One week does not make a career, but if there was any doubt remaining as to how strong Brian Rast’s Poker Hall of Fame candidacy was seven days ago, you may have since changed your mind.

That’s not to say the other nine builders and players nominated aren’t deserving of reaching poker’s most exclusive club — they are. But Rast is our World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Week for winning one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, and in doing so, becoming the favorite for the Hall of Fame’s 2023 inductee.

What a Week for Brian Rast

Rast took down Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1,324,727, becoming the first player ever to win the PPC three times. He scooped his sixth overall bracelet and cracked the $25 million mark lifetime in live tournaments, according to Hendon Mob.

On top of his huge win, the Las Vegas resident added another deep run this past week, a seventh place finish for $18,709 in Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo. In that tournament, Mike Matusow may have given Rast a bit of a sweat.

Following his Poker Players Championship title, Rast became the heavy favorite for the Poker Hall of Fame. But one of his nearest competitors is Matusow, a four-time bracelet winner and poker boom era legend, was heads-up for a bracelet in Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo. “The Mouth,” however, lost the heads-up match to Marcin Horecki and was denied his first WSOP title since 2013.

Still, Matusow is very much in the running for the HOF induction this year, but being unable to finish it off in the hi-lo event may have improved Rast’s odds.

Rast made it clear to PokerNews at the 2021 WSOP that reaching the Poker Hall of Fame is important to him. He’s certainly done well for himself this past week, and throughout his career, in putting himself in position to achieve that goal.

There were many other top performers the past week at the World Series of Poker. The list of players who deserve recognition is too lengthy to fit into this article, but we’ll highlight a few here: Mike Gorodinsky (won $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.), Steven Genovese (won $500 Salute to Warriors), and Ian Matakis, who is giving Shaun Deeb a run for his money in the WSOP Player of the Year chase.

The brains behind the increasingly popular Irish Poker Tour are bringing an action-packed six-day schedule to the Slovakian capital Bratislava. The 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival‘s schedule is not only crammed full of events, but those tournaments come with combined guaranteed prize pools of €1 million.

The 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival takes place at The Card Casino in Bratislava, Slovakia, from July 18 through July 23. Situated one minute’s drive from Bratislava airport along the Danube River, The Card Casino is Slovakia’s largest casino, and it will need to be to accommodate the upcoming Bratislava Poker Festival.

Fintan Gavin, the CEO of the Irish Poker Tour, said, “We’re ready to bring the magic of Irish Poker to the heart of Europe. We know what players want, and we’re ready to give it to them.”

Full 2023 Bratislava Poker Festival Schedule

The Irish Poker Tour’s influence becomes apparent when you look at the exciting schedule. Although No-Limit Hold’em events dominate proceedings, as they tend to do with every online and live poker festival, there are plenty of Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments adorning the schedule.

One such event, the Euro Omaha Championship 7-Max, is nothing short of massive. Commanding a €3,000 buy-in, unless you win your way in via one of the live satellites at The Card Casino, this event comes with a €200,000 guaranteed prize pool, which is almost unheard of in PLO circles.

Euro Omaha Championship players sit down with a generous 30,000 starting stack, and play to 40-minute levels where the blinds start at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Re-entries are unlimited for the first nine levels, so expect the action to be fast and furious.

PartyPoker LIVE Releases Schedule For All New Grand Prix Bratislava

The piece de resistance, if you will, is the €500,000 guaranteed Grand Prix, in association with PartyPoker LIVE. Entering the Grand Prix costs €550 unless you win your way into it via the live satellites or online satellites at PartyPoker; more on those soon.

Every Grand Prix player receives a 40,000-chip starting stack and plays to blinds starting at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Late registration remains open for nine levels, and those levels are 30 minutes long for Levels 1-12 and 25 minutes long for Levels 13-14, after which each flight ends. Only one re-entry per flight is permitted.

Day 2 of the Grand Prix sees the blind levels extended to 45 minutes, and 12 levels are scheduled. The third and final day plays to a 60-minute clock until a champion is crowned.

