Michael Newman, originally from New York and now a longtime South Florida grinder, has come close to WSOP success on more than one occasion. In 2017, he finished 10th in the $10,000 Tag Team Championship alongside teammate and his former coach, Paul Snead, narrowly missing out on the final table after losing aces to kings in a brutal one-outer. He followed that up with another deep run in the 2021 $1,000 Tag Team event, where he and partner Robert Ormont ended up placing fourth.
Now in his mid-50s, Newman has 36 first-place finishes according to TheHendonMob and boasts over $2,400,000 in live tournament earnings. He remains a familiar face in the WSOP fields and is still in the hunt for that elusive bracelet.
Igor Zektser, as of recent, has become an Omaha aficionado, having cashed in a whopping 21 Omaha events, since making the switch from Hold'em to PLO back in 2021. Of these 21, five have been at this year's series already, despite only having just passed the halfway mark.
Zektser plays any variation: this year alone, he made the money in:
Event #44: $10,000 Big O Championship (36th $21,052)
To cap off an already extremely impressive series, Zektser went one step further and won his first-ever WSOP bracelet in Event #27: $1,500 Big O, taking home a whopping $297,285, along with a win he'd been chasing since his first WSOP cash back in 2013.
Back in the original PLO streets, he'll be searching to double his bracelet tally for the year, and his career, along with a sixth cash of the summer.
Arriving at the table to see Alfredo Vega was all-in before the flop against Felipe Campins.
Alfredo Vega: A♥Q♦10♦6♦
Felipe Campins: K♥Q♠J♦9♠
Vega was slightly ahead, but on the Q♥10♠2♠ flop, Campins picked up straight and flush draws. The 4♦ turn didn't change anything, and neither did the 2♣ river. Vega took down the pot with two pair, and Campins was back to the starting stack.
James Chen of the United States has been spotted at Table #235 and is currently on his second bullet of the tournament. Chen is a master in the two, four, and five-card streets, having won $209,350 and his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8-Handed during the 2024 series.
Chen plays buy-ins ranging from $500 all the way up to the $25,000 and is feared by many at his table. With a fresh starting stack to play with, Chen will be someone no one wants at their table.
Sitting on #Table 301 is the United States' Dylan Wilkerson, who during his career has amassed over $4,000,000 in live tournament earnings. So far during the 2025 WSOP, he has cashed five times.
Event#16: $600 Pot Limit Omaha - Deepstack - 8-Handed - 84th for $2,017
Event#19: $500 No Limit Hold'em - Colossus - 156th for $4,520
Event#31: $800 No Limit Hold'em - Deepstack - 8-Handed - 71st for $5,041
Event#36: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better 8-Handed - 25th for $24,515
Event#44: $10,000 Pot Limit Big O Championship - 11th for $44,825
Wilkerson is still looking for his first bracelet and has the skills to win one, but with a huge field expected in this event, will he be able to win it here?
In 2024, Barny Boatman made history by winning a major European poker tournament in Paris at the age of 68, becoming the oldest champion in the tour’s history and banking nearly $1.4 million.
A founding member of The Hendon Mob, Boatman has been around the poker scene for over two decades, with two WSOP bracelets to his name. He earned his first in 2013, taking down a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event for $546,080, and added a second in 2015 at the WSOP Europe in Germany, winning a €550 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament for $62,467.
Boatman is currently seated at Table #279 with close to a starting stack and will be one to keep an eye on as the day unfolds.
Welcome back to PokerNews, the official media partner of the 2025 World Series of Poker and home of live updates from all bracelet events.
Today sees the start of Event #54: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha here at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Day 1 of the three-day event will kick off at noon local time. Starting stacks will be 25,000, and levels will last 40 minutes. Day 1 will consist of 17 levels, with 20-minute breaks every three levels and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 9, at about 6:40 p.m.
Late registration remains open until the start of Level 10, following the dinner break, at about 7:40 p.m. Players are allowed a maximum of two reentries.
Action will pick back up for Day 2 on Thursday, June 19, at noon and will play ten 60-minute levels with 15-minute breaks every two levels and a 60-minute dinner break after Level 23.
Last year's event saw PLO coach and specialist Dylan Weisman win his second bracelet and $294,311 as he topped a record-setting field of 1,469 entrants.
Winners of previous editions include Josh Arieh, whose 2021 victory helped him secure the Player of the Year distinction.
Year
Entries
Winner
Country
Payout
2024
1,469
Dylan Weisman
United States
$294,311
2023
1,355
Sean Troha
United States
$298,192
2022
1,438
Phil Hui
United States
$311,782
2021
821
Josh Arieh
United States
$204,766
2019
1,216
Ismael Bojang
Austria
$298,507
2018
799
Ryan Bambrick
United States
$217,123
Planning on playing this event? PokerNews activates MyStack for every WSOP event, regardless of that tournament's buy-in, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting.
MyStack is a free poker tool that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
From railbirds to backers, MyPlayers is the smarter way to stay connected to the game.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for updates on this and all bracelet events at the 2025 WSOP!
