Level 40
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
Hand #26: Michael Mizrachi raised to 4,100,000 on the button with A♦6♣ and Adam Hendrix called out of the big blind holding A♣6♦, as they headed to the 6♥Q♦8♥ flop. Hendrix opted to check and Mizrachi checked it back leading to the J♠ on the turn. Another quick check by Hendrix followed and Mizrachi knuckled it back.
Following the 8♦ on the river, they checked it down and chopped the pot.
Hand #27: Mizrachi picked up K♥3♥ and raised to 4,100,000 from the cutoff, and Leo Margets defended her big blind holding 8♠7♥ to the A♥Q♠5♥ flop. Margets checked, Mizrachi bet 2,200,000, and Margets quickly let it go.
Level 40
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
Michael Mizrachi
Hand #25: Braxton Dunaway raised to 4,000,000 in the cutoff with Q♦9♣ before John Wasnock three-bet to 10,000,000 on the button. Michael Mizrachi was in the small blind and pointed up to signal to the dealer he was raising. He then put in 30,000,000.
Dunaway folded, but Wasnock moved all in. Mizrachi snap-called for his stack of 71,700,000.
Michael Mizrachi: A♠K♦
John Wasnock: K♠K♣
Mizrachi had run into Wasnock's kings and needed an ace to stay alive. The entire Horseshoe Event Center got onto their feet to await the flop, which came J♠9♥7♦.
The Q♣ turn gave Mizrachi additional outs with a straight draw going to the river. With Mizrachi a card away from elimination, he found the A♦ on the river and leapt to his feet in celebration as he doubled up into the chip lead.
"Fourth time in two days," Wasnock said to Mizrachi.
"I suck out when I need it," Mizrachi replied after retaking his seat.
Level 40
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
John Wasnock
Hand #21: Michael Mizrachi raised to 4,100,000 in the hijack with A♠2♥ and Kenny Hallaert called in the big blind holding J♦5♥.
The flop came 9♥6♠2♣ and Mizrachi bet 3,000,000. Hallaert snap-folded.
Hand #22: In the first hand of the new level, Leo Margets picked up K♦10♥ and opened to 4,000,000 from the button. Kenny Hallaert then three-bet to 13,300,000 in the small blind with A♣4♥. Braxton Dunaway in the big blind let go, as did Margets, for Hallaert to claim the pot.
Hand #23: Dunaway limped the small blind with Q♥7♠ and chip leader John Wasnock checked his option holding 10♦5♠ to the 6♥4♣3♠ flop. Dunaway opted to bet 3,200,000 right away, and Wasnock responded with a raise to 8,500,000. Dunaway called.
The 2♥ followed on the turn and both players checked through to the 6♦ on the river. Dunaway grabbed into his stack and bet 14,500,000, which Wasnock snap-called to win the pot without showing his cards as Dunaway just mucked.
Hand #24: Margets made it 4,000,000 to go with K♥10♦ and Dunaway three-bet to 9,300,000 on the button after he looked down at A♠J♥. All of his opponents, including Margets, folded.
Level 39
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Braxton Dunaway
Hand #16: Leo Margets opened the action with a raise to 3,200,000 in the cutoff and Kenny Hallaert called in the very next seat. Braxton Dunaway then carefully cut out a massive three-bet to 15,800,000 from the small blind to force out Margets. Hallaert came to the same conclusion and Dunaway raked in the pot.
Hand #17: Hallaert made it 3,500,000 to go with K♥9♣ and John Wasnock got involved from the small blind with a three-bet to 8,500,000 holding A♣K♦. Michael Mizrachi forfeited his big blind and Hallaert folded, too.
Hand #18: Hallaert raised to 3,200,000 with K♠10♥ and won the blinds and big blind ante.
Hand #19: Dunaway looked down at K♥K♦ raised to 3,200,000 and Mizrachi three-bet from the button to 8,600,000 holding A♦4♦. Adam Hendrix in the big blind pondered about his move for a bit and folded, Dunaway then piled in a massive four-bet to 35,000,000, and Mizrachi reluctantly folded while flashing his ace.
Level 39
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Adam Hendrix
Hand #12: Luka Bojovic limped in from the small blind with K♣9♠ and Adam Hendrix checked his option holding 6♦2♥.
The flop came Q♥J♠6♣ and Bojovic led out for 1,800,000. Hendrix then raised to 5,600,000.
Bojovic came back with a three-bet to 10,000,000 and Hendrix responded with a four-bet to 15,500,000. Bojovic tanked for several minutes before folding, and Hendrix showed his cards as his rail erupted in celebration.
