The 17^th day of action in this year’s World Series of Poker saw new tournaments kick off, others get close to the gold and Phil Hellmuth, a.k.a. The Poker Brat, cut through the Secret Bounty field like a hot knife through butter. It was all action as the drama took place at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas casinos in Sin City.

Hellmuth Shoots Scoops but Misses Final Table

The penultimate day in the $10,000-entry Secret Bounty event was a busy one, and saw Phil Hellmuth shooting for hoops as the Poker Brat brought the live-action of a bounty event to the masses via Twitter. On a day when Chris Klodnicki (6,615,000) led from five-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (6,475,000) at the close of play, Hellmuth’s enriching video where he opens two bounties is what you’re here for.

And . . . Two more pulls!! #POSITIVITY #PHNiceLife pic.twitter.com/846YKwjRcb

— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) June 15, 2023

Behind Klodnicki and Ausmus, some poker bosses gather hoping for a weakness to show. Angel Guillen (4,150,000) will be a formidable opponent on the final day as he shoots for his second WSOP bracelet and so too will the Israeli Barak Wisbrod (4,135,000) who has been ripping it up in tournaments such as the GGPoker Super MILLION$ for months recently.

Mizrachi in Control of Day 2 of PLO Event

Event #34 was the $1,500-entry Pot Limit Omaha event and on a busy day of action, Day 2 saw 98 players reduced to just 10 inside the Horseshoe Las Vegas. The Day 1 chip leader was Josh Arieh and the five-time bracelet winner kept up his pacesetting for the majority of the day, before falling in two crucial pots to Robert Mizrachi and Matthew Beinner, with Mizrachi himself shooting for bracelet number five from the chip lead with 5.68 million.

Arieh’s exit in 13^th place for $16,028 was followed by a scramble for chips as players vied for position at the final table tomorrow. Mizrachi’s closest challenger, Beinner (5,175,000) was joined by Matthew Parry (4,170,000), Sean Troha (3,935,000) and Ryan Coon (1,025,000) in the top ten for what should be a thrilling climax to the event on Friday.

Long Back for More as Repeat Mission Reaches Climax

Philip Long finished the penultimate day of the $1,500-entry Nine Game Mix in the lead as he bids to go two places further than he did in the corresponding event from last year. In 2022, Long ended this event in third place, but this year, he heads into the final day with the chip lead, holding 1,225,000 chips.

The British player Long is marginally ahead of the man who led for most of the day, Jean Gaspard (1,100,000), with Justin Liberto looking to go one place better than he did in Event #24 of this series where he was runner-up in the Razz Championship for a score of $94,558.

It All Goes Wrong for Sion as Wong is Right in Razz

The $10,000-entry Razz Championship is down to just three players, after a late-night exit for British player Elior Sion saw Jerry Wong (3,025,000) at the top of the counts overnight. Only Michael Moncek (2,760,000) and Carlos Chadha (1,590,000) stand in Wong’s way, but the impressive Moncek has already won a bracelet this summer and Chadha led for much of this penultimate day.

It requires another day to find a winner, however, so expect drama in short order tomorrow when Event #33 resumes to a fast finish to kick off the day’s action.

On the Mark, Seif Chases Lee’s Lead

In Event #37, the $2,000-entry No Limit Hold’em event, Lee Piniatoglu (738,000) leads from Mark Seif (711,000) at the top of the leaderboard, with 321 players still in seats after 1,962 took part in the day. Other strong performances from Marc Macdonnell in seventh with 561,000,  Joshua Reichard in third with 666,000 and Kai Zheng in fourth with 567,000 mean some superstars of the felt will return on Day 2 as the remaining players battle into the money places and towards a top prize of $524,777.

Wagner Calling the Tune in Event #38

There were 106 entries in Event #38 of the 2023 WSOP, the $2,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. Top of the shop with just 46 remaining after Day 1 was Michael Wagner (284,000) with Adam Friedman (279,000) and Ryan Leng (273,000) in hot pursuit.

Elsewhere in the top 20, there were appearances by George Wolff (242,000), Rep Porter (188,000), 2023 bracelet winner Michael Rodrigues (180,000) and the six-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu, who ended the day with a very healthy 177,000 chips.

John Monnette told Twitter fans of his heads-up opponent Chris Chung’s class in a touching moment from yesterday’s see-saw heads-up for gold. Chung missed out on the chance of winning his first bracelet on three separate all-in occasions where Monnette survived.

Thank you for all the support from everyone, it means a lot. Also huge respect to Chris Chung, he handled my comeback with complete class then asked to be in the winners photo, true legend right there, won’t be long before he gets his @wsop bracelet!

— John Monnette (@angryjmonnett) June 16, 2023

No-one likes bad beat stories unless they’re entertainingly awful. This one counts.

Got this one in on the turn for a 200bb pot in the freezer how’s your day goin? pic.twitter.com/a8pXSOt50O

— Blake Whittington (@SipnShamPain) June 12, 2023

Heartening news for ‘Doug Polk is Vanessa Selbst’ conspiracy theorists, as the real deal announced that she’s on her way to Las Vegas for the first time in six years.

Heading out to my first #WSOP in 6 years next week. What secrets do I have to know to avoid the chaos of the venue? (Where to park, where to go on break, where to eat on dinner break, any secret tips on parking or bathrooms or other?)

— Vanessa Selbst ?️‍? (@VanessaSelbst) June 15, 2023

Landon Tice might not be there to meet her at the gate.

Bro got 14th. Lost all ins and got scamFC’d

Sadness is closer than it appears

— Landon (@LandonTice) June 16, 2023

Lastly, Stephanie Ungar posted this touching tribute to Stu Ungar, which not only made us miss The Kid, but the late, great Mike Sexton too. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Recently, I was reminded of this segment that ESPN-Sports Center did on my dad. I don't believe I've ever posted it before. Probably because it's a little bitter sweet for me. In the 8 mins they had they told his story pretty well but, there's still so much backstory that most… pic.twitter.com/G43mB3qHN0

— Stefanie Ungar (@ungar_stefanie) June 16, 2023

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