Win a €1,500 Grand Prix Bratislava Package for Only €0.01

As the Irish Poker Tour is working with PartyPoker LIVE, it is possible to win a Bratislava Poker Festival package online at PartyPoker from as little a €0.01.

PartyPoker’s famous centrolls feed into €0.22 buy-in sub-feeders, then €1.10 feeders. Win your way through a €1.10 buy-in feeder to compete in the €5.50 GP Bratislava Festival Main Event at Phase 1 games. These pay tickets to the €22 Phase 2 satellites, which then put you into the €109 Phase Final that has three €1,500 packages guaranteed. Capture such a package to receive:

• €550 Grand Prix Bratislava Main Event buy-in
• €250 spending money to put towards travel expenses
• Five night’s accommodation at the four-star NH Gate One Hotel worth €700

You can download PartyPoker here if you do not already have an account. Making a deposit rewards you with a bunch of tickets plus a 100% up to $600 first deposit bonus!

PartyPoker also has a special freeroll on July 2 that awards one €1,500 package to the Grand Prix Bratislava festival. Hurry, or you may miss out!

Opitbet.lv is also running online satellites, but this online poker room is restricted to players located in Latvia, while Highstakes.com, part of the TonyBet Network, has some exciting promotions, too.

After close to 13 hours on the virtual felts on WSOP.com, “Suki_The_Sav” took down Online Event #11: $888 NL Hold’em Crazy 8’s after defeating “Jautiena” in a lengthy heads-up battle.

A total of 1,050 players who rebought 629 times created a prize pool of $1,343,200, with the top 248 finding a cash. “Suki_The_Sav” took down the top prize of $227,000 and the coveted gold bracelet.

Although not much is known about “Suki_The_Sav”, they managed to navigate the tough field to become victorious with an impressive show of skill.

Online Event #11: $888 NL Hold’em Crazy 8’s Final Table Results

A star-studded field joined the action throughout the day, and some who were fortunate enough to find a return on their investment included popular poker YouTubers Andrew “GrandpaEd” Neeme (94th – $2,014) and Johnnie “JohnnieVIBES” Moreno (85th – $2,283).

Also bracelet winners Benjamin “TheChyGuy” Ector (59th – $3,358), Koray “Seatscramble” Aldemir (52nd – $3,895), Jeff “NedrudRelyt” Madsen (45th – $4,566), and Ari “PalmTreeB” Engel (17th – $8,462), who ran his ace-eight into queen-jack of Julio “PrsFinest” Clavell who hit a queen on the river to send the two-time bracelet winner out in 17th place.

Final Table Action

The official eight-handed final table had an average stack of just under 20 big blinds, but with the big pay jumps, the action started off slow. The first casualty came when Cameron “cammy3399” Drucker was all in with ace-jack against the ace-queen for Dana “propjoe” Muse and Andrew “GudLife” Moreno with nines. The board didn’t improve Drucker and he was sent to the exit in eighth place.

A few hands later, Muse got it in ahead with ace-nine against the king-queen for “Jautiena”, but when the river fell a queen, it was the end of the road for Muse as they were eliminated in seventh place.

“AbleBaker” was next to go when they got their last few blinds in with ace-five against the eight-deuce for Clavell, who hit a pair of twos to send “AbleBaker” out in sixth place.

Moreno came into the final table as one of the biggest stacks, but after some unfortunate hands, found himself on a short stack. Moreno was in the blinds with only a couple big blinds left and called off with six-five against the eight-six for “Jautiena.” The board didn’t help Moreno, and he was sent to the rail in fifth place.

Four-handed went on for some time before Clavell moved in with ace-four from the small blind and was snap-called by “Suki_The_Sav” in the big blind with pocket sevens. The board ran out with no ace, and Clavell was eliminated in fourth place.

Ryan “BitC0in” Riess maneuvered his way to three-handed play but got his short stack in with king-three suited against the pocket sevens for “Suki_The_Sav”. The lucky sevens for “Suki_The_Sav” scored the pot, and the former Main Event champion was out in third for a six-figure score.

