Joao Simao raced to his second World Series of Poker gold bracelet victory, beating out a field of 788 entries in the fast-paced 2022 WSOP $5,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha and no-limit hold’em mixed event. The 33-year-old Brazilian poker pro secured the largest score of his tournament career for the win: $686,242. As a result, he now has more than $5 million in cashes to his name.

This marked the 16th time a Brazilian player has won a bracelet event. Simao and Yuri Dzivielevski are the only two players from the country with multiple bracelets.

“Every time a Brazilian wins a bracelet, it makes our community grow, more and more, which is good for us and good for the poker world in general,” said Simao after this latest win.

In addition to the title and the money, Simao also earned 1,824 Card Player Player of the Year points after coming out on top. This was his third POY-qualified score of the year, having finished as the runner-up in a $3,500 buy-in event at the Wynn Millions festival in March and fourth in the $1,500 ‘Monster Stack’ event earlier this series. With $1,361,632 in year-to-date POY earnings and 3,624 total points, Simao now sits in seventh place in the 2022 POY race standings, which are presented by Global Poker.

This event only took two days to find its champion. The top 119 finishers earned a share of the $3,634,650 prize pool, with big names like four-time bracelet winner and 2009 world champion Joe Cada (107th – $8,010), three-time bracelet winner Dan Zack (91st – $8,761), three-time bracelet winner David Pham (29th – $19,650), five-time bracelet winner Brian Rast (22nd – $23,327), two-time bracelet winner Brandon Cantu (21st – $23,327), bracelet winner and 2004 main event runner-up David Williams (18th – $23,327), and bracelet winner Andriy Lyubovetskiy (11th – $42,953) all making deep runs.

A number of notables were still in contention by the time the official final table of eight was set following Joni Jouhkimainen’s elimination in ninth place ($54,313), including bracelet winner Fred Goldberg, high-stakes tournament rising star Marius Gierse and 2013 WSOP main event champion Ryan Riess. Simao held the lead when the final table got underway and extended his advantage by knocking out Cody Rich in eighth place ($69,727).

Goldberg was the next to fall, with his pocket kings and a suit running into the double-suited pocket aces of Gierse in a round of PLO. Gierse made trip tens on the river to win the pot and narrow the field of six, while Goldberg settled for $90,864 as the seventh-place finisher.

Gierse scored another bustout when his pocket sevens won a race against the K-Q suited of Joshua McSwiney. The flop saw Gierse hit a set, while McSwiney picked up a flush draw. The turn and river were blanks, though, and McSwiney was sent home in sixth place ($120,165).

Simao’s stack took a small hit when he doubled up a short stack, but he soon made up for that lost ground by eliminating Aden Salazar in fifth place ($161,239). Salazar’s 10-9 suited outflopped Simao’s J-10 suited, but a jack on the river sent the pot towards Simao. The Brazilian then won a preflop race with pocket sevens besting the A-10 of Dante Goya to take a sizable lead into three-handed play.

Riess’s run at his second bracelet ended in third place. Riess got all-in preflop with AHeart SuitQClub Suit8Diamond Suit6Spade Suit and was at risk facing the ADiamond Suit8Heart Suit7Diamond Suit2Heart Suit of Gierse. The board ran out JDiamond Suit9Club Suit2Diamond Suit10Club Suit9Diamond Suit and Gierse ade an ace-high flush to secure the pot. Riess earned $302,980 as the third-place finisher, increasing his lifetime earnings to more than $15.7 million.

Heads-up play began with Simao holding more than a 3.5:1 chip lead over Gierse. He was able to add to that in the early going, and was still well ahead despite the German earning one double up with two pair.

Gierse was soon all-in and at risk again. This time around the chips went in after the flop of 8Spade Suit5Spade Suit5Club Suit. Gierse held ASpade SuitJSpade Suit10Spade Suit9Club Suit, while Simao had ADiamond SuitQSpade SuitQHeart Suit2Spade Suit. The 3Club Suit on the turn gave Simao a gutshot wheel draw, but it was the AClub Suit on the end that saw him improve to the winning hand. His aces and fives with a queen kicker just edged out Gierse, locking up the pot and the title in the process. Gierse earned $424,122 as the runner-up finisher. This was his sixth final-table finish of the year, with two titles won and more than $2.5 million in POY earnings accrued along the way. With 3,468 total points, Gierse now sits in ninth place in the 2022 POY race standings.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Winner photo credit: WSOP / Hayley Hochstetler.

