Life Outside Poker is a 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 31st episode, Connor talks with poker content creator Frank "Frankie C" Cucchiara about growing up in the hometown of Wild Bill Hickok, getting into poker in college, Next Gen Poker, building one of the most successful YouTube channels in poker, his 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event run, how new WSOP rules will impact vloggers, and playing this year's $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.
Frankie C also talked about being married to poker pro Kitty Kuo, being a dad, his new All-In Brownie, challenging Daniel Negreanu to a $10,000 heads-up poker match and stepping into the ring with UFC champion Sean "Suga" O'Malley.
Jordan Dorigny raised from middle position to 80,000 and found a call from Joel Blaeser in the cutoff. Casey Sandretto then three-bet to 300,000 on the button. Dorigny folded, and Blaeser called.
The flop came 4♦9♦10♦ and Blaeser checked to Sandretto, who continued for 600,000, which put Blaeser all-in. Blaeser thought for a while and folded his cards, giving the pot to Sandretto with no showdown.
Two action-packed starting flights have wrapped up at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, as Day 1a and Day 1b of Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack concluded in thrilling fashion. The fields will merge today, Tuesday, July 8, at 1:00 p.m., when 595 survivors return to battle for a share of the eye-popping $3,556,728 prize pool and the brilliant gold bracelet. The official payout structure is still pending confirmation from the WSOP.
This year’s turnout shattered expectations, with 7,057 total entries across the two starting days, comfortably surpassing last year’s count of 6,628.
Steven Stanton will return as the chip leader going into Day 2, holding a commanding stack of 3,185,000. Hot on his heels is Justin Bassett with 2,785,000, while Roei Simantov rounds out the top three with a healthy 2,340,000 in chips.
Several WSOP bracelet winners remain in contention, including Main Event champions Joe Cada (530,000), Hossein Ensan (320,000), and Jamie Gold (155,000), each looking to add another title to their résumés.
Numerous 25K Fantasy Draft picks are still in the hunt, such as Owais Ahmed (850,000), David “ODB” Baker (400,000), Alex Livingston (385,000), and Quan Zhou, who will need a miracle comeback with just 30,000 chips, and of course Cada, who is mentioned above.
Alex Livingston
Baker’s fantasy picks (ODB) are faring well, with Jacob Baumgartner (775,000), Maria Konnikova (665,000), Sandy Sanchez (640,000), Ian Steinman (610,000), and Spencer Champlin(495,000), all advancing to Day 2 with solid stacks.
GGPoker poker author and coach Michael Acevedo (1,160,000) is also in strong position heading into the next stage of play.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Steven Stanton
United States
3,185,000
80
2
Justin Bassett
United States
2,785,000
70
3
Roei Simantov
Israel
2,340,000
59
4
Phillip Pope
United States
2,210,000
55
5
Venkatara Ganne
United States
2,190,000
55
6
Daniel Vandyke
United States
2,010,000
50
7
Tom Hall
United Kingdom
1,985,000
50
8
Luis Vazquez
Puerto Rico
1,925,000
48
9
Robert Laird
United States
1,870,000
47
10
William Zaiss
United States
1,800,000
45
Day 2 will begin today at 1:00 p.m. local time and will consist of 17 levels or down to five players, whichever comes first. Each level will be 40 minutes long, with a 15-minute break occurring after every three levels. A 60-minute dinner break will be given after level 31 at approximately 7:30 p.m. Blinds will start in level 23 at 20,000/40,000/40,000.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates on Event #85: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em and all other events at the 2025 WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas!
