WSOP Top 10 Tuesday - from the World's Greatest Unknown WSOP Historian

Employee Event Highlights (chronological)

• 10. 1983-85: Perhaps the three most disputed bracelets in WSOP history. Neither CardPlayer nor the Global Poker Index nor the Hendon Mob acknowledge these as bracelet tournaments (nor do I as press at the time simply called them special Casino Operators events and trophies were awarded). For the record, these 10- to 14-player events were won by Ted Binion in 1983 and 1985 and Sandy Stupak in 1984.
  
  
• 9. 2000: The Limit Hold'em Dealers Tournament opened the 2000 WSOP with Dave Alizadeh outlasting a 109-player field for $21,800. The following year the event was opened to all casino employees instead of just dealers.
  
  
• 8. 2002-03: In 2002, Mike Majerus finished third in the Employee event then went on to win the $2,000 Limit Hold 'Em the next day for $407,120. The next year John Arrage finished third in the Employee event then went on to win the $1,500 Limit Hold 'Em two weeks later for $178,600.
  
  
• 7. 2006: The peak of the poker boom saw a record 1,232 entries. Chris Gros took home an event-record $127,496 for first place in the No-Limit Hold 'Em event (the tournament switched from Limit Hold 'Em in 2004).
  
  
• 6. 2008: Since the event was reincarnated as a bracelet tournament in 2000, it has opened the Las Vegas WSOP festival (as either the first or second tournament) except for 2008, when it was moved to the end after the Main Event started. Jonathan Kotula defeated a field of 930 for $87,929.
  
  
• 5. 2010: Hoai Pham became the only non-American to win the event, defeating a field of 721 for $71,424. He was the first player from Vietnam to win a bracelet of any kind.
  
  
• 4. 2022: Katie Kopp became the event's only female winner, overcoming a field of 823 for $349,440. She had finished third in 2018.
  
  
• 3. 2023: A record 153 players cashed as Peter Thai earned the bracelet and $75,535. The 1,015 entries were the most since 2007.
  
  
• 2. 2024: A record 179 players cashed as Jose Garcia took home the bracelet and $78,134. The 1,189 entries were the second most ever.
  
  
• 1. 2025: The event officially broadened eligibility from "Casino Employees" to all "Industry Employees", but attendance actually dropped from 1,189 to 914.
  

Honorable Mention: Chad Holloway won the 2013 event for $84,915 (898 players). He had worked for BLUFF magazine and the WSOP and at the time was a writer for PokerNews, where he is now an executive editor.

Obviously the world always moves on, but there was something about leading off with the 1500 LHE, having the 2-7 in the middle sort of, and then the ME at the end, that was kind of nice.

EDIT: In 2003–the last REAL year, to borrow an idea from Ric Flair-it went:

2. 2000 LHE (422)
14. 5000 2-7 (28+rebuys)
15. 5000 NLHE (127, won by Chan)
17. 1500 LHE (346, Kathy Liebert 2nd)
36. Main Event (839, up 208 from 2002)

Doesn’t get much better than that. 🤠😢🙏

The WSOP Circuit Championship begins today as part of WSOP Las Vegas. The tournament is an odd beast where players who normally collect rings go in search of a bracelet. The event stood alone for most of its existence but recently has been integrated into the Las Vegas or Paradise Island festivals.

WSOP Circuit Championship Factoids (chronological)

• 10. 2011: The WSOP Circuit began in 2005, but the National Championship, as it was then dubbed, didn't debut until 2011. Players who had won rings in the past 12 months were eligible to play in the freeroll for a million dollars in prizes. The event was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas just before the World Series of Poker began at the Rio. Sam Barnhart defeated a field of 100 for $300,000.
  
  
• 9. 2012: The next year, the event came at the tail end of the World Series of Poker at the Rio, starting just before the Main Event began. Ryan Eriquezzo defeated a field of 157 for $416,051.
  
  
• 8. 2013: For the third year in a row, the event had a new home, Harrah's New Orleans, and a new name, the Southern Comfort 100 World Series of Poker National Championship. Jonathan Hilton beat a field of 127 for $355,599.
  
  
• 7. 2014: Make it four for four. Bally's Casino in Atlantic City became the new host, and Germany's Dominik Nitsche became the first non-American to win, overcoming a field of 126 for $352,800 and his second bracelet.
  