France’s Jonathan Pastore overcame a field of 920 entries to take down the 2022 World Series of Poker $5,000 buy-in six-max no-limit hold’em event, earning his first bracelet and $771,765 for the win.

In fact, this was not only Pastore’s first bracelet win but his first-ever recorded live victory. It was also by far the largest live tournament score of his career, blowing away the $73,382 he earned as the runner-up finisher in a $600 buy-in at the Venetian DeepStack Championship II last fall. He now has more than $890,000 in career earnings to his name.

“Having all of my friends on the rail really helped me. We are a big group of friends and poker players who live in Malta and came to play the World Series,” Pastore told WSOP reporters after securing the title. “Coming from the amateur poker circles in France, with all my friends around me, I feel I mixed those two worlds today and it’s beautiful.”

In addition to the money and the hardware, Pastore was also awarded 1,824 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. While this was his first POY-qualified score of the year, it was enough to catapult him up the standings and into 48th place in the 2022 POY race sponsored by Global Poker.

This event paid out the top 138 finishers, with plenty of big names making the money including two-time bracelet winner Dmitry Yurasov (116th – $8,053), six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu (106th – $8,807), two-time bracelet winner Jim Collopy (98th – $8,807), two-time bracelet winner Daniel lazrus (96th – $8,807), three-time bracelet winner Dan Zack (91st – $8,807), two-time bracelet winner Taylor Paur (88th – $10,066), 2013 main event champion Ryan Riess (75th – $10,066), three-time bracelet winner Norbert Szecsi (70th – $10,874), two-time bracelet winner Eric Baldwin (58th – $11,991), 2009 main event champion and four-time bracelet winner Joe Cada (46th – $15,482), four-time bracelet winner Anthony Zinno (32nd – $21,597), four-time bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi (14th – $40,885), and bracelet winner Jonas Lauck (9th – $68,370).

Just five players made it to the fourth and final day of action, with bracelet winner Stephen Song in the lead and Pastore in third chip position. Pastore soon moved into second, and then further closed the gap on Song by knocking out Paraskevas Tsokaridis in fifth place ($167,882). Pastore’s pocket eights improved to middle set on the flop to leave Tsokaridis’ pocket fives drawing to running quads. The miracle didn’t materialize and the field was thinned to four.

Two-time bracelet winner Elio Fox was the next to fall. Fox shoved from the small blind for just over seven big blind with K-3. Song called in the big blind with K-5 and flopped trip fives. Song improved to a full house with a king on the turn, which remained best after a blank on the river. Fox took home $234,036 for his fourth-place showing in this event.

Pastore moved into the lead, and then extended it by eliminating Tamer Alkamli in third place. He shoved from the small blind with Q-7 suited and Alkamli called with A-5. Pastore turned a pair of sevens and held from there to take roughly a 5:4 lead into heads-up play with Song. Alkamli earned a career-best payday of $331,503 for his deep run.

Pastore took more than a 2:1 lead thanks to winning a healthy pot with a turned flush. He edged even further ahead before the final hand of the tournament was dealt. With blinds of 150,000-300,000 and a 300,000 big blind ante, Pastore raised to 650,000 on the button with QSpade SuitJClub Suit. Song three-bet to 2,100,000 from the big blind with 5Club Suit2Diamond Suit. The KHeart SuitQClub Suit10Spade Suit flop saw Song make a 900,000 continuation bet with five-high. Pastore called with second pair and an open-ended straight draw. The 6Spade Suit on the turn prompted a 2,500,000 bet from Song, which was again called. The 4Diamond Suit completed the board and Song moved all-in for 4,275,000. Pastore thought things over for a while before making the call to lock up the pot and the title. Song earned $476,990 as the runner-up, the largest payday of his career. The score increased his lifetime earnings to more than $3.5 million.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Winner photo credit: WSOP / Katerina Lukina.

Michael Jukich literally jumped for joy after winning the 2022 World Series of Poker $1,500 no-limit hold’em ‘Monster Stack’ event for $966,577 and his first gold bracelet. The ‘Jukich jump’ saw the 38-year-old Lynchburg, Virginia resident leap onto the top of the final table after topping the field of 6,501 entries to secure nearly a million dollars.

