The 55-year-old Steve Albini from Chicago has had a storied career as a musician and producer, performing in bands like Big Black and Shellac and serving as a recording engineer for the likes of Nirvana, Pixies and countless other bands. Now he is a World Series of Poker champion, having won the 2018 WSOP $1,500 seven-card stud event. Steven Albini took home his first gold and the $105,629 first-prize.
Watch the video to learn more about his title run.
Video Courtesy: cardplayer
The $50,000 Poker Players Championship kicked off on Friday with a field of 87 players. Many of the game’s top names entered the event and most of them failed to make the money included Daniel Negreanu, Ben Lamb, Anthony Zinno, Justin Bonomo, Jason Mercier, David Benyamine, and 2017 champion Elior Sion. Dan Smith and Jean-Robert Bellande are the bigger names who still have a chance but are both still looking for their first WSOP wins.
Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi is one of the players in history to win the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship at the World Series of Poker more than once. Mizrachi and Brian Rast have opportunities to do just that this week. Now he is leading the pack who bagged up a total of 8,865,000 chips at the end of play on Monday, June 18. The final six will return at 2:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday to play down to a winner.
Here is a look at the final table:
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds | Big Bets | WSOP Bracelets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Smith | United States | 4,485,000 | 112 | 28 | 0 |
| 2 | Aaron Katz | United States | 2,600,000 | 65 | 16.5 | 1 |
| 3 | Michael Mizrachi | United States | 8,865,000 | 222 | 55.5 | 3 |
| 4 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | 2,210,000 | 55 | 14 | 1 |
| 5 | Mike Leah | Canada | 1,220,000 | 31 | 7.5 | 1 |
| 6 | John Hennigan | United States | 2,400,000 | 60 | 15 | 5 |
Simply a couple months eliminated from their back-to-back victories at the APPT Macau High Roller and Super High Roller, poker power couple Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell were at it once again, this time playing against each other for a huge competition title in Las vegas.
Both players were belonged to 178 entries in the $5,000 buy-in Mid-States Poker Tour event at the Venetian as a component of the continuous DeepStack Championship Poker Series. After 3 days of action, the happy couple discovered themselves heads-up and chopping the lion’s share of the prize pool.
Bicknell, a former Supernova Elite from Ontario who already owns two WSOP bracelets, entered into the final table of 10 in the fourth cheap lead position. Poker pro Foxen from New York with more than $4.2 million in earnings, entered as the chip leader.
Despite a nice payday waiting at the top of the prize pool, Foxen and also Bicknell really did not avoid each other at the table. They really did not also seem to hesitate to go after each other, according to the MSPT live updates.
With 8 gamers left, Bicknell five-bet obstructed over Foxen’s cool four-bet from the big blind. Foxen obtained Pavel Plesuv in 7th and also Joey Weissman in 6th, while Bicknell busted Blake Whittington in 5th as well as Phong “Turbo” Nguyen in 4th, keeping the couple atop the leaderboard.
Foxen won a large pot with a collection of jacks against Bicknell throughout the three-handed play, yet she won some back by pushing over his flop wager a little bit later on. At some point, both players took turns increasing via Australian high-stakes poker pro Kahle Burns, who eventually bowed out in third place.
With Bicknell and Foxen now heads-up for the title, the two agreed to each pocket $200,000 and play for the remaining $39,000 on the side. A few minutes later, both players got it in with on a board reading 9Heart Suit7Heart Suit4Diamond Suit8Diamond Suit. Bicknell had 9Diamond Suit5Heart Suit for top pair and a straight draw, but Foxen had KDiamond Suit9Spade Suit for top pair with a better kicker. The river was the KClub Suit and Foxen doubled through, leaving Bicknell with just a few big blinds. She was eliminated on the very next hand.
Here are the final table results.
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Alex Foxen | $239,000* |
| 2 | Kristen Bicknell | $200,000* |
| 3 | Kahle Burns | $120,000 |
| 4 | Phong “Turbo” Nguyen | $85,000 |
| 5 | Blake Whittington | $65,000 |
| 6 | Joey Weissman | $51,000 |
| 7 | Pavel Plesuv | $39,000 |
| 8 | Conor Beresford | $30,000 |
| 9 | Jake Schindler | $24,000 |
Take a look at the hand on Joey Ingram’s Twitter:
A bunch of people are asking me about this hand between @krissyb24poker @WAFoxen at the MSPT final table.