  
• 6. 2015: Five years, five venues. Harrah's Cherokee in North Carolina took over hosting duties, beginning the event's longest stay at one place. Loni Harwood became the first female winner, collecting $341,599 for surviving the 122-player field.
  
  
• 5. 2019: The seventh and last year in Cherokee, North Carolina saw Ryan Eriquezzo become the first and only two-time champ, conquering a field of 129 for $279,431.
  
  
• 4. 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic forced the event online at WSOP.com, where Michael Trivett e-beat a field of 130 for $275,632.
  
  
• 3. 2022: After 2021 was skipped for unknown reasons, the championship moved again, joining WSOP Las Vegas at Paris/Bally's as the Tournament of Champions. Benjamin Kaupp overcame the much larger field of 470 (any recent bracelet or ring winner could play the freeroll) for $250,000.
  
  
• 2. 2024: After two straight years at the same place, it was time to move again, this time to the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles one week before WSOP Las Vegas. Dong Meng defeated a 559-player field for $200,000.
  
  
• 1. 2025: Why not leave the country? Atlantis Paradise Island, in the Bahamas, became the host for the year, with Mark Darner winning the first bracelet of the festival (his second) and $350,000 over a record 2,396-player field. The event has now run 14 times at nine different casinos.
  

Honorable Mention: 2026 brought the introduction of the €1,500 European Circuit Championship, where Czechia's Nikolai Ogoltsov defeated a field of 2,628 for $523,250.

Exactly nine years ago today, Adrian Mateos became the youngest to win his third bracelet, defeating a field of 129 in the $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold 'Em for $335,656 22 days shy of his 23rd birthday (Dominik Nitsche was the former record-holder at 23 years, 11 months, and 8 days).

Meanwhile, Kristen Foxen just nabbed her sixth bracelet to fill out her entry.

Youngest to N Bracelets

• 10. Phil Hellmuth was the youngest to eleven bracelets at age 42 (Phil Ivey was 47). He's the only player to twelve (47), thirteen (48), fourteen (50), fifteen (53), sixteen (57), and seventeen (58).
  
  
• 9. Phil Ivey was the youngest to four (25), five (28), six (32), seven (32), eight (33), nine (36), and ten (37) bracelets.
  
  
• 8. Kristen Foxen was the youngest (and only) female to four (36), five (37), and six (39) bracelets and the youngest (and only) female to four (37) and five (39) open bracelets.
  
  
• 7. Vanessa Selbst was the youngest female to three bracelets at age 29. All her bracelets were in open events.
  
  
• 6. Adrian Mateos was the youngest to three bracelets at 22.
  
  
• 5. Loni Hui was the youngest female to two bracelets at age 25. Both her bracelets were in open events.
  
  
• 4. Jeff Madsen was the youngest to two bracelets at 21 years and 45 days.
  
  
• 3. Steve Billirakis was the youngest to win a bracelet in Las Vegas* at 21, ten days after his birthday. [* or any other place with a minimum gambling age of 21]
  
  
• 2. Adrian Mateos was the youngest male to win a bracelet, taking down the 2013 WSOP Europe Main Event at age 19.
  
  
• 1. Annette Obrestad was the youngest player to win a bracelet, capturing the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event a day before her 19th birthday.
  

Just a couple weeks ago, Billboard announced that Drake has had songs peak at every position in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1st all the way down to 45th. Taylor Swift holds the record, with songs peaking at every position from 1 to 69.

The equivalent in WSOP bracelet events is finishing in every position from 1st place down to Nth place. For example, Berry Johnston has a bracelet, a runner-up finish, a 3rd place,... a 16th place, and a 17th place but has never finished 18th in a WSOP bracelet event.

Top N Finishes Down to...