Just minutes before securing the title, Jukich was all-in and well behind after his heads-up opponent Mateusz Moolhuizen had turned a full house against his flopped top pair. Moolhuizen bet his three deuces and Jukich shoved with kings and deuces and a queen kicker. Moolhuizen called to leave Jukich in need of a king on the river, making him roughly a 19:1 underdog. The KHeart Suit rolled off the deck, though, giving him a higher full house and a commanding lead.

“I mean, it was a big set-up on the turn deuce. I thought for a while about just calling but decided to just stick it in. It happened so quick, I heard his rail saying it’s over, it’s over, and I was like, it’s not really over yet. The king hit from outer space, I don’t even know how to describe that,” Jukich told WSOP reporters afterward.

From there he was able to close things out to earn the largest score of his tournament career, blowing away the $165,438 he secured as the champion of the 2018 WSOP Circuit Baltimore main event. He now has more than $1.5 million in lifetime earnings.

Jukich also scored 1,320 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. This was his first POY-qualified run of the year, but it alone was enough to put him just outside the top 100 in the 2022 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker.

This tournament kicked off on June 10 with the first of two starting flights. It then took two full days of action to narrow the sea of players down to the last 39 contenders. Plenty of big names made deep runs in this event, including World Poker Tour champion Matthew Wantman (55th – $17,323), bracelet winner Max Steinberg (36th – $25,369), Adam Hendrix (34th – $31,033), and two-time bracelet winner Calvin Anderson (35th – $31,033).

The final day began with 39 left and Yoshiya Agata in the lead. Jukich was closer to the bottom of the leaderboard than the top to start the day, but he managed to climb into second chip position by the time the final table was set.

Ricardo Caridade was the first to fall at the official final table of nine. He got all-in with A-Q suited, but was trailing the A-K of bracelet winner Anthony Spinella. The flop brought top two pair for Spinella, who improved to kings full on the river to take down the pot and send Caridade home in ninth place ($94,439). This was his second big final table of the year, having placed fourth in a European Poker Tour Prague high roller for $225,499.

Short stack Jessica Teusl got her last few big blinds in with A-5 and found herself at risk facing the pocket sixes of Jukich. Neither player received any help from the board and Teusl was knocked out in eighth place ($120,455). This was the largest score of the Austrian’s career, and it came just days after her boyfriend Stefan Lehner won his first bracelet in the $3,000 no-limit hold’em event.

Yoshiya Agata’s run concluded when his K-J was unable to outrun the A-8 of Jukich, which improved to eighths full of aces by the turn. This was the first six-figure live score of the Japanese player’s career. Jukich moved into the lead after raking in the pot.

David Zarrin lost a huge chunk of his stack when Joao Simao’s K-Q drew out on his A-Q with all of the chips in the middle preflop. Simao finished the job when his Q-5 suited beat out the K-4 of Zarrin not long after, with a rivered pair of queens for Simao knocking Zarrin out in sith place ($199,995).

Spinella spent some time atop the chip counts at the final table, but had fallen to the bottom of the leaderboard by the time five-handed play began. He got the last of his chips in racing with J-10 up against the pocket eights of Francis Anderson. A set on the flop gave Anderson a big lead in the hand, which he maintained through the river. Spinella earned $260,315 for his fifth-place showing, increasing his lifetime earnings to more than $4.3 million in the process.

A preflop cooler soon spelled the end of Simao. He four-bet all-in with pocket tens facing a three-bet from Moolhuizen, who quickly called with pocket aces. Moolhuizen flopped top set. After a blank on the turn, Simao was left drawing dead. The Brazilian bracelet winner was awarded $341,095 as the fourth-place finisher, joining Spinella with more than $4.3 million in career cashes.

The next big knockout was the result of a classic preflop race. Anderson called all-in with AHeart SuitKClub Suit facing a four-bet shove from Moolhuizen, who held JSpade SuitJDiamond Suit. The board changed nothing and Anderson was knocked out in third place ($449,912). The New York resident now has more than $1.6 million in earnings to his name, with this surpassing his $149,605 payday as the fourth-place finisher in the 2019 WSOP marathon event to become his new top score.

Moolhuizen took more than a 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play with Jukich after winning that hand. Jukich was able to close the gap a bit before winning the huge hand mentioned earlier with the king on the river giving him a better full house. That saw him take more than a 5:1 lead of his own.

