Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 | 2024 World Series of Poker

06-21-2024 12:09 UTC-8

Arends, Spencer, Tollerene and Hunichen Take Their Seats

Calum Grant

Level 2 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Casino	Table	Seat	Player
Paris Purple	112	1	Jans Arends
Paris Purple	112	2	Masashi Oya
Paris Purple	112	3	Barak Wisbrod
Paris Purple	112	4	Orpen Kisacikoglu
Paris Purple	112	5	Chris Brewer
Paris Purple	112	6	Nick Petrangelo
Paris Purple	112	7
Paris Purple	112	8	Alex Kulev

Paris Purple	113	1	Adrian Mateos
Paris Purple	113	2	Justin Bonomo
Paris Purple	113	3	Jason Koon
Paris Purple	113	4	Isaac Haxton
Paris Purple	113	5	Christoph Vogelsang
Paris Purple	113	6	Dan Smith
Paris Purple	113	7	Ben Tollerene
Paris Purple	113	8	Aleksejs Ponakovs

Paris Purple	117	1	Ben Heath
Paris Purple	117	2	Artur Martirosian
Paris Purple	117	3	[Removed:554]
Paris Purple	117	4
Paris Purple	117	5	Jonathan Jaffe
Paris Purple	117	6	Chris Hunichen
Paris Purple	117	7	Viktor Blom
Paris Purple	117	8	Henrik Hecklen

Paris Purple	118	1	Seth Davies
Paris Purple	118	2	Aram Oganyan
Paris Purple	118	3	Alex Foxen
Paris Purple	118	4
Paris Purple	118	5
Paris Purple	118	6	Mikita Badziakouski
Paris Purple	118	7	Talal Shakerchi
Paris Purple	118	8	Lewis Spencer

Player	Chips	Progress
Jans Arends	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Lewis Spencer	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Chris Hunichen	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Ben Tollerene	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Level: 2

Blinds: 3,000/6,000

Ante: 6,000

06-21-2024 12:03 UTC-8

Smith Gets Value from Koon

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Ollie Garland

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Dan Smith raised to 12,000 from middle position and Jason Koon defended in the big blind.

The 6♦K♥5♦ flop saw Koon check-call a bet of 10,000 from Smith.

The 2♦ turn saw a repeat of the action, this time Smith bet out 38,000.

Koon played in flow on the 2♥ river. Smith fired once more, this time for 165,000 and Koon eventually made the call. Smith tabled K♦8♦ for a flush, winning him this pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dan Smith	2,340,000 800,000	800,000

Jason Koon	1,330,000 80,000	80,000

Tags: Dan Smith Jason Koon

06-21-2024 12:00 UTC-8

Oganyan Takes from Kulev

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Connor Richards

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Alex Kulev opened to 13,000 in the cutoff and Aram Oganyan three-bet to 43,000 on the button. Kulev called.

Kulev checked on the flop of Q♣Q♠3♠ and Oganyan checked back. Kulev checked again on the 10♥ turn and folded as Oganyan bet 74,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Aram Oganyan	1,400,000 100,000	100,000

Alex Kulev	1,400,000 90,000	90,000

Tags: Alex Kulev Aram Oganyan

06-21-2024 11:59 UTC-8

Hecklen Folds Out Three; Two New Players

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Calum Grant

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Last year's runner-up Artur Martirosian, took Seat 2 on Table 117, between Ben Heath and [Removed:554], where the latter opened from under the gun to 12,000.

Seth Davies, Henrik Hecklen and Ben Heath called from the cutoff and the blinds.

The A♥8♥10♠ flop checked through to the 3♣ turn. Hecklen led out for 31,000, folding out Heath and [Removed:555]. Davies opted to stick around.

Hecklen sized up to 85,000 on the 8♣ river and Davies promptly returned his cards to the dealer.

As the hand ended, Mikita Badziakouski joined the table, taking Talal Shakerchi's seat. The Englishman was moved to Table 117, where he finds himself in the middle of Dan Smith and Aleksejs Ponakovs.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ben Heath	1,600,000 50,000	50,000

Artur Martirosian	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Mikita Badziakouski	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Seth Davies	1,450,000 50,000	50,000

Henrik Hecklen	1,375,000 275,000	275,000
[Removed:554]	1,370,000 130,000	130,000

Tags: Aleksejs Ponakovs Artur Martirosian Ben Heath Dan Smith Henrik Hecklen Mikita Badziakouski Seth Davies

06-21-2024 11:50 UTC-8

Life Outside Poker: UFC's Bruce Buffer Dishes on Poker Games w/ Leonardo DiCaprio

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Connor Richards

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.

In the eighth episode, Connor speaks with legendary UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer in an exclusive in-depth interview after Buffer's deep run in the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $50,000 High Roller. Buffer, a longtime poker player, finished in eighth place for a career-best $212,423 after kicking off Day 3 with his trademark "it's time" introduction.

Buffer talked about finding his long-lost half-brother, Michael Buffer, and becoming his manager, the early days of the UFC, the similarities between poker and martial arts, his relationships with Joe Rogan and Dana White, playing poker with Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio and the time he injured himself in a poker tournament before announcing the biggest UFC fight in history.