Heads-up play started with “Suki_The_Sav” and “Jautiena” within less than a big blind apart of each other, and the battle went on for over an hour. “Jautiena” took the early lead and looked like the match would soon be over, however, “Suki_The_Sav” found a double with ace-queen against king-queen and the match was back to even.

Soon later, “Suki_The_Sav” flopped quads to take another pot to take the lead. In the final hand, “Suki_The_Sav” moved all in with king-five to put pressure on “Jautiena”, who called with ace-deuce for their tournament life. The flop fell a five, and the rest of the board was no help to “Jautiena”, who finished in the runner-up position.

That wraps up the coverage of Online Event #11: $888 NL Hold’em Crazy 8’s on WSOP.com. Be sure to keep it with PokerNews for all your up-to-date coverage of the rest of the WSOP online and at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

June 27 was the 29th day of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The day saw several events break attendance records, which seems to be a common theme this year, with a trio of players becoming WSOP bracelet winners.

The first of three bracelets won on Day 29 went to Steven Genovese, who triumphed in Event #56: $500 Salute to Warriors. Genovese, a retired firefighter helped himself to the $217,921 top prize and his first gold WSOP bracelet. The event raised almost $200,000 for charity, and what better champion that a warrior who spent his career aiding others.

Jason Daly became a WSOP champion for the first time by taking down Event #58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em (6-handed). Daly put on a dominant display as he bulldozed his way to the victory, which came with a score that tipped the scales at $165,250. Daly may see this win as redemption for his third-place finish in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event in 2022.

The third and final bracelet of Day 29 went to “Suki_The_Sav” in Online Event #11: $888 No-Limit Hold’em Crazy 8’s. “Suki_The_Sav” left a field of 1,050 entrants in their wake, including fifth-place finisher Andrew “GudLife” Moreno and third-placed Ryan “BitC0in” Riess in their wake. After defeating Lithuanias “Jautiena” heads-up, the champion raked in $227,000 and a covered WSOP bracelet.

Negreanu Bags Big on Day 1 of the $10K Stud Hi-Lo Championship

It has been a frustrating series thus far for Daniel Negreanu. The six-time bracelet winner has nine cashes to his name, but a final table continues eluding him. While the final table of Event #63: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship is still some way off, Negreanu has done his chance of reaching it no harm at all by bagging up a top five stack on Day 1.

Negreanu crammed 264,000 chips into his overnight bag; only Bruno Fitoussi (355,000), Maximilian Schindler (310,500), and Dan Colpoys (285,000) accumulated more betting tokens through the first 10 levels of this tournament.

Such luminaries as Connor Drinan (246,000), Eric Rodawig (230,000), Scott Seiver (218,500), and Dzmitry Urbanovich (216,500) return to the tables with top ten stacks in tow.

As you would expect from such a specialist event, the remaining 57 players from a starting field of 124, read like a who’s who of the poker world.

Brian Hastings (148,500), Jeff Madsen (124,000), Calvin Anderson (119,500), Joao Vieira (112,000), Mike Matusow (54,000), David “ODB” Baker (52,500), and Todd Brunson (46,500) are just a handful of names to look out for in the PokerNews live updates on Day 2.

Event #63: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

Day 2 shuffles up and deals at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 28.

Plesuv Leads the Final Seven in the Millionaire Maker

Only seven of the 10,430 starters remain in contention to become the champion of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker. Moldova’s Pavel Plesuv (70,300,000) has the most chips going into a fifth day of action; he has a considerable lead over the chasing pack.

Plesuv has more than $6 million in live poker tournament earnings, and looks set to add another seven-figure score to that impressive sum. Looking to stop Plesuv’s quest for poker gold are the likes of Florian Ribouchon (46,000,000), Myles Mullaly (43,600,000), Andreas Kniep (34,800,000), Paul Gunness (24,100,000), Vitor De Souza Coutinho (20,800,000), and short-stack Anton Smirnov (19,800,000).

