Daily Updates from the 2023 WSOP - June 25 - PokerListings (2024)

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• Daily Updates from the 2023 WSOP – June 25

2023 is turning into the Year of the OG Legend with two more old-school names making a mark this weekend. Billy Baxter is threatening to win his 8th bracelet and first in two decades in the Seniors event, while Mike Matusow is sitting in 7th place in the final 18 of the Seven Card Stud for his fifth bracelet and first since 2013. Meanwhile, Dan Heimiller is looking to win a second Seniors bracelet but Canadian Lonnie Hallett could stand in his way as both players will dominate the final day with around 50 million each, compared to Baxter's 15.5 million for 3rd. In perhaps the biggest news of the weekend, however, Lou Garza won the $10k PLO Championship, then immediately dropped to one knee to propose to his girlfriend who was on the rail for his win and happily accepted.

Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em Championship - Day 4

There are just 7 players left in Event #48: $1,000 SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em Championship after four days of action, and the former winner of this event Dan Heimiller is leading the pack. He grabbed the lead on literally the final hand of Day 4 after sending Ron Fetsch to the rail on the final-day bubble, taking over the top spot from Canadian Lonnie Hallett who spent most of Day 4 with the biggest stack.

Hallett had a pretty solid day, coming into Day 4 with the second-biggest stack and chipping up and holding through the day to hold the top spot through much of it. Heimiller, on the other hand, started the day a bit farther down the counts in 21st place and had to claw his way back up to the lead. Much of Heimiller's day-ending stack came courtesy of Fetsch who seemingly blew up on the final table to bubble the final day of play.

Fetsch and Heimiller were heads-up in a classic race spot with Fetsch on ace-king and the former champion playing pocket queens. After a flop where Fetsch found a gutshot with two overs, he shoved after some back-and-forth action and Heimiller snapped him off with a flopped set. It was a 50 million chip pot and Heimiller's set held for a massive double into the lead. Hallett was able to regain the lead briefly, but then Heimiller closed the day out by taking the rest of Fetsch's chips, ending the day just above the Canadian.

Another notable player on the final day is Shannon Fahey. She was the shorty coming into the final table on Sunday and found a huge early double against Hallett. It looked like she'd be the first one to leave the final table when she woke up with pocket kings in the same hand the chip-leader Hallett woke up with aces. Of course, the money went in for a massive cooler, but Fahey found a king in the window to double and survive. That put her on the path to ladder up a few spots and make the final day of play with the fourth-biggest stack.

Finally, this year looks to be the year of the OG legends. After Johnny Chan came within two tables of his 11th bracelet and Phil Ivey came within five players of his 11th, Billy Baxter is threatening to bag his 8th bracelet as he enters the final day third in chips with 15.5 million. If Baxter can make a move on the final day to overtake the overwhelming leaders Heimiller and Hallett, it would mark his first bracelet in no limit hold'em after one razz and six lowball draw bracelets.

The final day in the Seniors Championship promises to be a big one. Can the last woman standing parlay her Day 4 ladders into a bracelet? Will the former winner hold his lead to take it down? Will an OG legend come from nowhere to win his 8th bracelet more than two decades after his seventh, or will a farmer from Alberta, Canada take it all down? Those questions will be answered before the end of Monday's action which kicks off at noon local time with 6:42 left in Level 36.

Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

Lou Garza got a bit of extra hardware after he won Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for his first bracelet and $1,309,232 - while basking in the glow of his victory, he asked his girlfriend to marry him and she said yes so in addition to the bracelet for the win, Garza picked up a ring in the process as well. Garza already had another kind of ring though as he has a Circuit win on his resume prior to this event.

Garza ended up in a heads-up battle with fellow American Arthur Morris for the title. It was a short battle that Garza found the best of when he hit trip fours on the final hand to take it down after a short but active heads-up. Immediately after the win, Garza dropped to his knees for his proposal, icing an already delicious cake. Morris had to come from behind when play was four-ways but rivered a flush to jump back into contention before going on a tear, doubling a few more times before he sent he start-of-day chip leader Stanislav Halatenko to the rail in third.

Among the other notables to make the endgame in this one was Japan's Kosei Ichinose. While Japan has so far only managed a single bracelet this series, Japanese players have been figuring in the endgames of many tournaments so far this series. Ichinose had to settle for 7th place in this one, but no doubt he and his fellow Japanese players will be back.

