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Limits: 300,000-600,000
The first mixed game event of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas began on Wednesday, May 28. Some 910 entrants came out to play over the course of the initial registration period, creating a prize pool of $1,208,025 that was divided up among 137 players.
Only 16 players came into the final day with a chance to grab that bracelet, the first open event title to be awarded this year, and after nine and a half hours, a winner was crowned in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
Tournament players from Florida know and have known David Shmuel for many years on the felt. With 19 recorded first places on Hendon Mob in various different game types, Shmuel has made his presence known at the casinos up and down the Sunshine State. Now adding a 20th title to his ever-growing trophy collection, joining the ranks of WSOP bracelet winners by defeating Joe Ford and collecting a career-high cash of $205,333.
“Omaha Hi-Lo is my favorite game,” the new champion said, surrounded by a supportive rail of friends and family. “It’s the game I actually started playing back in 1994. It’s a more relaxing game than hold’em and more fun to play. Two cards can get a little boring. Don’t get me wrong, hold’em is a great game, but I think mixed games are more fun.”
“I don’t have any immediate plans with the money,” Shmuel said when asked about his new score of over $200,000. I just want to have some fun with the wife and travel. That’s the main thing.”
After bagging the biggest stack on Day 1 and the second-biggest stack on Day 2, Shmuel sat with eyes on him for the majority of the tournament. None of that bothered Shmuel, who had set some goals prior to focus on.
“I was very focused and I had it in my mind that I was going to go deep, because last year in the PLO8 I finished in 17th. I said this year I was going to get deeper, and I focused more. I never was all in during the tournament, made the right decisions, and got lucky.”
Surrounding him as he won the bracelet was a large group of family and friends that included his wife.
“It’s important to have a group of friends around you. You talk about them with situations, you support them, they support you, and that’s the idea of playing poker. It’s to have people around you, trying to enjoy it with them.”
“I told my wife I don’t have a plan, I go day by day,” Shmuel said in reference to his summer plans. “I finish this one, I go on to the next one, and I don’t have a spreadsheet.”
With that, the new WSOP bracelet winner collected his new piece of jewelry and exited the tournament area.
Day 3 Action
It did not take long for the eliminations to begin as just minutes into the day, the near simultaneous eliminations of Jon Kyte (16th-$7,897) and Dennis Morrison (15th-$9,688) occurred on separate tables. After that, it was WSOP bracelet winner Matt Grapenthien (14th-$9,688) who was unable to spin up his short stack and fell short in his quest for a second bracelet. Austin Marks (13th-$9,688) and Martin Matranca (12th-$9,688) became the next eliminated players and the last ones to collect under five figures for their finish.
Eric Polirer (11th-$12,112) could not spin up his stack and found himself going to the payout cage earlier than hoped. After that it would be another situation of near simultaneous eliminations as WSOP bracelet winner Christopher Vitch (10th-$12,112) and Kevin Pier (9th-$15,423) both fell on separate tables. With that, the final table was set and Vitch’s elimination ensured that a new player would join the ranks of WSOP bracelet winners.
Final Table Action
It only took a few minutes for the first elimination to take place as Joseph Bertrand started the final table with just over one small blind to begin. He moved his final chips in and would flop a low draw in a multiway pot with Ilia Krupin and start-of-day chipleader Melvin McCraney. The board did not fall favorably for him, and Krupin began his ascent up the leaderboard with his flopped flush while Bertrand took home $20,001 for his eighth-place finish.
From one player’s ascent to another’s descent, McCraney’s start-of-day reign as chip leader faced quite a bit of turbulence at the final table. After several pots going the ways of Ford, Shmuel, and Krupin, respectively, McCraney found himself all in on the button in a three-way pot with Ford and Patrick Stacey. His pair of jacks did not hold up against Ford’s hand as he flopped three sevens, and McCraney collected $26,403 for his seventh-place finish.
By his own admission, Stacey had a swingy day, and that continued at the final table. After winning a few pots early, Stacey’s chips went into the stacks of Ford and Krupin as the day progressed. His final hand came when he got his last chips in against Krupin, pairing his five to make sixes-up on the flop to improve, but being counterfeited by the turn, which gave Krupin aces-up with a king. No help was brought to Stacey and he finished in sixth place, collecting $35,471.
Krupin’s ascent was halted by Shmuel in several big pots that Shmuel scooped, and Krupin was the next one out in fifth place. His final hand came when he got all of his chips in when he rivered a flush, only for Gregory Wood to river the nut flush. Wood got a boost to his stack while Krupin collected $48,480 for his efforts.
Wood collected his payout of $67,392 shortly after, despite the boost he got from eliminating Krupin. He and Ford saw a flop where Wood flopped top two pair and Ford flopped top set. They bet until Wood had his entire stack in the middle, and he failed to catch up on the following streets against Ford, finishing in fourth place.
At this point, Shmuel had padded a healthy lead against the field with Ford in second and Darren Taylor in a distant third place. A few scoops going the other way left him on fumes, and Taylor’s third-place finish came as a result of his flopped low draw and straight draw being counterfeited by Shmuel’s wheel. Shmuel took the lead into the heads-up match while Taylor collected $95,253 for his efforts.
This was the second time that Ford made the final table of this particular event, having finished in fourth place 12 years ago. He finished higher this time around, but was unable to overcome the chip deficit against Shmuel. As the match went on, Ford found himself forced all in for his last blind, and Shmuel found ace-ace-king-king to go against him. Despite Ford pairing one of his cards on the flop, aces-up proved fruitful for Shmuel as he raked in the pot. Shmuel claimed his first WSOP bracelet while Ford finished the tournament in second place for $136,855.
That concludes coverage of the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo at the 2025 WSOP. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the exciting coverage during the summer here in Las Vegas!