• 10. An Tran, 17
  
  
• 10. Berry Johnston, 17
  
  
• 9. Jason Mercier, 18
  
  
• 8. Humberto Brenes, 19
  
  
• 6. Daniel Negreanu, 20
  
  
• 6. Mike Matusow, 20
  
  
• 4. Dario Sammartino, 21
  
  
• 4. Phil Hellmuth, 21
  
  
• 3. John Monnette, 22
  
  
• 2. Shaun Deeb, 24
  
  
• 1. Erik Seidel, 29
  

Top N Finishes Down to..., Women

• 8. 7 players tied at 2
  
  
• 3. Alma McClelland, 3
  
  
• 3. Cyndy Violette, 3
  
  
• 3. Jen Harman, 3
  
  
• 3. Kathy Liebert, 3
  
  
• 3. Starla Brodie, 3
  
  
• 2. Kristen Foxen, 4
  
  
• 1. Annie Duke, 8
  

The 7 players with a 1st and 2nd but no 3rd are Alma McClelland, Jackie Glazier, Jackie McDaniel, Jerri Thomas, Karen Wolfson, Leo Margets, and Shiina Okamoto.

[Note: I would love to meet up with any of you that are currently in Vegas. I'm playing the Seniors (Day 2A but so short, I'll probably rebuy into Day 1B), the Millionaire Maker (assuming I don't unexpectedly run deep in the Seniors), and the Super Seniors.]

Challenge to our historian from twitter: who the all-time WSOP money leader is among players who do not have any cashes in NLHE

Most Winnings Without Any NLHE

• 10. Viatcheslav Ortynskiy, $784,064
  
  
• 9. Alexey Rybin, $838,178
  
  
• 8. Marty Smyth, $863,382
  
  
• 7. Eric Rodawig, $883,720
  
  
• 6. Pat Walsh, $972,112
  
  
• 5. Andrey Zhigalov, $1,062,654
  
  
• 4. Alexander Petersen, $1,304,031
  
  
• 3. Fabian Brandes, $1,338,807
  
  
• 2. Daniel Perkusic, $2,189,295
  
  
• 1. Dennis Weiss, $2,631,567
  

Dennis Weiss is a PLO specialist who won the WSOPE 2024 €5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for $178,538 and the 2025 $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Max for $2,292,155. Perkusic is also a PLO specialist and captured the 2024 $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha for almost all of his earnings ($2,100,325).

And here are the top women:

Most Winnings Without Any NLHE, Women

• 10. Oxana Cummings, $85,064
  
  
• 9. Phyllis Kessler, $90,515
  
  
• 8. Christine Pietsch, $93,474
  
  
• 7. Von Altizer, $103,304
  
  
• 6. Mim Penney, $110,445
  
  
• 5. Kieu Duong, $120,405
  
  
• 4. Ming Reslock, $139,752
  
  
• 3. Julie Schneider, $151,560
  
  
• 2. Patty Gallagher, $186,964
  
  
• 1. Kate Hoang, $439,381
  

Kate Hoang has reached three final tables in Omaha variants.

Data through 2026 WSOPE.

Dang it, I was just there but mostly offline.

The 2026 Ladies Championship will kick off in Las Vegas this Thursday. This would have been the 50th running of the event if not for one cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has the longest history of any WSOP tournament aside from the Main Event, so a lot has happened along the way. Here are ten highlights.

Ladies Championship Factoids

• 10. The WSOP couldn't legally ban men from the event, but they creatively solved the problem of unwelcome male entrants in 2013 by increasing the official buyin to $10,000 and giving a $9,000 discount to women.
  
  In the long history of the event, only four men have cashed, all before the rule change:
  
  • 2004: Steve "Mary" Kopp 27th for $1,100 (min-cash).
    
  • 2010: Bryce Daifuku 103rd for $1,802 (min-cash).
    
  • 2011: Jonathan Epstein 9th for $13,701 (only male to reach final table).
    
  • 2012: Brandon Uhl 69th for $2,359 (last male to cash).
    
  
  
  Last year, a man would've needed to finish 11th or better to make a profit; the deterrence has been effective.
  
  
• 9. The Ladies Championship was the first mixed game ever played at the WSOP. During the transition from Seven-Card Stud to No-Limit Hold 'Em, the event was half Seven-Card Stud and half Limit Hold 'Em from 2000 to 2003.
  
  The game was just Limit Hold 'Em in 2004 and has been No-Limit Hold 'Em since 2005.
  
  
• 8. When the Ladies Championship debuted in 1977 as the Women's Seven-Card Stud, it shattered the WSOP record with 93 players, 37 more than the 1976 $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em. A lot of pent-up demand plus an affordable $100 price point combined to crush the old mark of 56 by nearly two-thirds.
  
  The buyin was increased to $200 in 1978, $400 in 1979, $500 in 1982, and has been $1,000 since 1992.
  