The win essentially doubled Garza's previous lifetime earnings, pushing him above $3.5 million in total earnings. While he will no doubt cherish the memories of his win and the bracelet, Sunday will hold a special place in his heart for more than one reason - congratulations to the future Mr. & Mrs. Garza.

Event #51: $1,000 TAG TEAM No-Limit Hold'em

The Tag Team Event finished out on Saturday night and it was the team of Michael Savakinas & Satoshi Tanaka who ended up with all the chips and the first-place prize of $190,662 to split between them. The pair wasn't just a one-off pairing for the team event - the two are friends on and off the felt and Tanaka credited that chemistry with at least part of their success.

"I think we get along outside of poker too," Tanaka said, "so naturally, if things go wrong in poker, we help each other out, but not just poker-wise, with everything." He also credited their strategy as helping them push through to victory, noting that while they maintained a strict regime of tagging in their partner every level, other teams were more casual about that and he felt that played a role in the win.

There were 1,282 entries for this team event, continuing the clear trend this year of record-breaking fields, and 193 teams figured in the prizes at the end of the game. 26 of the cashing teams came back for the final day of play, and it was a pretty raucous affair with the field down to 18 with the first two levels of play and in the end, it was a roller coaster heads-up battle with Team Moscati (Vincent Moscati & Tanner Bibat). Both teams had big leads at one time and were nearly felted at other times through the heads-up phase that really could have gone either way. Team Savakinas ended up winning it after coming from way behind with a run of five straight all-in victories to secure the bracelets.

Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball

Nick Pupillo picked up his first bracelet on Saturday night by continually making the worst hand. Of course, that's kind of the point of lowball poker, and Event #52 mixes three of the triple-draw varieties of lowball poker. In the end, there were 353 entries in the game with 53 players sharing in the $785,425 prize pool.

The win brings Pupillo's lifetime earnings to about $150k shy of $5 million and until this past weekend, he was often in the conversation about "best players without a bracelet." He can now take his name out of that conversation after defeating Ryan Moriarty heads up for the title. The heads-up phase against Moriarty was pretty fast, with the action starting and ending in the same round of deuce.

There were 19 players who returned for the final day of play, and there were a few crushers among them outside of Pupillo. Matt Vengrin, Cary Katz, Robert Mizrachi, John Monnette, Joao Vieira, and Ray Henson all fell on the final day before the final table, with most of that list being certified mixed game crushers.

Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em - Day 2

Who wants to be a millionaire? That was the question being asked by WSOP over the opening flights of Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em, and more than 10,000 runners answered with a resounding "Me!" The final tally came in at 10,416 entries for a whopping eight-figure prize pool of $13,905,360.

A total of 2,322 of those entries came back for Day 2 play, fighting for 1,561 paid spots. Mauricio Solano was the first player to pocket cash on their way out of the tournament, and that happened pretty early on Day 2 with 327 players advancing to Day 3 play. Joey Weissman of the USA is leading the pack with 3.77 million, and he is the only player with more than 3 million, but the rest of the top-ten stacks are all between 2 and 3 million.

Among the potentially dangerous players sitting outside the top ten for Day 3 are Roman Hrabec, Tony Gregg, Charles Benoit, Leo Margets, David "ODB" Baker, and Roberto Romanello, all playing top 50 stacks of more than 1 million to start the day. Day 3 kicks off at 10 am local time and the plan is to play 10 levels of poker before bagging up for the final day of play on Tuesday.

Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship

Poker can be a game of niches, and certain kinds of poker have specific players that focus on, and excel in, those specific game types. When poker fans think of HORSE or mixed games in general, the name Mike Gorodinsky should almost always be top of mind. With two mixed game bracelets to his name, including the coveted Chip Reese Memorial Trophy in the Poker Players Championship in 2015, and a WSOP results page littered with final tables in 10-game, razz, and deuce, there is little question Gorodinsky is one of the last players you'd want to see leading a HORSE Championship if you are in the field.

For fans, however, the chance to watch someone like Gorodinsky ply his craft in a game like HORSE should be pretty exciting, and he goes into the final seven players with a big chip lead. That said, he is far from the only big mixed-game name coming back for the final day. Joining him in the final seven will be Canada's Alex Livingston with the second-biggest stack, followed by Brad Ruben, Brian Yoon, Scott Seiver, Carol Fuchs, and Christopher Claassen to round out the final table of seven. Every single one of the seven players returning for Day 4 is a clear and present danger in the mixed games, so while even this field is likely unhappy to see Gorodinsky's name in front of so many chips, none of them will be intimidated by him and each and every one has a legitimate shot at taking the bracelet down.

