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Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha
Day 1a Completed
2025 World Series of Poker
Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha
Day: 1a
Event Info
2025 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1a
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$3,064,720
Total Entries
5,284
Level
40
Blinds
800,000 / 1,600,000
Ante
1,600,000
Entries
2,171
Players Left
325
Players Left 1 / 5,284
Filter
Day 1a of Event #86: $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha attracted 2,171 players to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, but only 325 of those starters bagged chips after the completion of 12 levels. A whole host of stars decided to enter this event deep into the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) schedule, including some of the game's heavy hitters.
Washington State's Casey Wassell (1,135,000) was one of only two players to bag up a seven-figure stack. Igor Zektser (1,087,000), who recently won the $1,500 Big O event, was the other.
Thailand's all-time leader in the money listings, Punnat Punsri (760,000), finished in the top ten of the overnight chip counts. Punsri has more than $25 million in live poker tournament earnings. The 25K Fantasy Draft pick has six cashes this summer, including third-place finishes in both the $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold'em and the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha events.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casey Wassell | United States | 1,135,000 | 227 |
| 2 | Igor Zektser | United States | 1,087,000 | 217 |
| 3 | Nelson Chelini | United States | 917,000 | 183 |
| 4 | James Cheung | United Kingdom | 831,000 | 166 |
| 5 | Shen Liang | United States | 813,000 | 163 |
| 6 | Jack Moore | United Kingdom | 791,000 | 158 |
| 7 | Mykyta Pohorielov | United States | 774,000 | 155 |
| 8 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 760,000 | 152 |
| 9 | George Medrano | United States | 729,000 | 146 |
| 10 | Luis Vargas | Mexico | 713,000 | 143 |
Several high-profile grinders punched their Day 2 tickets and will be looking to add to the collection of bracelets. Michael Moncek (655,000), Brandon Shack-Harris (648,000), Craig Varnell (630,000), Jason Daly (612,000), Mark Radoja (547,000), Richard Alsup (533,000), Sascha Wilhelm (520,000), and Thomas Skaggs (520,000) all finished with a top 40 stack.
Lower down the counts, but by no means out of contention, are such luminaries as Xixiang Luo (401,000), Ryan Hughes (375,000), David Funkhouser (535,000), Yuval Bronshtein (320,000), Shawn Buchanan (262,000), Jason Somerville (234,000), five-time bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi (230,000), Andrew Kelsall (205,000), Patrick Leonard (181,000), and Adam Owen (47,000).
Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 10 a.m. local time on July 9, with those entrants also playing 12 levels. Day 2 combines the survivors of both starting flights and begins at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday, July 10.
PokerNews traditional coverage of this event gets underway on Day 2, so stay tuned!
According to the WSOP+ App, these are the chip counts of the 325 surviving players from Day 1a.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,135,000
1,135,000
|
1,135,000 |
|
||
|
1,087,000
1,087,000
|
1,087,000 |
|
||
|
917,000
917,000
|
917,000 |
|
831,000
831,000
|
831,000 |
|
813,000
813,000
|
813,000 |
|
791,000
791,000
|
791,000 |
|
774,000
774,000
|
774,000 |
|
760,000
760,000
|
760,000 |
|
||
|
|
729,000
729,000
|
729,000 |
|
713,000
713,000
|
713,000 |
|
710,000
710,000
|
710,000 |
|
698,000
698,000
|
698,000 |
|
684,000
684,000
|
684,000 |
|
683,000
683,000
|
683,000 |
|
674,000
674,000
|
674,000 |
|
655,000
655,000
|
655,000 |
|
||
|
648,000
648,000
|
648,000 |
|
|
||
|
641,000
641,000
|
641,000 |
|
|
640,000
640,000
|
640,000 |
|
|
633,000
633,000
|
633,000 |
|
630,000
630,000
|
630,000 |
|
|
||
|
629,000
629,000
|
629,000 |
|
|
627,000
627,000
|
627,000 |
|
612,000
612,000
|
612,000 |
|
|
||
|
608,000
608,000
|
608,000 |
In poker, like in life, they say records are meant to be broken.
But sometimes, someone sets a milestone that just feels impossible to top. Whether it’s because of insane skill, perfect timing, a bit of luck, or a mix of all three, the World Series of Poker has seen some feats over the years that seem like they’ll never be matched.
However, while all records may eventually fall, these achievements are currently some of the most jaw-dropping in WSOP history. Will any of them ever be broken? Only time will tell. For now, though, here are the most incredible WSOP records that will (probably) never be broken.
For two decades, Tom Goldstein was at the top of the legal world. He argued more cases before the United States Supreme Court than almost any private attorney and founded SCOTUSblog, a legal blog that quickly became the go-to source for Supreme Court analysis. He lectured at Stanford University and Harvard University and regularly appeared on national news programs.
But Goldstein had another life. When he wasn’t arguing before Supreme Court justices, Goldstein was flying to Hollywood or Hong Kong and winning or losing millions in ultra-high-stakes poker matches. He played heads-up against California businessmen and foreign gamblers, at one point allegedly winning over $50 million in just a few sessions.
Goldstein’s luck turned in January 2025 when the US Department of Justice a federal grand jury initiated a 22-count indictment accusing the attorney of failing to report millions in poker winnings and diverting law firm funds to pay his personal poker debts.
In a new PokerNews video essay, we take a look at the life of Tom Goldstein and the high-stakes poker game that led to his federal indictment.
Day 1a is now on the dinner break with action set to resume at about 8:10. The field is now at 2,091 entries with 527 remaining and prizes of more than $1.2 million.
PokerNews' Brad Whitehouse captured a hand on Saturday that might end up being the rarest we'll see all summer at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP). At the very least, the rarest chop pot.
Gus Hansen and Dzmitry Urbanovich battled for a hefty pot on Day 2 in Event #23: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship with 35 out of 127 players remaining. The pot ended in a chop, but it left future Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman in awe.
"I've never seen that before," Schulman, who has seen nearly everything at the poker table, was overheard saying as he glanced at the tabled cards. "Wow, that's an amazing one."
It wouldn't be Day 3 of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event if Nicholas Rigby didn't have a big stack.
The Pittsburgh poker player had over 140 big blinds at the first break on Tuesday afternoon. He's no stranger to spinning up a stack in the $10,000 buy-in World Championship event, and he's doing it the same way he's done it in the past — playing any two cards aggressively.
“I probably played better than the last three I won. Everything went my way this tournament. I was always at the top of the leaderboard, never really got short, and probably played my best overall.”
That's what Michael Mizrachi had to say after he cruised to victory in Event #66: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Already sharing the record for most $50,000 Poker Players Championship victories with Brian Rast, Mizrachi now stands alone after capturing his historic fourth title on Saturday at the 2025 World Series of Poker. "The Grinder" conquered the 107-entry field, earning $1,331,322 from the $5,162,750 prize pool and further cementing his legacy as the event's most dominant force.
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