In the final hand of the tournament, which was on the very next deal, Moolhuizen limped in from the button with KClub SuitQClub Suit and Jukich shoved holding AHeart Suit8Club Suit. The board ran out JSpade Suit10Heart Suit5Spade Suit3Diamond Suit5Club Suit and Jukich’s ace high was enough to lock up the pot and the title, prompting the ‘Jukich jump’. Moolhuizen earned a career-best $597,362 as the runner-up. His prior top score had been a $163,075 payday as the winner of the 2011 Unibet Open Malta main event.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Photo credits: PokerGO / Enrique Malfavon.

The 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #18: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em attracted exactly 2,663 entrants, which created a $2,370,070 prize pool. 35-year-old Illinois native Schultz defeated Young Sik Eum in heads-up play to win a $1,000 no-limit hold’em freezeout event, earning the hardware and a career-best $330,057 payday.

This blew away his previous largest score of $111,812, which he earned as the champion of the 2011 WSOP Circuit Harveys Lake Tahoe main event. He now has more than $630,000 in recorded tournament earnings to his name.

This two-day event saw 203 players survive day 1. The top 400 finishers cashed in this tournament, with $2,370,070 in prize money split amongst them. Big names to make deep runs included Lexy Gavin (41st – $8,307), two-time World Poker Tour champion Daniel Weinman (35th – $10,084), bracelet winner Yaser Al-Keliddar (20th – $12,351), and bracelet winner Seth Fischer (10th – $23,939).

Join the Poker Action Tonight

Young Sik Eum came into the final table with the lead. He extended it further by knocking out Kevin Legerski (9th – $30,375) to narrow the field to eight. Mike Holtz, the 2021 WSOP.com POY award winner, ran A-9 suited into the pocket hacks of Schultz to hit the rail in eighth place ($38,874). Shultz scored another knockout with pocket jacks, this time besting the A-7 of Tony Dam (7th – $50,180). He continued hi surge by winning a preflop race, with A-Q outrunning the pocket nines of Robert Hofer (6th – $65,326).

Nicholas Palma got the last of his stack in with top two pair on a Q-J-5 board. He was up against the A-K of Eum. A ten on the turn gave Eum an ace-high straight, leaving Palma in need of a queen or jack on the river. No help came and Palma settled for $85,761 for his fifth-place showing.

Schultz picked up another big pocket pair in acrucuial spot. His KSpade SuitKHeart Suit held up against the ASpade Suit8Club Suit of Henry Rubin after the chips went in on a 10Diamond Suit8Diamond Suit3Spade Suit3Club Suit board. The 5Spade Suit on the end sent Rubin to the rail with $113,532.

Angela Jordison’s run in this event came to an end when her KSpade SuitJDiamond Suit clashed with the ADiamond Suit7Heart Suit of Eum. Jordison took the lead on a JSpade Suit9Spade Suit8Diamond Suit flop, and remained ahead after the QDiamond Suit hit the turn. The AHeart Suit on the river gave Eum a winning pair of aces, though, and Jordison was eliminated in third place. The $151,544 she earned was the largest score of her career. She now has more than $500,000 in lifetime cashes.

With that Eum took the lead into heads-up play with Schultz. The tables were soon turned, though. Schultz held roughly a 4:1 lead when the final hand was dealt. He limped in from the button for 600,000 total with AClub SuitQSpade Suit and Eum shoved for around 10 million with JDiamond Suit2Diamond Suit. Schultz called and the board ran out QClub Suit7Heart Suit3Heart Suit5Heart Suit7Diamond Suit to lock up the pot and the title for Schultz. Eum was awarded $203,949 as the runner-up.

The 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #18: $1,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

American poker pro Jason Koon is now just more than $615,000 away from becoming the seventh player in poker history to hit $40 million in recorded earnings. The 36-year-old emerged victorious from a field of 34 entries in the €150,000 buy-in short deck event at the series, earning €1,750,000 ($1,837,500 USD) for the win. With $39,384,977 in tournament cashes to his name, Koon surpassed Dan Smith ($38,502,884 in career scores) to move into seventh place on poker’s all-time money list.

This victory also saw Koon tie the record for the most Triton titles, joining Mikita Badziakouski with four wins on the high-stakes tour. Badziakouski had only set the record a week earlier when he took down a €50,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event earlier on in this same series.