PokerNews‘ coverage of the Millionaire Maker continues from 1:00 p.m. on June 28, although it is on a 30-minute delay as PokerGO is streaming the final table, and we do not want to give any spoilers!

Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker Final Table Seat Draw

Lau Leads the Final Five in the $25K PLO High Roller

Ka Kwan Lau goes into the final day of Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller with one hand on the tournament’s bracelet and $2,294,756 top prize, thanks to bagging up 28,2800,000 chips at the end of Day 3. Lau’s stack is so colossal that he could double-up any player apart from second-placed Sergio Martinez Gonzalez (17,475,000) and still have chips remaining.

Lau is considered one of the best PLO players on the planet, and his performance in this event seems to add weight to those claims. Gonzalez aside, Lau must contend with Norway’s Mads Amot (12,850,000), Roger Teska (6,400,000), and Andjelko Andrejevic (3,425,000) when the cards are back in the air from 5:00 p.m. local time on June 28.

PokerNews‘ updates will be delayed according to the PokerGO live stream.

Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller Final Day Seat Draw

Wisbrod On Course for Bracelet No. 2

Israel’s Barak Wisbrod finds himself in the envious position of being the chip leader of Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout with only 18 players remaining. Wisbrod, who is coming off the back of a third-place finish in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Secret Bounty event, is only 17 eliminations from becoming a two-time WSOP champion. He sits down with 6,400,000 chips in his arsenal.

Although Wisbrod has an advantage right now, there are only 11 big blinds separating him from fifth place. Macedonia’s Ilija Savevski (5,435,000) is Wisbrod’s nearest rival, while Kenny Smith (5,170,000), Robert Burlacu (5,140,000), and Frederic Normand (5,060,000) are hanging from the leader’s coattails.

Lower down the chip counts is where you find the likes of Julien Sitbon (3,215,000), Brock Wilson (2,850,000), Dario Sammartino (2,575,000), and Gianluca Speranza (2,470,000). Each will have a role to play in where this event’s bracelet ends up.

June 28 at 12:00 p.m. local time is when the cards are back in the air in this event, and PokerNews will be on hand to bring you all of the action until the champion is decided.

Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout Top 10 Chip Counts

Can Seidel Bag His Tenth WSOP Bracelet?

Only Phil Hellmuth, the late Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Johnny Chan are in double-figures regarding WSOP bracelet wins, but Erik Seidel has every chance of joining that exclusive club.

Seidel is one of only 24 players remaining in Event #60: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw, with his 680,000 stack enough for a top ten place right now. The Poker Hall of Famer has a knack for getting the job done whenever he finds himself deep in prestigious events and can definitely handle high-pressure situations.

Several elite-level grinders stand between Seidel and his 10th piece of WSOP hardware. Ryan Moriarty (1,035,000) is the only player with a seven-figure stack. He is being chased down by the likes of Nick Guagenti (990,000), Robert Campbell (805,000), Richard Ashby (800,000), and Adam Friedman (720,0000, all of whom are among the top ten chip counts.

Maria Ho (515,000), Chris Brewer (465,000), Jason Mercier (390,000), Brad Ruben (375,000), and Mike Watson (335,000) are also still in the mix.

Return to PokerNews from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 28 got all the 2-7 Single Draw action you can handle.

Another Attendance Record Broken in the $1,000 Super Seniors

Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em is the biggest such tournament in WSOP history, with 3,122 over 60-year-olds turning out in force. That is an increase of 453 players from the 2022 edition.

Kevin Durgin (392,000) leads the 808 Day 1 survivors back into battle on Day 2, closely followed by Greg White (384,000), Christian Guittier (366,500), and Geoffrey Gault (308,000).

Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Farzad Bonyadi (261,000) finds himself in the top ten, and will fancy his chances of progressing much deeper in this popular tournament.

A host of stars are among the veterans that punched their Day 2 tickets. Lee Markholt (185,500), Alan Goehring (162,500), David Jackson (152,000), Yucel Eminoglu (124,000), the legendary Billy Baxter (84,000), and Humberto Brenes (73,000) and just a small selection of well-known super seniors through to Day 2.

