Event #54: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Day 1 | 2025 World Series of Poker

06-18-2025 14:54 UTC-7

Ladenburg Gets Counterfeited to Bust

Tim Baker

Level 4 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

Erik Ladenburg was short-stacked and committed the last of his 5,000 chips before the flop, with William Meeks making the call to try to bust him.

Erik Ladenburg: Q♣9♣3♠2♦ All in
William Meeks: K♣K♦6♣2♠

Meeks was ahead with his two kings, but a lot could change with five cards to come. The 9♥4♦A♦ flop gave Ladenburg a pair of nines. Ladenburg improved to two pair on the Q♦ turn, but the A♥ appeared on the river to counterfeit that two pair. Meeks' pocket kings won the pot, and Ladenburg was out.

Player	Chips	Progress
William Meeks	90,000 14,000	14,000
Joshua Thatcher	83,100 58,100	58,100
Christoph Milbradt	27,000
James Casement	26,000
Justus Marsico	25,000
Alexander Pulaski	18,600 6,400	6,400
Daniel Grassi	5,000
Erik Ladenburg	Busted

Tags: Erik Ladenburg William Meeks

06-18-2025 14:52 UTC-7

Peter de Jong

61,200 14,700

Table 262Seat 2

06-18-2025 14:43 UTC-7

Broadway for Morris

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Jacob Wilson

Level 4 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

Action was picked up on a board reading Q♦7♦A♥8♥ with 45,000 in the middle. Ryan Conrad ripped his stack of 15,000 into the middle, and Arthur Morris snapped him off, saying, "I'm on a flush."

Ryan Conrad: A♦Q♠9♦6♦ All in
Arthur Morris: K♠J♥10♠6♥

Conrad was in the lead with top two, the nut diamond draw, and an open-ender. Morris, however, had plenty of outs, with any non-board pairing card above an eight giving him the nut straight. He also had hearts working for him. The K♣ river did indeed improve him to the nuts, and he sent Conrad home.

Player	Chips	Progress
Arthur Morris	84,000 84,000	84,000
Travis Kubota	40,200 40,200	40,200
Ryan Coon	35,000 35,000	35,000
Ruben Correia	32,000 7,000	7,000
Weldon Hyman	27,300 27,300	27,300
Dennis Durante	21,000 21,000	21,000
Ryan Conrad	Busted

Tags: Arthur Morris Ryan Conrad

06-18-2025 14:37 UTC-7

A Little About Newman, One of the Big Stacks

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Tim Baker

Level 4 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Newman	130,000

Tags: Michael Newman

06-18-2025 14:32 UTC-7

PLO Big Stacks

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Jacob Wilson

Level 4 : 200/400, 400 ante

Current top 20 stacks according to the WSOP+ app.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Newman	130,000
Iwan Jones	109,400
Samuel Del Castillo	99,500
David Prociak	95,500

Dominico Smith	90,000
Jason Dewitt	90,000

Garrett Anaya	87,300
Shiva Dudani	85,000
Kyle Rosnes	81,500
Robert Emmerson	80,000
Aristoteles Neto	79,000
Velupilai Kalahmohan	77,000
William Meeks	76,000
Michel Leibgorin	75,000
Bin Duan	75,000
Michael Monroig	74,000
Joseph Ranciato	71,000
Tom Thomas	70,000
Rolands Norietis	69,700
Brady Hinnegan	69,000

Level: 4

Blinds: 200/400

Ante: 400

06-18-2025 14:07 UTC-7

Peter de Jong

46,500

Table 262Seat 2

06-18-2025 14:00 UTC-7

Break Time

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Jacob Wilson

Level 3 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante

The players head off to their first break of the day, which will last 20 minutes. Play resumes at 2:20 p.m. local time

06-18-2025 13:53 UTC-7

Zektser Going For Second of the Series

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Jacob Wilson

Level 3 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante

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 #15: $1,500 Mixed: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (95th, $3,381)
Event #21: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (63rd, $4,391)
Event #24: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot (46th, $6,784)
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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Igor Zektser	33,000

Tags: Igor Zekster

06-18-2025 13:51 UTC-7

Vega Doubles to Stay in the Tournament

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Tim Baker

Level 3 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante

Arriving at the table to see Alfredo Vega was all-in before the flop against Felipe Campins.

Alfredo Vega: A♥Q♦10♦6♦ All in
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.

Player	Chips	Progress
Felipe Campins	26,000 26,000	26,000
Alfredo Vega	25,000

Tags: Alfredo Vega Felipe Campins