WSOP 2023: $250k Super High Roller Kicks Off, Chris Klodnicki and Jerry Wong Earn WSOP Gold

Day 18 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at Paris and Horseshoe casinos in Las Vegas saw two marquee tournaments kick off, while a whopping four bracelet events came to a close, along with Day 2 of the $2,000 NLHE and $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship events.

Bailey Battles to Super High Roller Chip Lead

The highest buy-in tournament for nosebleed aficionados at this year’s WSOP kicked off today, with Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller requiring a buy-in of a cool quarter-million dollars to earn a seat at the table. In case you were curious what $250,000 looks like in physical form, Chance Kornuth is here to help:

Playing the 250k today. Updates will be on my IG. Also @ChancesCards pic.twitter.com/LpiBHFvd0r

— Chance Kornuth (@ChancesCards) June 16, 2023

Of the 56 entrants on Day 1, only 37 bagged and tagged for Day 2 action (with late registration open until the start of Day 2). While a who’s who of high stakes pros litter the leaderboard, it was a relative unknown in businessman Dustin Bailey (4,850,000) who put 162 big blinds away for Saturday. Bailey entered the action in Level 4, and won a nearly 2 million chip pot late in the day in a classic Big Slick versus Queens coin flip, when he spiked a king on the river to eliminate Brian Kim.

The aforementioned Kornuth (4,340,000) ended the day second in chips, and he was joined by nosebleed regulars Justin Bonomo (2,740,000), Talal Shakerchi (2,675,000), Andrew Robl (2,560,000) and Isaac Haxton (2,440,000), legends John Hennigan (2,005,000), Phil Hellmuth (1,590,000) and Phil Ivey (1,235,000), and the previous two WSOP Main Event champs in Espen Jorstad (2,800,000) and Koray Aldemir (3,535,000).

A handful of other players ended the day on the rail, including Sam Soverel, Sean Winter, Martin Kabrhel, Brian Rast, Christoph Vogelsang and defending champ Alex Foxen. Any of those players who haven’t utilized their single re-entry can also choose to fire a second and final bullet before play begins at 1 p.m. PST.

WSOP 2023 Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller Leaderboard

“SLOPPYKLOD” Cleans Up, Earns Second Bracelet in Secret Bounty

The final eight in Event #35: $10,000 Secret Bounty were expecting to play a fast final day, with shallow stacks abound and most of the major bounties already claimed. It took just over three hours for online crusher Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki to navigate the field and earn his second career WSOP Bracelet and $733,317, while pushing his career live tournament earnings to nearly $11 million lifetime, good for 120th on the All Time Hendon Mob Career Money List.

Klodnicki, who hadn’t earned a WSOP cash since 2019, started the day as chip leader but lost the chip lead early to Jeremy Ausmus.  This started a hot streak for Ausmus, a five-time WSOP bracelet winner, who took out Eric Yanovsky and Daniel Rezaei in short order before chopping up the last of Angel Guillen’s chips with Barak Wisbrod when they both spiked an ace on the river. Tracy Nguyen managed to also snag the chip lead at one point, but was next to go when she lost a flip to Klodnicki. 

Ausmus, who lost a big flip of his own to Klodnicki, fell next when he ripped his short stack right into Klodnicki’s aces. Klodnicki then bludgeoned the final two players with his monster stack, knocking Wisbrod out in third and Aram Oganyan in second (and with aces again, to boot) to earn the coveted WSOP gold bracelet.

WSOP 2023 Event #35: $10,000 Secret Bounty Final Table Results

Wong Latest to Shake “Best Without a Bracelet” Title

It took a fourth day of play to finally whittle the 123 players who started Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship down to one, with Jerry Wong, Carlos Chadha and Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha champ Michael Moncek returning with a total of just 37 big bets between them. A three-hour battle saw Jerry Wong, a former WSOP Main Event Final Tablist and perennial crusher in the WSOP, finally earn his first WSOP gold bracelet on his 83rd recorded WSOP cash, along with $298,682.

Moncek started the day on the short stack, and never really found any traction before finally succumbing with his queen-nine getting pipped by the queen-eight of Chadha. At this point, Chadha held a 5:1 chip lead over Wong, but as Wong told Chadha after picking up an early pot, “Not gonna lie, it’s gonna be tough for you.” The chirping continued as Wong continued closing the gap, and Wong won a huge pot with a ninety-eight to leave Chadha with just three big bets. Chadha managed a small rally, but on the final hand of the tournament, Chadha’s eighty-six was drawn out on by Wong’s seven-six draw when he peeled a three on seventh street to earn the victory.

WSOP Event #33: $10,000 Razz Championship Final Table Results

Ohio’s Troha Scores Second PLO Bracelet of Career

Just ten players returned for the final day of play in Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, and a brisk five-and-a-half hour day ended with Sean Troha notching his second WSOP gold bracelet and $298,192. Troha’s first bracelet came just last year in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha championship for $1,246,770, and today’s score stands as his third career six-figure PLO cash of his lengthy career spanning nearly a decade.