In addition to the money and the title, Koon also secured 480 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first title and tenth final-table finish of the year. With 2,829 total points and more than $4.1 million in year-to-date POY earnings, Koon had climbed into sixth place in the 2022 POY race sponsored by Global Poker.

Registration was still open through the start of the second and final day of this event. Several big names fell early on in day 2, including recent short deck main event champion Stephen Chidwick, ten-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Paul Phua, and Mikita Badziakouski. Lun Loon was ultimately the last player eliminated outside of the money, with his Q-J suited unable to outrun the pocket aces of Canadian bracelet winner Daniel Dvoress.

Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates scored his first live cash of the year with a sixth-place showing in this event for $378,000 USD. The 2021 WSOP Poker Players Championship bracelet winner ran A-10 into the pocket aces of Isaac Haxton. The six-figure payday saw him surpass $10 million in recorded tournament earnings.

World Poker Tour main event winner Seth Davies made his third cash of the series with his deep run in this event. His run came to an end when his A-K suited clashed with the pocket kings of Koon. The pair held up and Davies was eliminated in fifth place ($483,000 USD). He also scored 200 POY points for his eighth final-table finish of the year. With nearly $2.8 million in cashes so far, he now it’s in 23rd place in the POY standings.

Sam Greenwood was the next to fall. The bracelet winner from Toronto, Ontario’s last chips were at risk with him holding A-Q facing the A-J suited of Dvoress and the K-J of Haxton. The flop brought both a king and a jack. After the turn and the river brought no help, Greenwood was knocked out in fourth place ($609,000 USD) while Haxton tripled up.

Koon fell to the bottom of the leaderboard during three-handed play, but managed to crack Haxton’s kings with Q-J suited to surge back up the chip counts. Haxton was eventually all-in and at risk with AHeart Suit8Heart Suit facing the ADiamond SuitQDiamond Suit of Dvoress. Both players paired their side cards, with Dvoress’ rivered queens good enough to take down the pot. Haxton took home $798,000 USD as the third-place finisher.

With that Dvoress took 8,800,000 into heads-up play with Koon, who held 4,800,000. The tables turned when Koon’s A-K held against the K-Q of Dvoress. Shortly after that, Dvoress got all-in with QSpade Suit10Heart Suit and Koon picked up ASpade SuitAClub Suit. The board ran out ADiamond SuitKDiamond SuitJClub Suit9Diamond Suit and Koon flopped a full house to close out the title. Dvoress was awarded $1,249,500 USD as the runner-up finisher.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Jason Koon $1,837,500 480
2 Daniel Dvoress $1,249,500 400
3 Isaac Haxton $798,000 320
4 Sam Greenwood $609,000 240
5 Seth Davies $483,000
6 Daniel Cates $378,000 160
Photo credit: Joe Giron / Triton Poker.

The 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) officially kicked off Tuesday morning, with hundreds of poker players in attendance for the first day of poker’s biggest tournament festival.

This is the 53rd year of the WSOP, but the first ever to take place on the Las Vegas Strip. After starting at Binion’s Horseshoe downtown, the summer series moved to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in 2005, where it stayed until last year’s series.

With Caesars Entertainment’s sale of the Rio, the series now shifts to two properties located right on ‘the 50-yard line’ of the Strip in Paris Las Vegas, and Bally’s, which will soon be renamed the Horseshoe.

The new venue serves as a major upgrade over the Rio, with four times the dining options, and significantly more restrooms. The 200,000 sq. ft. of combined space will also house close to 600 tables, which is almost a 33% increase over last year.

“This year is particularly historic for the WSOP with its move to the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and debut in the best facilities we’ve ever had,” said Executive Director Ty Stewart. “We’re ready to welcome players from all over the world to our housewarming party at Bally’s, soon-to-be Horseshoe, and Paris. The schedule is jam-packed with first-class events and we expect this to be the biggest and most anticipated WSOP yet.”

As is tradition, the series began with the $500 buy-in Casino Employees event, which is only open those players who also work in the gambling industry. There are more than 800 players registered so far, with the series’ first bracelet scheduled to be awarded Wednesday night.

Reality TV personality Lisa Vanderpump was on hand to make the customary ‘Shuffle up and deal’ announcement, and then even took a seat in the tournament. One of Vanderpump’s 36 restaurants is located at the Paris Casino.

