button in SafariPhilip Wess Steals the Show on Day 2 of the $1,500 Dealers Choice with Ten Remaining
Stud Games: 15,000 Ante, 20,000 Bring-In, 50,000 Completion, 50,000-100,000 Limits
Pot-Limit & No-Limit: 25,000/35,000 Ante, 10,000-25,000 Blinds
It was moving day here at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas for the second day of action in Event #20: $1,500 Dealers Choice. A total of 656 hopefuls came out for the event, up from the 597 entries tallied in 2025. Among those, just 132 returned for Day 2 today, all of whom were chasing their piece of the $870,840 prize pool.
The final 99 players would be in the money and guaranteed a minimum cash of $3,009. The money was reached in the second level of the day after two simultaneous eliminations meant that no hand-for-hand was needed.
Once the dust settled at the end of the night, just ten players remain in contention for the first-place prize of $161,057.
Leading the way after today's action is Philip Wess. "Commanding" doesn't begin to describe his lead over the rest of the field. He finished the night with 5,370,000, good for one-third of the chips in play. Wess is from the Boston area and has just four recorded live tournament cashes, with the most recent coming in 2017. His stack rode a rollercoaster all day but finished strong to put himself in pole position.
Dario Sammartino sits on 2,030,000, good for second place, and Robert Klein rounds out the podium in third with 1,915,000.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Wess | United States | 5,370,000 |
| 2 | Dario Sammartino | Italy | 2,030,000 |
| 3 | Robert Klein | United States | 1,915,000 |
| 4 | Luteng Li | Canada | 1,650,000 |
| 5 | Nathan Gamble | United States | 1,350,000 |
| 6 | Clayton Mozdzen | Canada | 1,180,000 |
| 7 | John Bunch | United States | 1,155,000 |
| 8 | Jeff Madsen | United States | 750,000 |
| 9 | Kelvin Zhao | United States | 510,000 |
| 10 | Daniel Geyser | United States | 480,000 |
A strong crew will advance to Day 3, with bracelet winners Nathan Gamble (1,350,000) and Jeff Madsen (750,000) making it through, along with mixed game regulars Clayton Mozdzen (1,180,000) and John Bunch (1,155,000).
The Dealers Choice events always bring out the brightest minds in the poker world to compete in 21 different poker formats. Some notables who cashed the event but did not advance to Day 3 include Philip Sternheimer (96th - $3,009), Eli Elezra (88th - $3,009), Nick Guagenti (86th - $3,009), Chino Rheem (79th - $3,009), Maxx Coleman (69th - $3,009), defending champion Benny Glaser (58th - $3,159), Christopher Vitch (55th - $3,159), Josh Arieh (54th - $3,159), James Obst (29th - $5,460), David "ODB" Baker (25th - $5,460), and Allan Le (12th - $8,198).
The final ten players will return at 1 p.m. tomorrow in Paris Gold section to resume play. The action gets back underway in Level 26 with big bet blinds of 15,000/30,000 and limits of 60,000/120,000 and an average stack of 1,640,000. Play will continue in 60-minute levels until we have a champion.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $161,057 |
| 2 | $107,341 |
| 3 | $72,042 |
| 4 | $49,383 |
| 5 | $34,588 |
| 6 | $24,766 |
| 7 | $18,137 |
| 8 | $13,592 |
| 9 | $13,592 |
| 10 | $10,430 |
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we deliver updates from the floor as we play down to a winner in Event #20: $1,500 Dealers Choice here at the 2026 World Series of Poker.