Hand #13: Leo Margets received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #14: Everyone folded for the second straight hand, and Kenny Hallaert got a walk.
Hand #15: Kenny Hallaert limped in from the small blind, Braxton Dunaway raised to 4,800,000, and Hallaert called.
Both players checked to the river on a board of K♠7♠3♦J♥6♥. Hallaert then led out for 5,700,000 and Dunaway folded.
Level 39
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Michael Mizrachi
Hand #8: First to act, John Wasnock raised to 3,200,000 with 6♣5♣ and Braxton Dunaway called in the big blind holding Q♥4♠ as they headed to the A♥7♣6♦ flop. The check by Dunaway brought a near instant bet from Wasnock for 4,400,000, and he claimed the pot right there as Dunaway folded.
Hand #9: Michael Mizrachi picked up 2♥2♦ and raised to 3,300,000 from under the gun. Luka Bojovic then three-bet to 9,300,000 from the very next seat with A♠Q♣. The action folded back to Mizrachi and he briefly glanced at the stack of his neighbour before making the call, which created a pot of 22,600,000 going to the A♦K♥4♥ flop.
Mizrachi quickly checked and Bojovic made it 4,500,000 to go, which won the pot without any further resistance as Mizrachi let his deuces go. Chants from the Austrian rail could be heard throughout the entire Horseshoe Event Center.
Hand #10: Kenny Hallaert made it 3,500,000 to go from the cutoff with K♥7♦ and found a customer in Mizrachi out of the big blind holding A♣3♣, as they headed to the 9♣8♥2♦ flop. Mizrachi checked and Hallaert bet 3,200,000, sending "The Grinder" into the tank. After fiddling with his chips for a while, Mizrachi called with his ace-high.
The turn brought an 8♦, where Mizrachi elected to lead out for 4,600,000, and Hallaert folded.
Hand #11: Hallaert raised it up in the next hand to 3,500,000 with Q♠J♠ in the hijack. He found resistance once more as Dunaway three-bet to 8,800,000 in the cutoff with 7♥3♥ and the trio of players behind all folded. Back to Hallaert, he gave it some consideration and eventually folded.
Level 39
: Blinds 800,000/1,600,000, 1,600,000 ante
Hand #2: John Wasnock raised to 3,500,000 with J♠10♠ in the small blind and Michael Mizrachi called in the big blind with 7♣5♥.
The flop came J♦9♠8♦ and Wasnock bet 5,000,000. Mizrachi folded.
Hand #3: Jarod Minghini raised to 3,200,000 in early position holding Q♥Q♣ and everyone folded.
Hand #4: John Wasnock raised to 3,200,000 in the cutoff with K♠K♥ and took the blinds and ante.
Hand #5: Michael Mizrachi raised to 3,300,000 in the cutoff holding 5♣3♣ before Adam Hendrix three-bet to 13,200,000 in the small blind with A♠K♥. Mizrachi took a minute, but eventually gave up his hand.
An aspiring poker player first picks up the game in a messy college dorm with friends, a smoke-filled card room at a local casino, or under the glare of a computer screen on the virtual felt.
In their wildest dreams, though, they are here, under the bright lights of poker’s biggest stage: the World Series of Poker Main Event final table. For the vast majority, it will always remain just a dream. But for nine fortunate players who defy the odds and make their way through a massive sea of opponents, that fantasy becomes a reality.
The final table is where lives are changed, where unknowns become overnight superstars, where poker stars become poker legends. The world championship bracelet is up for grabs, and the nine who outlasted a field of 9,735 to get here begin the journey at 2 p.m. local time for the biggest day of their poker lives.
A week ago, John Wasnock was simply an investment banker from Seattle with just over $140,000 in career earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. His biggest career score came earlier this year in a $500 event at a casino in Pendleton, Oregon.
From these humble beginnings, though, the 50-year-old has risen to the verge of stardom and begins the final table with 108,100,000 and the chip lead. The Main Event is full of underdog stories, starting with Chris Moneymaker to Steve Dannenmann and, most recently, Jordan Griff last year. Wasnock has a chance to become the latest Cinderella story today.