The first event for the pros was the $100,000 buy-in high roller bounty tournament. Every player eliminated in the event is worth $25,000. At the time of publishing, the field sat at just over 40 players, and the final table will stream live on Thursday on PokerGO. (Get $20 off an annual subscription with the promo code ‘CardPlayer’)

There are more than 100 bracelets events in total including 13 online tournaments.

You can learn more about the 2022 WSOP on our series landing page, sponsored by Global Poker. Check out the schedule, as well as event recaps, news, and player interviews.

With the structure for the American Place’s temporary gambling enterprise in Waukegan being poured, company officials are becoming extra concentrated on the prepare for the future advancement of the $1.74-billion hotel casino site in the River West neighborhood of Chicago. Although the brand-new gaming venue there is expected to draw in a lot of passion from local customers, Capacity Resorts do not see it as possible competitors.

Capacity Resorts’ senior vice head of state as well as primary growth officer, Alex Stolyer, noted that the River West-based casino would have little impact on Waukegan’s short-lived gambling establishment.

As discussed above, a group of building workers is presently putting the structure for the American Place online casino– a 70,000-square-foot short-term betting location that is positioned in close proximity to Waukegan’s Fountain Square shopping center. If whatever goes according to plans, the building will be completed by June 6th, when the Sprung structure is expected to show up.

The Sprung structure is a tensioned membrane building, which construction is set to take about 7 weeks. After it is finished, employees are readied to construct the inside of the place, including the dining establishments as well as the gaming floor that will certainly organize 50 table games and 1,000 slot machines. Mr. Stolyer described that the video gaming devices and also tables are set to come with the very end of the procedure after the operator receives its operating authorization from the Illinois gaming governing body.

The main opening of the casino site is intended to take place this fall.

Full House Resorts’ Permanent Casino Resorts to Be Established in about 3 Years

According to Alex Stolyer, American Location’s major competition for clients will originate from Milwaukee-based Potawatomi Resort as well as Gambling Enterprise as well as the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. He further shared that the 5-star high-end suites hotel that is readied to be developed together with his company’s long-term hotel in regarding 3 years would certainly provide Full House Resorts with some advantage. He additionally shared that obtaining a full experience is what premium customers want, as well as the long-term casino of the brand would have the ability to provide that. A sportsbook operated by Circa Sportsbook will be readily available at the location, also.

Currently, the casino operator is working in partnering with the city of Waukegan to obtain the essential licenses, with the company’s application to obtain a certificate from the Illinois Video gaming Board now recurring. It was confirmed that Full House Resorts is now seeking approval for different facets of its procedure, such as monitoring strategies as well as protection.

Mr. Stolyer additionally validated that the hiring of the senior-level team has actually already started. He better noted that an opening date is typically called for when people are being safeguarded to deal with the casino site floor table video games and also makers. That is exactly the reason Capacity Resorts intends to begin working with dealerships, fruit machine technicians, as well as people offering food as well as beverages, as soon as an opening day for the gambling establishment is formally set up.

According to reports, regarding 260 dealers will operate at the American Location casino site, which will run 24/7, every day of the week. As revealed by Full House Resorts’ senior vice president and also primary development policeman, concerning 50% of them will be seasoned suppliers, while the rest of them will be new to the market.

Earlier this month, the Legislative Assembly of Macau exposed its plans to bring severe amendments to the special management region’s betting debt legislation in an effort to get rid of prospective conflicts with the ongoing adjustments in the guideline of neighborhood junket operators through the intro of a new item of regulations.

At the time when the discussions on the brand-new bill, called “Legal Structure for Operating Games of Possibility in Casino sites”, likewise called “the brand-new junket regulation”, were held at the start of May 2022, the Legislative Assembly’s 2nd Standing Committee made a reference to Write-up 60, according to which guideline of credit score in gambling establishment locations will go through its very own legislative structure. According to some media records, these laws reference the wagering credit scores regulation of Macau, No. 5/2004, which presently states that both junket operators and also concessionaires are enabled to take part in debt borrowing practices.

Chan Chak Mo, the chairman of the aforementioned Board, shared that the gaming credit report law requires to be altered in a way that would certainly match the brand-new costs, which specifically mentions that gamer down payments can be accepted by concessionaires only. The Board chair even more noted that, in the future, junket operators would only have the ability to bring in bettors to the gambling enterprise and exchange chips but they would not have the ability to place any type of consumer deposits with the concessionaire, as these actions matched with the initial function of the legislation in making certain that the neighborhood gaming industry establishes in a healthy manner.