I haven't seen the rest of the action but I'm not sure this hand is that ridiculous?? Probably some sick relationship meta-game going on. What do you guys think? pic.twitter.com/0Mup9gqL11
— Joey Ingram (@Joeingram1) June 18, 2018
Gal Yifrach has won the 2018 World Series of Poker $3,000 six-max no-limit hold’em event, overcoming a field of 868 total entries to win his first WSOP gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $461,798. This was the largest score of the 31-year-old Los Angeles entrepreneur’s life, with his biggest previous cash coming from a win in the 2017 WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino $3,250 buy-in no-limit event for $90,005.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m feeling great,” Yifrach told WSOP reporters after coming out on top. “You know, coming into this event, I didn’t expect, obviously, to win. Everybody has hopes. Everybody is hoping to get very far. I was fortunate enough to get there … But you know, when you run good, you play good as well. It comes hand-in-hand.”
In addition to the money and the bracelet, Yifrach also earned 1,368 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first final table of the year, but this win alone was enough to catapult him into 80th place in the 2018 Player of the Year standings. Yifrach entered the unofficial seven-handed final table of this event in second chip position, behind only WSOP bracelet winner James Mackey. Gary Hasson eliminated Ben Palmer in seventh place ($48,823) to set the final table and move into an essential tie for second chip position with Yifrach.
Hasson continued his run by knocking out Ana Marquez in sixth place ($67,116). Two-time World Poker Tour main event winner Aaron Mermelstein score the next elimination, winning a preflop race against Darren Rabinowitz. Mermelstein’s 8Spade Suit8Heart Suit flopped a set against Rabinowitz’s ASpade SuitKDiamond Suit and held from there, sending the two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner to the rail with $93,917.
Despite winning that hand, Mermelstein was the next player to be eliminated. Gary Hasson doubled up through him to leave him with less than six big blinds. Shortly after that Yifrach finished the job, knocking Mermelstein out in fourth place ($133,731) to take a dominating lead into three-handed play. The event was scheduled to play to a winner in three days, but in the end the decision was made late on day 3 for the remaining three players to bag up their chips for the night. Yifrach sat with 6,965,000, Mackey with 3,100,000 and Hasson 1,960,000.
Early on day 4 Hasson moved all in for around 1,500,000 (around 10 big blinds) from the small blind. Yifrach made the call from the big blind with the ADiamond Suit6Diamond Suit. Hasson held the KSpade Suit10Club Suit. The board ran out QSpade SuitQDiamond Suit10Diamond SuitKHeart SuitASpade Suit, with the ace on the river giving Yifrach the superior two-pair to earn him the pot and send Hasson home with $193,716.
Yifrach began with nearly a 2-to-1 chip lead over Mackey, but the 2007 WSOP $5,000 no-limit hold’em event winner was able to mount a comeback. After the first six hands of heads-up play, he had essentially evened things up. Then the final hand of the tournament arose. With blinds of 80,000-160,000 and an ante of 20,000 Yifrach raised to 325,000 from the button. Mackey three-bet to 1,125,000 from the big blind and Yifrach called.
The flop brought the 8Diamond Suit6Heart Suit2Club Suit and Mackey fired out 1,000,000. Yifrach called and the turn brought the 2Spade Suit. Mackey moved all-in for 4,325,000 and after several minutes of thought Yifrach made the call, putting Mackey at risk as he had him covered by roughly a single big blind. Mackey held the 10Spade Suit10Diamond Suit for the best hand, with Yifrach’s ASpade Suit8Heart Suit in trouble heading into the river. The 8Club Suit on the river bailed him out, giving him a full house to win the pot and the title. Mackey was eliminated as the second-place finisher, earning $285,377 for his deep run.
Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gal Yifrach | United States | $461,798 |
| 2 | James Mackey | United States | $285,377 |
| 3 | Gary Hasson | Belgium | $193,716 |
| 4 | Aaron Mermelstein | United States | $133,731 |
| 5 | Darren Rabinowitz | United States | $93,917 |
| 6 | Ana Marquez | Spain | $67,116 |
The 47-year-old poker pro John Hennigan wins the 5th gold bracelet of his WSOP career in taking down the 2018 World Series of Poker $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship, overcoming a tough field of 166 players to win his fifth gold bracelet.
John Hennigan joined the likes of John Juanda, Jason Mercier, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Alaei, Gary “Bones” Berland, David Chiu, Allen Cunningham, Berry Johnston and Stu Ungar as a five-times WSOP title winner. John Hennigan won his first bracelet in 2002 and 16 years later Hennigan is still at the top of his game.
“I’m not too preoccupied with it, but it does feel better than four,” Hennigan told WSOP reporters when asked about securing his fifth bracelet. “It makes me think about ‘Saturday Night Live’ where you get that jacket.”
Hennigan came into the third final day of this event in third chip position with 16 players remaining. He made a straight and a 7-6 reduced to scoop the pot and send Ohel home in fifth place with $92,808. Iraj Parvizi spent a lot the final table in the lead, but
as play got short-handed he lost momentum. He ultimately succumbed to two-time bracelet winner David ‘Bakes’ Baker to knock him out in 4th place for $127,724.