Two tables of five swiftly combined to one when Antonin Teisseire (10th – $20,049) busted in tenth, and while the average stack at the beginning of the final table was a healthy 38 big blinds, that didn’t slow down the action, as Ryan Christopherson and Jason Bullock both busted after just an hour of play. The most prestigious player remaining at the table busted next, as four-time bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi’s four overs and a flush draw couldn’t catch up to Troha’s top pair and a gutshot, giving Troha a chip lead he would not relinquish again at the final table.

On the final hand of the tournament, where Troha flopped trip fours with on a flop and got it in against the of Ryan Coon. Coon picked up two extra outs when the fell on the turn, but Coon couldn’t find a diamond, ten or eight on the river and had to settle for second place.

WSOP Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results

Japan’s Suzuki Navigates Stacked Field to Earn Nine-Game Title

One of the tougher Day 3 lineups you’ll see in this year’s WSOP returned for the final day of Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix, with eleven former WSOP bracelet winners and plenty of talent stacked amongst the remaining 22 players. Japanese young gun Ryutaro Suzuki, who started the day ninth in chips, started the day hot and toughed it out against an impressive field of foes to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and $221,124.

After four-time WSOP bracelet winner Scott Clements (9th – $18,084) bubbled the final table, only three of the eleven WSOP bracelet winners who started the day remained. Justin Liberto, who came into the final table with crumbs, was the first of the trio to fall, while Renan Bruschi busted in sixth and Ian Steinman managed to work short stack magic into a fifth place finish. Suzuki and Walter Chambers traded the chip lead multiple times during the final table, but Suzuki had a huge lead heading into heads-up play, and the final hand saw Chambers brick out on a huge wrap and flush draw, leaving Suzuki’s pair of aces in front for his first WSOP bracelet.

WSOP Event #36: $3,000 Nine-Game Mix Final Table Results

Glaser Going For Five in Triple Draw Championship

Just ten players remaining standing in Event #38: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship, with four time WSOP gold bracelet winner Benny Glaser pacing the field with 1,695,000 in chips, a healthy lead over the 1,240,000 Sampo Ryynanen bagged. Joao Vieira (1,105,000), David “Bakes” Baker (750,000), Michael Rodrigues (735,000) and Julien Martini (660,000) will also be seeking more hardware to go with the ten bracelets the quartet have already accumulated. 

Meanwhile, after Yuval Bronshtein bubbled in 21st, Mike Matusow (12th – $20,425), Daniel Negreanu (13th – $20,425), John Monnette (15th – $20,425) and Allen Kessler (18th – $16,378) had to settle for earning a chunk of the $1,209,000 prize pool generated by the 130 entrants.

WSOP Event #38: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship Leaderboard

Monster Day 1a Flight For Monster Stack

A whopping 3,945 entrants stuffed the tables for Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack, and given the big stacks, it’s no surprise a chunky 1,242 of those players managed to bag up chips for Sunday’s Day 2. Pavlin Karakikov was able to secure 593,000 into his bag for the Day 1a chip lead, beating out notables Adam Hendrix (469,000), Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg (409,000), David Jackson (373,500) and Harry Lodge (366,000). One more flight for the Monster Stack kicks off tomorrow at 10 a.m. PST, and another mammoth field is expected to be on hand.

WSOP Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack Leaderboard

Li Leads $2k NLHE 

From a field of 321 players returning for Day 2 action of Event #37: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em, just 28 made it through to the final day of play, with China’s Yuan Li (5,350,000) narrowing securing the chip lead over Patrick Truong (5,220,000). Mark Seif (3,850,000), Day 1 chip leader Lee Piniatoglou (2,610,000), Ludovic Geilich (1,415,000) and Ankush Mandavia (1,240,000) all managed to find a bag, as well.

WSOP 2023 Event #37: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em Leaderboard

Despite the monster field for the Monster Stack, “Spraggy” still managed to find his way next to one of his pals for the second consecutive tournament!

There are currently 2529 entrants in the $1500 Monster Stack. A new player joins the table to my direct right and it's none other than my good friend @TheBradOwen ! For the 2nd time, in 2 tournaments! I must be dreaming! pic.twitter.com/u6oS9HFlwb

— Spraggy (@spraggy) June 16, 2023

The man that started the poker boom has his eyes set on one of the most prestigious titles in poker:

Heading to Vegas tom to play the poker player championship. My only event this summer outside the main event. @WSOP @ACR_POKER

— Chris Moneymaker ⭕ (@CMONEYMAKER) June 16, 2023

Big Slick doesn’t do the trick for Farah Galfond:

First hand of monster stack and he calls my 3bet with 43o ? poker is alive and well. pic.twitter.com/XRWLbfWDIt

— Farah Galfond (@Farah_Galfond) June 16, 2023

“Chainsaw” continues to accumulate payout tickets this summer:

Cashed in 18th place in the $10K 2-7 triple draw championship.

My 104th @WSOP bracelet event cash, and 6th cash this series. pic.twitter.com/iYjxtbjacF

— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) June 17, 2023

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