  
• 7. While the Ladies Championship has run for nearly half a century in Las Vegas, two other similar events are much more recent.
  
  WSOP Europe has held its own Ladies Championship as a bracelet event twice:
  
  • 2013: Jackie Glazier ($29,534) -- defeated a field of just 65, possibly why the event went had a hiatus.
    
  • 2026: Anca Eggenberger ($46,425) -- 1st female bracelet for Switzerland.
    
  
  
  GGPoker has run an online $500 Ladies No-Limit Hold 'Em Championship since 2022:
  
  • 2022: Long Huanhua ($31,326) -- 1st female bracelet for China.
    
  • 2023: Jessica Marks ($16,613) -- 2nd female bracelet for Germany.
    
  • 2024: Rosana Thorlay Aguiar ($16,513) -- 1st female bracelet for Brazil.
    
  • 2025: Barbara Akemi ($20,537) -- back-to-back wins by Brazil.
    
  
  
  
• 6. Six Las Vegas Ladies Championship winners were also the first female to win a bracelet for their country:
  
  • United States: Jackie McDaniel (May 6, 1977).
    
  • Canada: Amanda Thompson (May 10, 1998).
    
  • Australia: Christina Pie (May 9, 1999).
    
  • France: Vanessa Hellebuyck (June 13, 2010).
    
  • South Korea: Jiyoung Kim (June 23, 2019).
    
  • Japan: Shiina Okamoto (July 1, 2024).
    
  
  
  Jackie McDaniel's 1977 victory made her the first woman to win any WSOP bracelet.
  
  Jiyoung Kim was the first Korean, regardless of gender, to win a bracelet. She is the only female to earn her country's first bracelet, and she did it just one week before Sejin Park won the $400 Colossus.
  
  
• 5. Actress Jennifer Tilly defeated a then-record field of 601 in 2005 for $158,335 to become the first, and still only, female celebrity with a bracelet.
  
  
• 4. Susie Isaacs is the all-time cashes leader at 10. Amanda Baker is two back at 8, followed by five players at 7 (Nancy Birnbaum, Lisa Santy, Jamie Kerstetter, Raylene Celaya, & Marsha Wolak-Barnett) and six with 6 (Starla Brodie, Carolyn Gardner, Marsha Waggoner, Karina Jett, Tonia Williams, & Wattana Cruz).
  
  Six players have cashed in four straight U.S. Ladies Championships: Svetlana Gromenkova (2007-10), Patricia Sabo (2016-19), Sarah Lee (2019-23), Qing Lu (2019-23), Jamie Kerstetter (2021-24), and Ruth Hall (2022-25). Note that the 2020 event was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  If you include all Ladies Championships, Jessica Teusl had a run of five straight cashes from 2022 to 2024, interspersing two GGPoker cashes with three Las Vegas cashes.
  
  
• 3. As amazing as Okamoto's recent run has been, she wasn't the first player to finish in the top 3 three years in a row. Jacki Jean pulled off that hat trick in the early 1980s, finishing 2nd in 1981, 2nd in 1982, and 3rd in 1983.
  
  Two other players reached the final 9 three years in a row: Jenny Kaye (6th in 1989, 2nd in 1990, & 9th in 1991) and Phyllis Kessler (1st in 1993, 8th in 1994, & 3rd in 1995).
  
  Three players have reached the final 9 five times:
  
  • Starla Brodie: 1978, 1982, 1995, 1998, & 1999 (top 5 four times).
    
  • Carolyn Gardner: 1983, 1989, 1994, 1999, & 2001 (top 7 every time).
    
  • Susie Isaacs: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, & 2004 (top 5 every time).
    
  
  
  Four players are one behind at four: Marsha Waggoner, Alma McClelland, Cyndy Violette, and Jenny Kaye.
  
  
• 2. Four players have won the event twice:
  
  • Barbara Enright (1986 & 1994) -- first with two titles.
    
  • Susie Isaacs (1996 & 1997) -- first to go back-to-back.
    
  • Nani Dollison (2000 & 2001) -- her female-record second bracelet in 2001 ($2,000 Limit Hold 'Em).
    
  • Shiina Okamoto (2024 & 2025) -- second place in 2023.
    
  
  
  The last three all won in consecutive years.
  