Baker then eliminated Lee Salem in third place for $179,216 to set up a heads-up showdown with Hennigan, who held roughly a 5-to-3 chip advantage. Hennigan extended his lead a bit before play was halted for the night.
Baker did his best to fight back but in the end Hennigan was able to sending Baker to the rail with $256,297.
Final Table Payouts of Poker $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event:
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Hennigan | United States | $414,692 |
| 2 | David “Bakes” Baker | United States | $256,297 |
| 3 | Lee Salem | United States | $179,216 |
| 4 | Iraj Parvizi | United Kingdom | $127,724 |
| 5 | Randy Ohel | United States | $92,808 |
| 6 | Albert Daher | Lebanon | $68,783 |
| 7 | Daniel Zack | United States | $52,016 |
| 8 | Michael Noori | United States | $40,155 |
The 29-year-old poker pro, Benjamin Dobson wins his first WSOP bracelet in Event #25: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $173,528. Benjamin Dobson outlasted a field of 363 players to win the 2018 WSOP $1,500 seven-card stud eight-or-better event.
“I’m Absolutely on top of the world,” Dobson told WSOP reporters after his win.“Stud eight-or-better is probably my favorite game of poker and it is one that I don’t get to play a lot. I only get to play it a few times a year, but I really enjoy it.”
Dobson came into the final day as the chip leader with three players remaining, but he had some stiff competition to contend with in two-time bracelet winner Jesse Martin and seven-time WSOP final tablist Timothy Finne.
“Part of it is just a huge relief because I had a huge chip lead basically through Day 2 and Day 3 and coming into today,” said Dobson. “So, I kind of had high expectations for myself, but it was also really tough because Timothy and Jesse, they are probably better than me at stud eight-or-better, so I felt like I was a bit of an underdog. I managed to hold my own and ran good in some of the crucial pots. Luck was on my side for sure.”
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Dobson | England | $173,528 |
| 2 | Tim Finne | United States | $107,243 |
| 3 | Jesse Martin | United States | $74,324 |
| 4 | Richard Monroe | United States | $52,359 |
| 5 | Tom McCormick | United States | $37,504 |
| 6 | James Nelson | United States | $27,321 |
| 7 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | Greece | $20,248 |
| 8 | Peter Brownstein | United States | $15,271 |
Joe McKeehen has been one of the most consistent live tournament players in recent years. The 2015 WSOP main event champion has finished 22nd or better in the Card Player Player of the Year race for three straight years and currently sits in 11th place in 2018. Card Player TV caught up with him on a break on the final day of the 2018 WSOPMillionaire Maker event to learn how he’s been able to put up such great numbers year after year and also to talk to him about his run so far in this event.
The 2018 WSOP Europe schedule has been released, and with 10 gold bracelets at stake, the World Series of Poker Player of the Year race could come down to these final events set to take place at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, from Oct. 9 to Nov. 2.
In total, the World Series of Poker is guaranteeing at least €13 million in prize pool money to those who cash in the WSOPE events. Points in these tournament count towards the POY race which has already begun in Las Vegas with Elio Fox leading the way through Tuesday.
The WSOP will leave Las Vegas in mid-July following the conclusion of the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop charity event and then return to action in a different continent in October.
Key 2018 WSOP Europe Events October 9, Event #1, €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em (€1 million guaranteed) October 18, Event #5, €1,100 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold’em (€1 million guaranteed) October 22, Event #7, €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha/8-Handed (€200,000 guaranteed) October 24, Event #8, €25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (€1 million guaranteed) October 26, Event #9, €100,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (€5 million guaranteed) October 27, Event #10, €10,350 WSOP Europe Main Event (€5 million guaranteed)
King’s Casino is owned by the controversial high stakes poker grinder Leon Tsoukernik who, on multiple occasions in the past couple of years, was accused of refusing to pay off debts by fellow poker players.
Tsoukernik promotes his casino in Las Vegas at the Rio during the summer WSOP with a King’s Casino Lounge high-limit cash game room inside the convention center.
It’s too early to project a POY winner as the summer WSOP still has more than 50 bracelets to hand out. Elio Fox currently leads the race with 2,010.14 points, more than 300 points ahead of Paul Volpe, who is in 2nd place.
But Fox, winner of the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em tournament on May 31, could have an additional 600 points had he taken heads-up play seriously in the $100,000 high roller instead of cutting a side deal with Nick Petrangelo, who eventually won the bracelet.
With 10 bracelet events at stake this fall in Rozvadov, the POY race likely won’t be wrapped up until sometime during WSOP Europe in the fall.
Last year’s winner, Chris Ferguson, left Las Vegas in 2nd place behind John Racener. The man often referred to as “Jesus” won his sixth career bracelet in a €1,650 buy-in PLO hi-lo event and cashed six times at WSOPE, giving him a record 23 WSOP cashes in one year and the 2017 Player of the Year title.