Macau Authorities Looking for Alternative Revenue Sources to Cut Dependency on Gambling Services

The Covid-19 pandemic episode forced the special administrative area’s authorities to start trying to find alternative revenue sources, considering the fact that most of its gross domestic product (GDP) depends on casino site concessionaires.

However, this dependency on the contribution of wagering operators is set to change, as the Government of Macau has actually been seeking other income networks. The authorities in the special management region are investing even more efforts into presenting more openness to the sector, and also there have been some worries about the interaction between gambling establishment operators and also customers. At the start of the month, neighborhood legislators introduced a piece of regulations called Legal Structure for Operating Gamings of Possibility in Casinos, which entails a number of essential adjustments, consisting of one under which casino sites will handle gamers’ down payments.

Historically, supposed junkets were able to approve money on behalf of casino sites and make deposits with wagering venues. In the last few years, nevertheless, a number of VIP players filed legal action against online casinos, which elevated some questions concerning gamers’ down payments and also how they were not reaching their meant target. This is exactly why the proposed changes in the local gaming credit report regulation are aimed at making gambling establishments the only entities that are provided the right to take care of deposits without the participation of any type of intermediaries.

Each Macau Junket to Be Given Chance to Collaborate with One Casino Only

The freshly suggested piece of regulation features some vital elements relating to the procedure of junkets on the area of Macau. According to some experts, no precise forecasts can be made about this, because it would certainly depend upon local demand. A multitude of neighborhood gambling establishments have actually currently kept in mind that they would choose to get rid of the middlemans as opposed to be stripped of the opportunity to check their operations in all times.

A large number of gambling establishments have actually justified such a measure with fears that some illegal steps of their junket partners could cause serious difficulties of the scenario for them when it involves Macau regulatory bodies.

For a long time currently, junket operators have been shedding energy in the special administrative area of Macau. Supposed private VIP rooms are set to additionally vanish due to the stricter policies troubled the industry, as gambling establishments would certainly no more be able to allow the procedure of dedicated high-roller spaces under the junket firms’ branding within its facilities.

Certainly, the lately revealed constraints have actually activated mixed reactions relating to the anticipated effect of the harder measures on the online casinos’ performance and also monetary results. In theory, eliminating middlemans can assist betting firms in Macau improve their earnings, but in order for this to happen, they will certainly need to match the visitor traffic.

Moving forward, each junket driver will only work together with a solitary casino site licensee, which likewise focuses on taking on the variety of junkets in the special administrative area. For the time being, fewer than 40 junket companies have reapplied for such an operating certificate.

Rui Cao had not recorded a live poker tournament score since the summer of 2019, but the French high-stakes player ended his nearly three-year hiatus in style with a win in the 2022 Triton Series Madrid €25,000 buy-in short deck event. Cao defeated a field of 68 total entries to secure his second Triton trophy, along with the top payout of €497,000 ($521,850 USD).

The victory also saw Cao secure 504 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his first qualified score for the 2022 POY race, which is sponsored by Global Poker.

The second and final day began with just 13 players remaining and nine set to make the money. Chris Brewer, just one day removed from a win in the €20,000 buy-in short deck event, was eliminated on the money bubble to ensure that the remaining nine all locked up at least $51,870. That sum ultimately went to Ryan Yum. Isaac Haxton followed in eighth place ($67,830 USD) when his Q-10 suited failed to outrun the A-Q of Kenneth Kee.

Santi Jiang was the next to fall, with his A-9 suited running into the A-Q of Cao. Both players made a pair, but Cao’s queens were best and Jiang was knocked out in seventh place ($87,675 USD).

Jason Koon, a World Series of Poker bracelet winner and three-time Triton champion, saw his run come to an end in sixth place ($110,670 USD) when his 10-9 suited was beaten by the A-10 of Cao. Koon also earned 168 POY points for his eighth final-table showing of the year. With 2,145 points and more than $2 million in year-to-date earnings, Koon now sits in 12th place in the overall standings. With more than $37.2 million in career earnings, Koon remains in eighth place on poker’s all-time money list.

Choon Siow got the last of his chips in with pocket kings leading the Q-10 suited of Kee, but the board gave Kee queens and tens to win the pot. Siow earned $142,800 as the fifth-place finisher.

Tom Dwan called off the last of his short stack with Q-10, only to be shown a dominating K-10 by Cao. King high was best by the river and Dwan was eliminated in fourth place, earning $183,855 for his second final-table finish in as many days.

