check by Attenborough triggered Jorstad’s bet worth 62,000,000 once he gave it a minute and a half to consider his options. One minute passed for Attenborough to make the call and he then checked quickly on the Q♣ river with 200 million chips in the middle for yet another huge pot.

Jorstad emptied the clip with an effective shove for 131,000,000 as that’s what Attenborough had behind. Yet another long tank by the Aussie followed with the same hand combination albeit off suit.

“Can I just jam for value one time and you tank? That would be nice,” Attenborough joked with a smirk on the face towards his opponent after he was in the tank for a few minutes already.

“This one could be bad guys,” the Aussie then remarked as he turned around to his rail. Once he focused back on the table and riffled the chips in agony. “You gonna be like why am I tanking with this hand but I really wanna call this time,” the next table chatter followed.

All the while, Jorstad kept his laser-focused expression staring at the board and not giving away any emotion at all.

“What a game,” Attenborough added and at some point even asked Jorstad “Do you have your eyes closed?” without receiving any reply at all.

“So many fuckin combos,” the next burst of chatter followed before Attenborough started counting his chips again and talked through a few possible hand combinations, keeping a dry smile on the face.

“I really wanna call, really badly, but I have such a bad hand,” the conclusion followed before he added “I just never know what to do … sorry guys,” he even apologized.

Ultimately, more than eight minutes passed when Attenborough said “fuck it” and finally talked himself into calling with the J♣4♠. Jorstad revealed the Q♦2♠ for deuces full of queens and has been crowned the 2022 WSOP Main Event champion. Another “fuck” by the Aussie followed, who immediately told his rail it had been a “really bad call”.

The 888poker Summer Sale Week wrapped up on June 26 with the crowning of the final champions. Some 11,327 players bought in across the week-long series, and generated $347,480 in prize money, far more than the advertised $300,000.

One of those many entrants was “edtastylez92,” who entered the $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event, which cost $55 instead of the usual $109. Some 2,041 players, including re-entries, created a guarantee-busting $102,050 prize pool that the top 320 finishers shared.

Mystery bounties came into play from the 18th level, with some of those secret prizes being juicy.

Brazil’s “fhoffmann1” may have busted in 136th place but they collected a $3,000 bounty before heading to the showers. Nicolas “PKaiser” Fierro went a little deeper, bowing out in 86th place with a $3,000 mystery bounty in two.

Sixteenth-place finisher “Fackedelic” was the biggest success story of the tournament because they pulled out a $10,000 bounty from a golden envelope, and walked away with a total prize worth $10,590, which was more than the champion took home!

$100,000 Summer Sale Mystery Bounty Main Event Final Table Chip Counts

The tournament paused once the nine-handed final table was reached. “edtastylez92” sat down in the middle of the pack with 29 big blinds at their disposal, a stack dwarfed by the 71 big blinds “Bender_Rod” had accumulated on their way to the grand finale.

“igormaister2” of Ukraine was the first finalist to find themselves void of chips. They open-shoved from late position for a little under 11 big blinds with pocket sixes, only for fellow Ukrainian “ukrLaci” to wake up with pocket aces in the big blind. “ukrLaci” called, their aces held, and “igormaister2” headed for the rail.

“ukrLaci” was next to fall despite winning that pot. They made an ill-timed move after min-raising with ace-seven of clubs from the button, and seeing “solovivir” three-bet to five big blinds from the big blind. “ukrLaci” decided to rip in their 23 big blind stack, and “solovivir” snap-called with pocket kings. “solovivir” flopped a set, and “ukrLaci” was drawing dead by the turn.

The United Kingdom’s “Marksman_M” was shot down in seventh, and it was “edtastylez92” who pulled the trigger. “Marksman_M” open-shoved for three big blinds from the small blind with ace-ten, and “edtastylez92” called in the big blind with king-four of spades. A king on the turn proved enough to reduce the player count by one.

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The final six became five with the untimely demise of Sweden’s “Turbienator.” They mi-raised in late position with pocket queens, and “solovivir” called in the small blind with pocket deuces. The flop fell jack-deuce-four with two diamonds, and “soloviivr” check-raised a continuation bet from their opponent. “Turbienator” jammed for 23 big blinds in total and was snapped off. A six and four completed the board, and confirmed “Turbienator”‘s elimination.

Two Brazilians busted after one another. First, “Paulada85” got their last eight big blinds in with ace-four against the ace-jack of “edtastyle92.” Both players improved two pair by the river.

The second busted Brazilian was “josepoker71.” Their last four big blinds went into the middle from the small blind with king-nine of diamonds, and “edstylez92” called in the big blind with nine-six of hearts. A six on the flop and a nine on the river sent “josepoker71” home in fourth.

Heads-up was set when “solovivir” crashed out in third. “Bender_rod” limped in from the small blind with king-seven of spades, “solovivir” raised to three big blinds with ace-queen offsuit, and “Bender_Rod” moved all-in! “solovivir” called off the 36.5 big blinds they had behind. The nine-four-nine flop kept the ace-queen ahead, but the queen of spades turn give “Bender_Rod” outs to a flush. One of those out, the ace of spades, completed the five community cards, and sent “solovivir” home in third.

“Bender_Rod ” held a substantial 111 big blind to 11.5 big blind chip lead over “edtastylez92” going into the one-on-one battle, but the short stack was in no mood for throwing in the towel. “edtastylez92” couldn’t find a spot for the firs 30-minutes of heads-up play, but then began clawing their way back into contention.

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“Bender_Rod” was caught with their hands in the cookie jar, bluffing at a pot with seven-deuce when “edtastylez92” was set there with a full house, and the roles had been reversed.

The final hand saw “edtastylze92” limp with ten-seven, and “Bender_Rod” check with eight-six. A jack-five-eight flop was checked, leading to a six on the turn. “Bender_Rod” had turned two pair, but “edtastylze92” had an open-ended straight draw. “Bender_Rod” led for two big blinds, and was called. A nine on the river completed “edtastylze92″‘s straight. “Bender_Rod” checked before calling off their 8.5 big blind stack when “edtastylze” set them all in. GG.

$100,000 Summer Sale Mystery Bounty Main Event Final Table Results

Complete 888poker Summer Sale Week Results

*includes bounty payments

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