A total of 406 players put up the $1,500 buy-in for the 2018 World Series of Poker dealer’s choice event, a solid increase over last year’s field of 364, won by David Bach. In this year’s edition, Denver’s Jeremy Harkin outlasted the larger field, taking home $129,882 of the $548,100 prize pool, along with his first gold bracelet.
“I’ve been coming down here every year since 2003, and there’s been people who’ve been coming down here who have had a lot more success than me, because I’m mostly a cash game player,” Harkin explained. “Tournaments are so different, and I basically gave up on winning a bracelet last year. I was trying to play good poker, stay relaxed, make good decisions, and not get frustrated. I was trying to have fun.”
Harkin’s previous best finish at the WSOP was a ninth-place showing in the 2010 $5,000 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better tournament for $29,886. The 44-year-old now has 15 cashes at the summer series.
The six-handed event featured 20 different poker variations. Each player at the table took turns choosing a game that would be played for an entire orbit.
In order to secure the title, Harkin had to defeat a final table that included two-time WSOPbracelet winner Frankie O’Dell (2nd). Other notables who made a deep run included John Hennigan (7th), Chris Klodnicki (9th), Mike Leah (10th), Jeff Lisandro (11th), Chris Vitch (13th), Jimmy Fricke (14th), Shirley Rosario (16th) and Tommy Hang (17th).
Here is a look at the final table results.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Jeremy Harkin | $129,882 | 720 |
| 2 | Frankie O’Dell | $80,256 | 600 |
| 3 | George Trigeorgis | $52,130 | 480 |
| 4 | Anthony Arvidson | $34,700 | 360 |
| 5 | James Woods | $23,686 | 300 |
| 6 | Scott Abrams | $16,589 | 240 |