Day 2 commences at 10:00 a.m. on June 28 with the plan to complete another ten levels. Return PokerNews then for all the updates from the Super Seniors event.

Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors Top 10 Chip Counts

David Prociak Bags a Top 10 Stack in the NLHE/PLO Mixed Event

In 2022, this event drew in a 1,234 crowd, which was seen as huge at the time. However, Event #62: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha in 2023 has seen 2,076 players buy in.

The action was plentiful throughout Day 1, and that resulted in only 259 players progressing to Day 2. Weathering the storm the best was Justin Jones (756,000), with Philip Wiszowaty (708,000) also bagging up more than 700,000 chips at the close of play.

Bracelet winner David Prociak (518,000) returns in the top 10. The Florida native won a $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo event in 2016 and finished fourth in a $5,000 buy-in edition of this event in 2021.

Others that navigated their way through the shark-infested waters include this event’s 2021 champion Motoyoshi Okamura (459,000), Robert Cowen (416,000), Dan Heimiller (375,000), Brandon Shack-Harris (357,000), Shaun Deeb (344,000), Martin Kabrhel (331,000), Chris Moorman (80,000), and Robert Mizrachi (67,000).

Day 2 starts at 1:00 p.m. prompt on June 28. PokerNews is where you will find all of this event’s updates.

Event #62: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Top 10 Chip Counts

What to Expect on Day 30 of the 2023 WSOP

Day 30 of the 2023 WSOP should be another incredible day for poker lovers. Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker will crown its worthy champion, as will Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. We will also discover the winners of Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, and Event #60: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw.

Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors will whittle its field down to a more manageable number, while Event #62: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha field should be cut down to near its final table, as will Event #63: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

If that was not enough poker action for you, three fresh events shuffle up and deal! PokerNews will bring you coverage of Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Championship, Event #65: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em (6-Handed), and Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better!

The 2023 World Series of Poker is rounding the corner into the month of July and Shaun Deeb has the lead in the race for his second WSOP Player of the Year honor. Deeb, who last won the award in 2018, is on pace to become the second two-time champion since Daniel Negreanu won in 2004 and 2013.

The six-time bracelet winner has four more cashes since PokerNews’ last POY update, which includes another WSOP final table. This has seen him overtake Ian Matakis, who now sits in second place.

Early frontrunner Chad Eveslage has fallen outside of the top five. Michael Rodrigues, Chance Kornuth, and Chris Brewer have also put in a string of results which sees them climb to the upper echelons of the leaderboard.

2023 WSOP Player of the Year Standings

Deeb Makes His Move

Deeb has 12 cashes and one bracelet so far in 2023 — a pace that matches a 2018 effort where he brought home two bracelets over 20 cashing finishes. Besides his win, Deeb has three other top-five finishes — two of them on the live felt in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event and the $1,500 Omaha Mixed event. Elsewhere on the internet, he nearly picked up another bracelet with a runner-up finish in the $1,000 Online Deepstack event.

Shaun Deeb’s 2023 WSOP Cashes

Brewer a Closing Horse?

The former collegiate runner and current high-stakes crusher finally broke through with his first bracelet in the $250,000 Super High Roller. The win has propelled him to the top five on the leaderboard, with plenty of opportunities to close the gap throughout the rest of the summer.

Besides the win, Brewer had a late run of bad luck to finish third in the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.

Chris Brewer’s 2023 WSOP Cashes

Others Chasing Deeb

Rodrigues found his way into the mix with a win in the first-ever $1,500 Badugi event and he has bolstered his resume with final table finishes in both the $1,500 and $10,000 versions of the Limit 2-7 Triple Draw. He’s joined by Kornuth with three top-five finishes in high roller events in 2023, including the runner-up spot in the $25,000 event that kicked off the summer.

The rest of the top 10 players feature Josh Arieh, Michael Moncek, John Monnette, and Jeremy Ausmus. Ausmus is a new addition to the list after his victory in the $3,200 High Roller on WSOP.com. The other three found their way into the top ten with wins of their own, but they’ve fallen back a few slots as players like Brewer, Kornuth, and Rodrigues have moved into contention.

