Matthew Paoletti Denies Lonis for First Bracelet in Event #22: $500 Big 500 ($61,070)
After nearly 11 hours of battle in Event #22: $500 Big 500 as part of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online, Matthew ”peepeepoopoo” Paoletti has won his first bracelet and $61,070. The Perkasie, Pennsylvania grinder defeated Jesse ”Dangerous22” Lonis during heads-up play to deny the up-and-coming grinder his second bracelet.
Paoletti, who had $153,920 in WSOP earnings heading into the bracelet event, now adds a bracelet to his collection of WSOP hardware after winning a ring in a $365 buy-in ring event at the 2017 WSOP Circuit Harrah's Atlantic City stop for $7,968.
The $500 online bracelet event attracted 462 runners, including 280 re-buys, to generate a prize pool of $333,900. Other players who made deep runs include Spencer "KCRmoney" Tan Sahl (8th - $6,979), Bruce "Robert1951" Yamron (7th - $9,383) and bracelet winner Brett "Metanemesis" Apter (4th - $23,440).
Event #22: $500 Big 500 Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew ”peepeepoopoo” Paoletti | United States | $61,070 | |
| 2 | Jesse ”Dangerous22” Lonis | United States | $44,275 | |
| 3 | Taylor "ReadyGambo" Black | United States | $32,088 | |
| 4 | Brett "Metanemesis" Apter | United States | $23,440 | |
| 5 | Jonathan ”Art.Vandelay” Dokler | United States | $17,263 | |
| 6 | Will "JonSnow14" Clarke | United States | $12,688 | |
| 7 | Bruce "Robert1951" Yamron | United States | $9,383 | |
| 8 | Spencer "KCRmoney" Tan Sahl | United States | $6,979 | |
| 9 | Donald ”blonde2020” Himpele | United States | $5,209 |
Final Table Action
The field of 462 players dwindled throughout the day as players were eliminated, including big names like Alex "OrcinusOrca" Foxen, Ryan "Protential" Laplante and Kathy "Luckygal" Liebert.
Paoletti and Lonis entered the final table as the two chip leaders but stayed out of the way as their opponents eliminated one another.
After Will "JonSnow14" Clarke fell in sixth place when his queen-ten couldn't improve against the pocket tens of Taylor "ReadyGambo" Black, Lonis and Paoletti got into it when Lonis three-bet jammed with king-jack only to run into the aces of Paoletti, who doubled-up and left Lonis with just one big blind.
It looked like Lonis would be going out in fifth before he managed to double up twice, first through Apter and then through Paoletti to get up to a healthy stack.
Lonis built up his stack further when he open-jammed with king-eight and was called by the jack-ten of Brett "Metanemesis" Apter, making a straight on the river to send Apter out in fourth place. After that, Paoletti again picked up aces to eliminate Taylor "ReadyGambo" Black in third place after he jammed his short-stack with king-six.
Paoletti entered heads-up play against Lonis with a dominant lead, though Lonis managed to fight back build up a stack. But Lonis couldn't ever get ahead and eventually got his stack in with pocket sixes against the suited ace-ten of Paoletti, who flopped a flush to have Lonis drawing nearly dead before the inconsequential runout.
Lonis, who finished 25th in the 2021 WSOP Main Event for $241,800, won his first bracelet earlier in the online series when he took down Event #8: $1,000 NLH 6-Max for $73,370.
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of Event #22: $500 Big 500. Be sure to check out the 2022 WSOP Online live reporting portal for coverage of other events.