Craig Varnell has come a long way from four years ago when he left his job at a car wash to start playing poker for a living. His efforts were rewarded last night when the player remained the last man standing from the hefty field of the 2018 WSOP $565 Pot-Limit Omaha to win what many consider the most coveted non-monetary prize in poker – a gold bracelet from the series.
Moments after his career’s biggest win, the player said that it was a great feeling to get “the highest accomplishment” in a game he has been playing for a living. Varnell further dwelt that poker meant so much more to him than just a profession as it helped him escape some really dark places in the past.
Back to the $565 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament, Varnell was part of a field of 2,419 entries. The event kicked off June 8 and played through Sunday, June 10. The final day began with an unofficial final table of ten players. Maxime Heroux led the final ten with 2.43 million in chips and a comfortable advantage over his remaining opponents. Varnell was among the top stacks at the time and felt just as comfortable to proceed and execute his strategy.
The game was off to a slow start as players played cautiously, trying to secure a spot among the final nine and then further into the day without getting into much trouble. Unlike his opponents, Varnell was not afraid to put some pressure and initiate action at the table. In most of the cases hands were not even played with his tablemates folding pre-flop and him ending up with the chips. This helped the player accumulate over a million in chips.
Varnell said that he had a “feeling for the game” and oftentimes relied on that feeling instead of doing math in his head before making a move at the table.
The start-of-the-day chip leader, Heroux, remained the hardest nut to crack at the table up until four-handed play when he busted eventually. From that point on, Varnell navigated quite easily to eventually scoop the title and the first-place prize.
Varnell played heads-up against Seth Zimmerman. The eventual champion had a 6-1 chip advantage at that point, but saw some resistance from his final opponent. Zimmerman managed to double a couple of times and even take the lead for a very short while.
After relinquishing the chip lead, Varnell quickly regained momentum to bring down his opponent. On what turned out to be the final hand in play, Zimmerman had 1.6 million in chips to Varnell’s 10.5 million. The eventual runner-up finisher went all-in pre-flop with [Ad][Kh][Qd][4h] to Varnell’s [Kd][Jc][9s][5s].
Despite Zimmerman’s pre-flop advantage, the board eventually ran out [Qs][Jh][3d][6s][9d] to give Varnell two pair and the title. Zimmerman collected a consolation prize of $112,347 from the payout desk, while Varnell was posing with his shiny gold bracelet, knowing that he had just added $181,790 to his poker bankroll.
In Fresno County, California the federally recognized Table Mountain Rancheria has decided that their 31-year-old casino is due for an update. Nearly doubling the existing space, the tribe’s proposed project includes a 110,000 square foot gaming floor and a 14 story hotel.
Located in Friant, a census-designated place (CDP) about 17 miles from Fresno, according to an environmental report the Table Mountain Rancheria are considering relocating their existing casino to a different location on their tribal trust lands just north of Millerton Road.
Described in detail within the Environmental Evaluation, in addition to the larger casino floor, the tribe would add a 151-room hotel and include a top-floor restaurant, spa and salon, fitness center, a kids activity center with child care and a conference center with six meeting rooms. Additional resort-like amenities include a new 1,500-seat special event center to be utilized for private events, monthly concerts and banquets.
Construction would begin west of the existing casino by spring 2019, and feature a state-of-the-art ventilation system, have more of an open concept and be energy efficient. Completion of the new, larger casino is expected by 2021. Upon completion of the new facility, the old casino will be utilized for tribal offices.
Attorney and spokesman for the tribe, Dan Cass, communicated that although the existing casino was a popular gambling destination, the venue’s 8-foot ceilings and smoke from cigarettes were a source of complaints. According to Cass, the project’s environmental review has taken several years to be completed.
Cass said, “We wanted to build something that will be able to sustain the tribal community for future generations.” He added that the tribe also “want to stay within the confines of our promise to keep this on our own land,” The Fresno Bee reports.
The increased size of the new casino will result in more jobs, with the project adding 454 employment positions for 1,454 total workers. Comments from the public regarding the environmental review are reportedly being accepted until June 28. On that day from 6pm to 9pm, a public meeting will take place at the Ramada Inn in Fresno at 3224 E. Shaw Ave.
The newspaper reports that the amount of traffic from vehicles could be a concern for residents who live nearby. At present, Saturday is the casino’s busiest day, seeing some 3,795 cars daily. It is estimated that the proposed project will grow that number by nearly double to 7,755 vehicles daily.
Currently, Table Mountain Casino features more than 2,000 slots, 40 table games, 10 smoke-free poker tables, a 700-seat bingo hall, three dining establishments, including a buffet. Located just across the street is the 140-acre Eagle Springs Golf & Country Club, which features a pro shop and café.