  
• 1. With her incredible three-year run, Shiina Okamoto has jumped into a commanding lead with $475,529 in Ladies Championship winnings. Sally Boyer is a distant second at $265,245, followed by Mary Jones Meyer ($244,520), Svetlana Gromenkova ($243,444), Anh Le ($230,335), Marsha Wolak-Barnett ($204,773), and Tamar Abraham ($204,173).
  

The $1,000 Mini Main Event, which started on Sunday and runs until Thursday, debuted in Las Vegas in 2019 and has the same starting chips and blind structure as the Main Event.

Is it good practice for the Main Event? Has anyone run deep in both events in the same year?

So far, nobody has reached both final tables, but here are the best results, ranked by the worse of each player's finishes:

Best Main Main + Main Event Runs

• 10. 2019 David Guay: 178 ($3,567) & 62 ($142,215)
  
  
• 9. 2019 Carlos Garcia: 172 ($3,567) & 121 ($59,295)
  
  
• 8. 2024 Naor Slobodskoy: 164 ($4,168) & 40 ($250,000)
  
  
• 7. 2019 Carlos Guerrero: 148 ($4,108) & 110 ($59,295)
  
  
• 6. 2021 Champie Douglas: 12 ($28,280) & 123 ($50,900)
  
  
• 5. 2019 Jeff Madsen: 14 ($33,814) & 102 ($59,295)
  
  
• 4. 2022 Andrew Ostapchenko: 38 ($15,413) & 93 ($73,100)
  
  
• 3. 2021 Ozgur Secilmis: 74 ($5,305) & 5 ($1,800,000)
  
  
• 2. 2023 Liran Betito: 70 ($8,278) & 55 ($156,100)
  
  
• 1. 2021 Matthew Jewett: 6 ($91,991) & 28 ($198,550)
  

Do you want the bad news first or the good? ... Okay, here's the bad (next week will be the good).

Exactly 52 players (one deck of playing cards) have finished second in the Main Event. Here are the ten who have had the worst WSOP careers aside from their moment of glory:

Worst Main Event Runner Up Careers

• 10. Steve Dannenmann (2005): 7 other cashes for $101,002, including 12th in the 2012 WSOP Europe Main Event
  
  
• 9. John Wasnock (2025): 6 other cashes for $76,500
  
  
• 8. Felix Stephensen (2014): 8 other cashes for $55,606
  
  
• 7. George Holmes (2021): only 1 other cash, but it was 213th in 2019 ME for $50,855
  
  
• 6. Adrian Attenborough (2022): 6 other small cashes for $27,802
  
  
• 5. Howard Goldfarb (1995): only 1 other cash, but it was 22nd in 1994 Main Event for $16,800
  
  
• 4. Tuan Lam (CA) (2007): 2 other small cashes for $10,443
  
  
• 3. Hugh Vincent (1994): no other WSOP cashes; $134,613 in other winnings in Hendon
  
  
• 2. Darvin Moon (2009): no other cashes in bracelet events; 1 Circuit cash for $3,046 ($24,929 in other winnings in Hendon)
  
  
• 1. Bob Hooks (1975): no career winnings as 1975 was winner-take-all; also unpaid 13th in 1979 Super Bowl of Poker Main Event
  

None of the above reached another final table, and Josh Beckley (2015) and Jordan Griff (2024) make an even dozen.

Pretty sure Bob Hooks was a good cash game player.

Hugh Vincent’s obituary is behind a paywall, but from what very little I knew & observed, he & his wife were the stereotypical retired couple in Florida and enjoying every sunrise with some coffee, smokes, and cocktails. Done with golf & errands by 10:30 or so. He was born in 1929/30, and that was just part of The American Dream for that demographic.

Probably worked out better than whatever dreams kids born in 1999 have are going to.

wasnock played through the wsop this year so he's already done enough to drop off the list. Most of those guys were the smartest though, took the money and left rather than tried to chase the game and blew a bunch/all of it like others did. (maybe some on the list still blew it but at least it was other things)

Darvin Moon’s wife got along just fine with the old push mower.

Tx. I should have mentioned that all data was through 2025. Beckley can slide into the #10 spot as he hasn't done anything since 2018, while Griff already has a couple 2026 cashes.

Do you at least know what year he passed away? Link would be appreciated too. I'd pay a couple bucks to read his obit.