The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Bruce Buffer by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.

Learn More About Life Outside Poker!

Tags: Connor Richards Bruce Buffer

06-21-2024 11:45 UTC-8

Brewer's Tilt Starts to Show

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Ollie Garland

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Nick Petrangelo raised to 12,000 from under the gun, Masashi Oya called in the cutoff and Chris Brewer three-bet to 120,000 from the big blind. Petrangelo folded and Oya chose to back-raise, making it 270,000 to go. Brewer called.

The 7♥4♥J♠ flop saw Brewer check-call a sizable bet of 300,000 from Oya.

The 2♦ turn checked through to the A♣ on the river. Both players took their time to check to a showdown. Brewer tabled Q♦Q♠, while Oya won this pot as he showed A♥Q♥, having rivered a pair of aces.

Brewer, clearly frustrated by the outcome of the river, flipped his cards over to send them into the muck but did so with such force that one of his hole cards was sent right off the felt and onto the floor.

Brewer quickly apologized for his actions, remarking "I don't think I've ever beaten you in a hand, Oya."

Player	Chips	Progress
Masashi Oya	2,050,000 750,000	750,000

Chris Brewer	960,000 540,000	540,000

Tags: Chris Brewer Masashi Oya Nick Petrangelo

06-21-2024 11:44 UTC-8

A Few New Faces

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Calum Grant

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Casino	Table	Seat	Player
Paris Purple	112	1	Aram Oganyan
Paris Purple	112	2	Masashi Oya
Paris Purple	112	3	Barak Wisbrod
Paris Purple	112	4	Orpen Kisacikoglu
Paris Purple	112	5	Chris Brewer
Paris Purple	112	6	Nick Petrangelo
Paris Purple	112	7	Alex Foxen
Paris Purple	112	8	Alex Kulev

Paris Purple	113	1	Adrian Mateos
Paris Purple	113	2	Justin Bonomo
Paris Purple	113	3	Jason Koon
Paris Purple	113	4	Isaac Haxton
Paris Purple	113	5	Christoph Vogelsang
Paris Purple	113	6	Dan Smith
Paris Purple	113	7
Paris Purple	113	8	Aleksejs Ponakovs

Paris Purple	117	1	Ben Heath
Paris Purple	117	2
Paris Purple	117	3	[Removed:554]
Paris Purple	117	4	Talal Shakerchi
Paris Purple	117	5	Jonathan Jaffe
Paris Purple	117	6	Seth Davies
Paris Purple	117	7	Viktor Blom
Paris Purple	117	8	Henrik Hecklen

Player	Chips	Progress
Aram Oganyan	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Barak Wisbrod	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Chris Brewer	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Christoph Vogelsang	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000
Aleksejs Ponakovs	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

[Removed:554]	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

06-21-2024 11:41 UTC-8

Jaffe Folds Out Hecklen

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Connor Richards

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Jonathan Jaffe opened to 13,000 in the hijack and Henrik Hecklen three-bet to 45,000 on the button. Jaffee called.

Jaffee checked on the flop of 8♠Q♥10♠ and Hecklen checked back. Jaffee then led out for 90,000 on the 6♥ turn and Hecklen laid it down.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jonathan Jaffe	1,300,000 200,000	200,000
Henrik Hecklen	1,100,000 50,000	50,000

Tags: Henrik Hecklen Jonathan Jaffee

06-21-2024 11:37 UTC-8

Smith Folds Out Mateos; Shakerchi Gets Paid

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Calum Grant

Level 1 : Blinds 3,000/5,000, 5,000 ante

Adrian Mateos opened to 12,000 from under the gun and was called by Dan Smith and Alex Kulev from the hijack and big blind.

Mateos continued for 12,000 on the A♣7♠9♥ flop and Smith was the only caller. Mateos then check-folded to a bet of 55,000 on the 10♠ turn.

As the hand played out, Alex Foxen joined the table, sitting between Nick Petrangelo and Kulev.

On the other table in the room, Isaac Haxton and Talal Shakerchi were battling heads-up.

With the K♣Q♣4♣J♦ board on show and around 120,000 in the pot, Haxton checked from the hijack before Shakerchi fired out 71,000. Haxton thought for a few moments and called.

The A♥ completed the board and Haxton checked again. Shakerchi sized up to 215,000, and Haxton quickly called.

Shakerchi tabled A♣5♣ for the flopped nut flush to take in the pot. As Shakerchi chipped up, Justin Bonomo took his seat.

Player	Chips	Progress
Talal Shakerchi	2,000,000 550,000	550,000
Dan Smith	1,540,000 60,000	60,000

Alex Foxen	1,500,000 1,500,000	1,500,000

Alex Kulev	1,490,000 20,000	20,000

Adrian Mateos	1,400,000 300,000	300,000

Isaac Haxton	1,300,000 100,000	100,000

Tags: Adrian Mateos Alex Foxen Alex Kulev Dan Smith Isaac Haxton Justin Bonomo Nick Petrangelo Talal Shakerchi