Sylvain Cote raised to 12,000 in early position, and Giorgii Skhulukhia slid out a three-bet to 37,000 in the hijack. Benjamin Mintz then four-bet to 95,000 in the cutoff, and Cote got out of the way.
Skhulukhia took some time before announcing all in, and Mintz quickly called.
Benjamin Mintz: Q♥Q♦
Giorgii Skhulukhia: K♣K♦
Mintz could not catch up to Skhulukhia's kings on the 9♦6♣5♣7♣J♠ board, sending him to the rail early in Level 4.
Sameh Elamawy opened to 9,000 in the cutoff, and Bryce Yockey made the call on the button. Ryan Depaulo came along in the small blind, with Dario Sammartino defending from the big blind.
Depaulo and Sammartino checked the 5♦4♠10♣ flop, and Elamawy continued for 17,000. Yockey and Depaulo called, while Sammartino got out of the way.
Another check from Depaulo followed the 3♣ turn, with Elamawy firing again for 65,000. Yockey was the only caller, and the 4♥ river completed the board.
Elamawy bet 175,000, and Yockey moved all in for 425,000.
"I can't beat quads," said Elamawy as he slid his cards into the muck.
"I don't have quads," answered Yockey, leaving his opponent short.
On the very next hand, Elamawy moved all in from the hijack and Yockey called in the cutoff.
Sameh Elamawy: A♣A♥
Bryce Yockey: Q♠Q♥
Elamawy watched as Yockey picked up pieces on the 9♦10♠5♥ flop, K♠ turn and J♥ river to make a straight and secure the elimination. Elamawy quickly reentered and moved to his new seat.
Benjamin Leblond raised from under the gun, and Dominykas Mikolaitis called from the small blind.
On the J♥9♣4♠ flop, Mikolaitis check-raised to 29,000 over Leblond's continuation bet. Leblond three-bet to 75,000 before Mikolaitis clicked it to 150,000. Leblond jammed for 380,000 and was snap-called by the slightly bigger stack.
Benjamin Leblond: J♣J♦
Dominykas Mikolaitis: 9♥9♦
Both players flopped sets, with Leblond leaving Mikolaitis with one out. Leblond's double was confirmed after the 6♠ turn and 2♠ river.
A big three-way pot brewed on a board of 10♠7♣K♥7♦. Dylan Smith and Vladislav Vyuzhanin checked and Rania Nasreddine bet 60,000 with around 250,000 already in the middle. Both opponents called.
Smith and Vyuzhanin checked again on the 9♥ river and Nasreddine bet a hefty 215,000. Smith check-raised all in and Vyuzhanin folded before Nasreddine followed suit.
Phil Laak has been enthusiastically passing his phone and headphones around and asking his tablemates to watch a recent WSOP video of Phil Hellmuth that parodies David Attenborough nature documentaries.
Laak was particularly impressed by the reference to "asymmetric peacocking" on display as Hellmuth waltzes around with his tracksuit jacket half hanging off his body.
"This is the greatest piece of poker content I've seen in ten years," Laak told PokerNews.
Laak tried showing the video to Pedro Marques, but the high-stakes pro raised to 6,000 on the button. He would have to wait longer to show Marques the video, but not much longer, as Daniel Ghionoiu defended the big blind and then quickly check-folded on the flop of A♠2♣10♥.
Laak's patience paid off as he watched Marques chuckle over the video that had fully captivated the "Unabomber's" attention.
Pascal LeFrancois raised to 5,000 from the cutoff, with Martin Sgrilletti making the call in the small blind. Carlos Serrano came along in the big blind, and the 8♦7♥3♦ flop was fanned out.
All three players checked to the K♦ turn, where Sgrilletti and Serrano checked once more. LeFrancois slid out a bet of 7,000, with only Sgrilletti calling to see the J♠ river.
Sgrilletti checked one last time, folding instantly when LeFrancois fired 24,000 into the middle.