Kee slid down the leaderboard during three-handed action. He eventually got all-in with A-K leading the A-Q suited of Cao, but a couple of queens on the board sent Kee packing in third place ($243,600 USD).

With that Cao took more than a 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play with Richard Yong. A big hand saw Yong close the gap considerably, and he had a chance to take a huge lead of his own when he rivered a full house against Cao’s straight that was also completed on fifth street. Cao bet folded on the paired board to preserve a big chunk of his stack. Yong took down the pot to move into the lead, but Cao soon moved back in front and then extended his advantage.

By the time the final hand was dealt, Cao held nearly a 4:1 chip advantage. All the chips got in with Cao holding ADiamond Suit9Diamond Suit while Yong had the 10Heart Suit8Heart Suit. The board ran out 9Club Suit8Spade Suit7Diamond Suit9Spade Suit8Diamond Suit to give both players a full house. Yong’s eighths full was second-best, though, and he was knocked out in second place ($374,850 USD). The Malaysian now has nearly $15 million in lifetime tournament cashes.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Photo credit: Joe Giron / Triton Poker.

Michael Addamo was arguably the hottest tournament poker player on the planet in the final months of 2021. The 27-year-old four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Australia made eight high-stakes final tables from September through November, winning six titles and cashing for more than $9.4 million along the way. Addamo came into May of this year with only one live tournament cash so far in 2022 but soon got back to his winning ways. He defeated a field of 90 entries in the Triton Series Madrid €20,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em eight-max event to secure his 18th career title and the top prize of €478,000 ($501,900 USD).

This score saw Addamo increase his recorded earnings to more than $22.7 million. He is Australia’s clear all-time tournament earnings leader, and now sits in 27th place on poker’s overall earnings leaderboard.

The final day began with Addamo on top of the leaderboard and a few players in the danger zone. The shortest of all was Morten Klein, who hit the rail in ninth place ( $52,920 USD) when his A-10 ran into the A-K suited of Paul Phua, who started the day in second chip position.

Fernando Garcia (8th – $69,930) was the first to fall inside the money, with his 9-6 suited unable to beat out the A-3 of Phua. Bracelet winner Danny Tang soon followed as he was left short after his pocket queens ran into the pocket kings of Rob Yong. Tang ultimately got the last of his stack in ahead with A-4 leading the K-J suited of Dong Hyun Kim, but a jack o the flop give Kim a lead that he never relinquished. Tang took home $89,880 USD as the seventh-place finisher. He also scored 162 POY points for his fifth final-table finish of the year. He now sits in 43rd place in the 2022 standings.

Yong clashed with Wayne Heung in the next massive pot. He three-bet shoved with 10-9 over Heung’s open, only to receive a call from A-K. Heung’s hand held up and Yong was eliminated in sixth place ($113,400 USD).

Despite his strong start to the day, Phua was ultimately the next to run out of chips. The Triton event all-time cash leader secured his record-furthering 17th in-the-money finish, with his run ending when his top pair on the flop was beaten by the nut flush draw and overcards of Michael Soyza. The flush came in on the turn to leave Phua drawing dead. He earned $145,425 USD for his fifth-place showing.

Addamo had fallen from atop the leaderboard earlier in the day, and was at one point down to just a handful of big blinds. He managed a few double-ups to get back in the mix, and then found himself involved in a classic preflop race with his pocket queens facing the A-K of Heung. The queens held and Heung was knocked out in fourth place ($180,600 USD).

Dong Hyun Kim’s strong showing in this event reached its end when his pocket threes lost a race against the A-6 suited of Soyza, who made a pair of sixes to pick up the pot and narrow the field to two. Kim took home $230,475 USD as the third-place finisher.

With that Soyza took almost a 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play with Addamo. That dynamic was soon flipped on its head thanks to a preflop race of Addamo’s ADiamond Suit7Diamond Suit against the pocket sixes of Soyza. Addamo spiked a seven to make the best hand and move ahead on the leaderboard. In the final hand, Soyza shoved with Q-2 suited and Addamo called with A-4. Neither player improved on a king-high runout with a pair of sevens on board, and Addamo’s ace high locked up the pot and the title for the Australian. Soyza earned $348,600 USD as the runner-up.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Winner photo credit: Joe Giron / Triton Poker.