Meanwhile, Brian Rast is picking up ground outside the top ten with a win in the Poker Player’s Championship and a run to seventh in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo event.

The final day of Event #58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em (6-handed) has concluded at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Jason Daly has emerged victorious after a dominant final table performance to take home $165,250 and his first gold bracelet.

The event attracted 263 total entrants, up from last year’s attendance of 213, to generate a total prize pool of $702,210. Only 17 of those initial entrants found a bag for Day 3 to battle it out for the top prize.

Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

“It means a lot,” Daly said when asked what this win meant to him. “On the grind, I moved out to Vegas when I was 21 and that didn’t work out. I’m 41 now so I’ve come full circle. It’s the first limit hold’em tournament I’ve ever played so it’s pretty cool. It’s a bucket list item and I’m just kind of speechless right now.”

Daly, who started playing poker online in college during the Moneymaker era, mentioned that he’s never experienced a final table run quite as dominant as his was today.

“This is my third World Series final table. I had a huge chip lead like this last year and blew it so I was focused and I was doing everything I could not to screw this one up”.

Daly, who has several WSOP cashes across different mixed games such as Triple Draw and H.O.R.S.E., credited his success to his ability to adapt to other opponents’ strategies and use them to his advantage.

“I think with the mixed games I learn quickly and I kind of use people’s strategies against them. Coming from Texas you don’t get to play a lot of mix so when I’m out here it’s the only time I get to play them. I just kind of watch good players, see what they’re doing, try to emulate it and use it against them a little bit. But I’ve fared pretty well in mixed games”.

Final Day Recap

The final day started with 17 players and that number was quickly reduced to the unofficial final table of seven. Early exits to start the day included Joe McKeehen, Daniel Idema, Matt Szymaszek, Dan Shak, Alex Torry, Daniel Maczuga, Michael Senter, Robert Como, Tom Koral and David Bach.

Jeffrey Lo was next to be eliminated when he got his last chips in preflop with a short-stack holding Ace Five and failed to catch up to Mavrick Yoo‘s Ace King. Lo’s elimination marked the start of the official final table.

Six-handed play lasted for about 30 minutes before Yoo became the first official final table casualty. He was left short-stacked after folding a big pot to Freddy Sageer and got the last of his chips in against Daniel Young, who turned a pair of Jacks against Yoo’s flopped pair eights to knock him out of the tournament.

Five-handed play went on for nearly two hours and it was during this time that Daly started to separate himself from the rest of the pack, particularly after winning a colossal pot against Nick Pupillo with the nut-flush versus Pupillo’s king-high flush.

Eventually Daniel Young, who started the final table with a slight chip lead over Daly, found himself short-stacked during five-handed play after losing a few pivotal hands against Sageer and Daly. He bowed out in fifth after getting the last of his chips in against Sageer, who had flopped a pair of queens to secure the knockout.

Four-handed play saw Daly extend his lead over the rest of the field significantly, holding more than eighty percent of the chips in play for nearly the entire time. Freddy Sageer was the next to fall to Daly from this point, getting the last of his chips in against Daly preflop and failing to catch up when Daly flopped a pair of tens.

Three-handed play was a brief affair, with Daly beginning with just under ten million chips while his two opponents had less than one million each. Nick Pupillo got his final few chips in good against Daly preflop, holding a queen versus Daly’s low unsuited connectors. Daly would spike a pair of fives on the turn to pull ahead and eliminate Pupillo in third, setting up heads-up play.

Brent Mutter had done an excellent job throughout the day picking his spots and laddering up. His time in the tournament finally ran out when he flopped a set of twos against Daly’s combo draw. Daly would end up rivering a straight flush to end Mutter’s tournament run and take home his first gold bracelet in spectacular fashion.

This concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event, but there is still plenty more action to come at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, so be sure to stay tuned for all the live updates from each and every bracelet event.

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!