Among the big names in this one was Phl Hellmuth, who has been sniffing at his 17th bracelet all series. He was having a solid Day 3 early in the day, sitting second in chips at one point, but while he made a deep run into the money, he ultimately fell short of his quest in 11th place for $29,478. Alex Livingstone, who sent Hellmuth to the rail in a razz hand, was the recipient of a trademark tirade of profanity as Hellmuth exited stage left. Other notables to fall just before the final day included David "Bakes" Baker who bubbled the final table, and Esther Taylor who was one place away from being the second woman in the final day of play.

The final seven players return to the felt on Monday to fight for the final shares of the $1,720,500. They are all guaranteed at least $58,633, but the returning field will all have only one thing in mind - the bracelet and the $422,747 top prize.

Final Seven Payouts for Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship

Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

There were 566 entries for the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better and they are down to just 18 players remaining now. Many of the 85 payouts from the $755,610 total prize pool have already been claimed during Day 2 action on Sunday, but the biggest prizes are still yet to be won on what should be the final day of play.

Qibang Cheung from the UK leads the way into the final 18 with 1.805 million, one of six stacks in the seven-digit range. In a continuation of the OG legend year, Mike Matusow sits just under the seven-figure mark in 7th place with 890k. "The Mouth" is looking for his fifth bracelet and first since 2013. Recent six-time bracelet and three-time PPC winner Brian Rast will also be dangerous with an 8th-place stack worth 870k and Jose Paz-Gutierrez will also come to Day 3 with more than 800k.

Day 3 resumes at 1 pm on Monday and a winner should be decided before the end of play.

Event #56: $500 SALUTE to Warriors - No-Limit Hold’em

There were a lot of players looking to give a Salute to Warriors this year with a final field of 4,303 for a prize pool of $1,936,350. That put $217,921 up top for the winner of the game, while the 646th place min-cash will be worth $800. It won't take them long to get there either, as Day 2 begins with just 654 players remaining, 8 off the money spots. It's likely the earliest cashing spots will be claimed within a few hands of cards going in the air.

Charlemagne Benjamin bagged the big stack after Day 1 with 1.3 million and he leads eight players with more than 1 million to start Day 2. Kenny Hallaert and Barry Greenstein are among the players returning to look for cash in Day 2 with the action set to begin at 10 am local time.

Event #57: $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha

There were 357 high rollers looking for four-card action in the $25k PLO High Roller, putting $8,389,500 into the prize pool. Those prizes aren't yet finalized, however, as entries for this $25k game are open until Day 2.

Firas Kashat is the player with the big stack after one day of play, leading 149 players to bag stacks for Day 2. They are one of three players with seven figures in their bags, but among the other big stacks for Day 2 are Brandon Adams, Anton Morgenstern, John Hennigan, Sam Soverel, and Aaron Mermelstein. Arthur Morris, fresh off his runner-up performance in the PLO Championship on the weekend, bagged the 20th-place stack for Day 2.

The second day gets going at noon in Paris Purple and there are 10 levels on the schedule for Monday. Entries will remain open until about 2:15 pm, so this prize pool is sure to keep growing.

Event #58: $3,000 6-Handed Limit Hold’em

There are 115 players left in the game after the opening day in Event #58. That is out of a starting field of 263 entries for a total prize pool of $702,210. That means 40 players will share in the prizes with the gold ring being $165,250 for first place. The earliest players to cash will pocket $4,837 before they exit the game.

Gregory Josephson leads the way into Day 2 with 241k, and Daniel Maczuga has the second stack at 217.5k. No one else has more than 200k, but Dan Shak, JJ Liu, and Michael Mizrachi are all lurking in the bottom half of the top-ten stacks.

Day 2 action kicks off at 1 pm on Monday, and it's expected the bubble will burst on Day 2 with 10 levels on the schedule and 75 players to get through before the money.

Online Event #10: $400 No-Limit Ultra Deepstack

• Entries: 1,810
• Prizes: $1,044,360
• Paid: 412
• First Place: $145,374.91
• Winner: Ryan "GoFeltaFish2" Eriquezzo (2nd bracelet)

Upcoming Events on June 26

Event #59: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em

• Start: 10 am
• Late Entry: 12 Levels
• Start Stack: 40,000
• Reentries: 0

Event #60: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw

• Start: 2 pm
• Late Entry: 12 Levels
• Start Stack: 25,000
• Reentries: 2