John Wasnock
Final Table Seat Draw and Chip Counts
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Leo Margets
Spain
53,400,000
33
2
Kenny Hallaert
Belgium
80,500,000
50
3
Braxton Dunaway
United States
91,900,000
57
4
John Wasnock
United States
108,100,000
68
5
Michael Mizrachi
United States
93,000,000
58
6
Daehyung Lee
South Korea
34,900,000
22
7
Luka Bojovic
Serbia
51,000,000
32
8
Adam Hendrix
United States
48,000,000
30
9
Jarod Minghini
United States
23,600,000
15
Wasnock was a relative unknown at the start of the event. The same can’t be said of the man right behind him on the leaderboard. Michael Mizrachi (93,000,000) has been one of the faces of the game for two decades. “The Grinder’s” poker resume includes seven WSOP bracelets, an unprecedented four PPC titles, a fifth-place finish in the Main Event in 2010, two WPT titles, and nearly $20 million in live earnings.
Mizrachi already cemented his Hall of Fame credentials a few weeks ago when he took home the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy yet again; a Main Event title, which eluded him 15 years ago, would put him in the conversation of the best ever.
Michael Mizrachi
"The Grinder" isn’t the only one at this year’s final table who has been here before. Nine years ago, Kenny Hallaert made it all the way to the final six of the Main Event before running into eventual champion Qui Nguyen’s aces. The long-time poker pro, tournament director, and PokerStars ambassador is back for another shot at what will be his sixth WSOP final table, sitting in fourth place with 80,500,000.
Sandwiched in between Mizrachi and Hallaert is Braxton Dunaway (91,900,000). The Texas oil man has already outlasted one massive WSOP field, winning the Monster Stack two years ago out of 8,317 to win more than $1.1 million. He’s made it through an even-bigger field this time and sits in third place to begin the final table.
For all of Mizrachi’s star power and Hallaert’s steady professionalism, though, the eyes of the poker world will be on one player at the final table, and for the first time in 30 years, it’s not a man. Leo Margets is the first woman to make the Main Event final table since Barbara Enright in 1995.
Women have traditionally made up only a small percentage of the Main Event field, but if there is one thing that can provide a spark for another boom just like Moneymaker did in 2003, it’s a woman winning poker’s biggest prize. The Spanish pro, podcast host, and marathon runner is in fifth place with 53,400,000.
Leo Margets
Luka Bojovic already has one WSOP Main Event run within the past year: he finished eighth at the WSOP Europe in Rozvadov last October. The Serbian-born doctor has more than $700,000 in live earnings and a WSOP Circuit ring. He starts the final table in sixth place with 51,000,000.
Adam Hendrix is no stranger to WSOP final tables. He’s made 11 of them, along with $2 million in WSOP earnings. But “the Iceman” has yet to capture a WSOP bracelet despite being one of the most steady performers in the past few years. Hendrix, who fully embraced the theatrics of the Main Event when he showed up for Day 1 dressed as Elvis, had many opponents all shook up over the last week on his way to 48,000,000 and seventh place to start the final table, seeking to make his first bracelet the biggest one of all.
Adam Hendrix
While the likes of Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, and Jerry Yang have all been Asian-born Main Event winners, they had all relocated to the United States long before becoming champion. Daehyung Lee (34,900,000) can become the first player based in the Far East to capture the bracelet. The 46-year-old software engineer from Seoul, who only began playing poker in 2021, is already the first Korean to make the Main Event final table, his run only a spark in an already-booming poker market.
Jarod Minghini (23,600,000) rounds out the final table lineup. The 37-year-old former professional snowboarder from Lake Tahoe has five WSOP Circuit rings and nearly $1 million in career earnings, but he’s already surpassed that total with his run to the final table.
The action at the final table picks up with 66:41 remaining in Level 39 with blinds of 800,000/1,600,000 and a 1,600,000 big blind ante. The cards should be in the air around 2 p.m. local time, with action being streamed on PokerGO on an hour delay. Live updates will be provided on a delay to match the stream. The plan is to play down to the final four players today, then return tomorrow to crown a champion. All nine finalists are already guaranteed a $1 million payday, while the champion will earn $10,000,000 and the diamond-encrusted bracelet.
Final Table
Final Table Payouts
Place
Prize
1
$10,000,000
2
$6,000,000
3
$4,000,000
4
$3,000,000
5
$2,400,000
6
$1,900,000
7
$1,500,000
8
$1,250,000
9
$1,000,000
This is the date that every poker fan has circled on their calendars all year. The Main Event champion will be immortalized in poker history, their banner hanging alongside the great champions of the past inside the Horseshoe Event Center forever. The final nine have already defeated more than 9,000 opponents to reach this point, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most. What started as a sea of hardened pros, grinders looking for the score that would change their lives, and homegame heroes crossing an item off their bucket list has been reduced to just these players, each with their own story to tell and history to make.
PokerNews will be following the action all the way, so stay tuned over the next two days until a new world champion is crowned.