With Event #11: $25,000 Super Main Event edging ever closer to its headline target, Day 1d of the record-setting tournament takes center stage today at the World Series of Poker Paradise (WSOPP) inside Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas.
Action again begins at 12 p.m. local time, with the field sitting at 2,026 entries and climbing toward the all-important 2,400-entry mark needed to lock up the tournament’s massive $60 million guarantee.
Momentum continued to build on Day 1c, where 476 players took their shot and 138 survivors punched their ticket to Day 2. Leading the way was high roller standout and two-time bracelet winner Jans Arends, who bagged the biggest stack of the flight with 5,400,000. He was joined by a stacked group of notables, including Martin Zamani, Triton Invitational champion Kayhan Mokri, Daniel Zack, Kristen Foxen, and reigning $100,000 Triton Main Event winner Aleksejs Ponakovs.
Poker Hall of Fame credentials were also well represented, with 2025 inductee Nick Schulman safely through alongside John Juanda. However, Day 1c proved unforgiving for WSOP Main Event champions, as Greg Raymer, Espen Jorstad, Scott Blumstein, Scotty Nguyen and Ryan Riess all fell short and will need to reload if they want a piece of the action.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Jans Arends
Netherlands
5,400,000
180
2
Raoul Kanme
Netherlands
4,930,000
164
3
Tobias Garp
Sweden
4,020,000
134
4
Ramiro Petrone
Argentina
3,970,000
132
5
Andre Moreira
Portugal
3,890,000
130
6
Martin Zamani
United States
3,840,000
128
7
Florian Lohnert
Germany
3,800,000
127
8
Chanracy Khun
Canada
3,800,000
127
9
Hui Chen
China
3,765,000
126
10
Sergio Da Silva Veloso
Portugal
3,700,000
123
Like other flights, Day 1d will kick off at noon local time with blinds of 1,000/2,000/2,000 and will play ten 60-minute levels. Players will start with 500,000 chips in their stack, with unlimited reentries available until the start of Level 14 on Day 2b. Those who bag Day 1d will combine for Day 2b on Monday, December 15.
Day 1 Structure
Level
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
1
60 Minutes
1,000
2,000
2,000
2
60 Minutes
2,000
3,000
3,000
Break
20 Minutes
3
60 Minutes
2,000
4,000
4,000
4
60 Minutes
3,000
6,000
6,000
Break
20 Minutes
5
60 Minutes
4,000
8,000
8,000
6
60 Minutes
5,000
10,000
10,000
Break
60 Minutes
7
60 Minutes
6,000
12,000
12,000
8
60 Minutes
8,000
16,000
16,000
Break
15 Minutes
9
60 Minutes
10,000
20,000
20,000
10
60 Minutes
15,000
25,000
25,000
WSOP Paradise Parlay
The WSOP has a new Paradise Parlay promotion, that could see players pocket an extra $250,000 on top of regular tournament winnings in the $25,000 Super Main Event.
The initiative offers a tiered bonus structure for players who’ve already enjoyed strong results in 2025. Any eligible participant who cashes in the Super Main Event earns an additional $25,000, while those who reach the final table will receive $100,000. If any eligible player goes on to win the event outright, they'll take home the ultimate prize: $250,000.
Paradise Parlay Qualifications
Eligibility is reserved for those who have:
Cashed in seven or more live bracelet events during the 2025 WSOP in Las Vegas,
Cashed in the WSOP Main Event, or
Won a WSOP bracelet this year, including those from WSOP Europe or WSOP Online.
Phil Hellmuth 2024 Bubble
Last year in Paradise, the most-decorated player in WSOP history, Phil Hellmuth, was eliminated on the stone bubble of the $25,000 Super Main Event.
Will we see fireworks again at Atlantis this year? Don't miss a moment of the action, as the PokerNews live reporting team will be inside the ropes for full coverage of the largest guarantee in poker history.
