2022 Wynn Millions

$10,000 Main Event [$10,000,000 GTD]
Day: 1c
Event Info

2022 Wynn Millions

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
aa
Prize
$1,655,952
Event Info
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$10,105,000
Entries
1,075
Level Info
Level
32
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
150,000
Players Info - Day 1c
Entries
544
Players Left
172

Moreno Looking to Defend Title After Bagging Big Stack in Wynn Millions Main Event Day 1c

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Andrew Moreno
Andrew Moreno

The third and final starting flight of the 2nd annual $10,000 buy-in, $10 million GTD Wynn Millions Main Event as part of 2022 Wynn Millions at Wynn Las Vegas wrapped up late Saturday evening with defending champion Andrew Moreno looking for another title after bagging a stack of 315,000.

Day 1c of the $10,000 buy-in Main Event saw the by far the biggest starting flight field a field of 544 players. In total, the three starting flights attracted a total of 1,075 players to generate $10,105,000 in prize money, squeaking past the guarantee of $10 million.

The lion's share of the prize pool, $1,655,952, will go to the eventual champion of the remaining 315 players, who will also take home the glamorous Main Event trophy.

Moreno, who took down to 2021 Main Event for a cool $1,460,106, found a bag on Day 1c in a big way after busting late in Day 1b. He will return for Day 2ab as he looks to earn his second seventh-figure score.

Big stacks at the end of Day 1c include popular poker commentator Nick Schulman (400,000) and Ugur Secilmis (406,000), who a few months ago finished fifth in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $1,800,000, as well as Michael Liang (352,000), Chance Kornuth (286,000) and Shaun Deeb (271,000).

Nick Schulman
Nick Schulman

Other players who found a bag on Day 1c were Xuan Liu, Joe McKeehen, Matt Berkey, Jake Daniels and Eli Elezra.

Players who were in the field on Day 1c but didn't make it to bagging time include Chris Moorman, Seth Davies, Patrik Antonius, Nadya Magnus,Ari Engel and Bill Klein.

The players who survived Day 1c will return at noon local time on March 7 to battle it out on the felt in Day 2c. Before that, action will pick up on March 6 at noon with Day 2ab for a battle between players from the first two flights. Both Day 2s will consist of five 90-minute levels, a change from the ten 60-minute levels that have made up the Day 1 structure.

Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow covering the Day 2ab action.

Remember, there are still three PokerGO Tour High Rollers taking place here at the Wynn Millions, all of which count for the 2022 PGT Leaderboard. There will be $10,500 buy-in High Rollers on both March 6 & 7, as well as a $15,700 High Roller on March 8. Click here to see the current PokerGO Tour Leaderboard.

Tags: Andrew MorenoAri EngelBill KleinChris MoormanPatrik AntoniusRyan ReissSeth Davies

Loeliger Eliminated by Deeb

Level 10 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Paulina Loeliger
Paulina Loeliger

Shaun Deeb opened to 4,000 in middle position and Paulina Loeliger shoved for 9,000 in the hijack. The cutoff called and Deeb called.

The dealer spread the {j-Clubs}{6-Clubs}{5-Clubs} flop and Deeb bet 10,000, causing the cutoff to fold.

Paulina Loeliger: {x-}{x-}
Shaun Deeb: {9-Clubs}{7-Clubs}

The dealer ran out the {10-Diamonds} turn and {9-Diamonds} river, but had forgotten to flip over Loeliger's hand. Loeliger sat still for a bit of time before suddenly putting her cards into the middle of the muck and moving the pile of cards around, leaving her hole cards unknown.

Deeb added the chips to his stack and Loeliger made her exit from the tournament area.

Player Chips Progress
Shaun Deeb us
Shaun Deeb
WSOP 6X Winner
212,000 9,000
Paulina Loeliger at
Paulina Loeliger
Busted

Tags: Shaun DeebPaulina Loeliger

Moorman Ousted by Joo

Level 9 : 1,000/1,500, 1,500 ante
Chris Moorman
Chris Moorman

Chris Moorman ended up getting his stack of approximately 45,000 in preflop from the cutoff and was at risk against Hyo Joo in middle position.

Chris Moorman: {a-Clubs}{k-Diamonds}
Hyo Joo: {10-Hearts}{10-Clubs}

The two were flipping, and the {k-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}{3-Hearts} flop vaulted Moorman ahead. The {q-Hearts} turn provided a sweat, however, and the {j-Hearts} spiked the river to improve Joo to a flush and eliminate Moorman.

Player Chips Progress
Hyo Joo us
Hyo Joo
127,000
Chris Moorman gb
Chris Moorman
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
Busted

Tags: Chris MoormanHyo Joo

Schulman's Wheel Beats Josephy's Set

Level 8 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Nick Schulman
Nick Schulman

With approximately 23,000 in the pot on a completed board of {7-Clubs}{3-Diamonds}{2-Hearts}{9-Spades}{5-Diamonds}, Nick Schulman bet 13,000 in the small blind, and Cliff Josephy raised to 47,000 in middle position. Schulman quickly called.

Josephy revealed {5-Spades}{5-Hearts}, but it was no good against Schulman's {a-Spades}{4-Spades} wheel, and Schulman added the sizable pot to his stack.

Player Chips Progress
Nick Schulman us
Nick Schulman
WSOP 4X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
260,000 162,000
Cliff Josephy us
Cliff Josephy
WSOP 2X Winner
25,000 -107,000

Tags: Cliff JosephyNick Schulman

Deeb Nearly Triples As Klein Left Short

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Shaun Deeb
Shaun Deeb

Shaun Deeb was seen raising all-in from the cutoff for 48,900. The player in the small blind moved in with less and Bill Klein called from the hijack with both players covered.

Opponent: {a-Diamonds}{q-Clubs}
Shaun Deeb: {j-Clubs}{j-Spades}
Bill Klein: {a-Spades}{k-Spades}

The flop of {5-Diamonds}{3-Hearts}{2-Diamonds} kept Deeb in the lead with jacks but gave both of his opponents straight draws. The board finished out {10-Clubs}{8-Hearts} for Deeb to nearly triple his stack, while the small blind was eliminated and Klein was left with crumbs.

Player Chips Progress
Shaun Deeb us
Shaun Deeb
WSOP 6X Winner
140,000 92,000
Bill Klein
Bill Klein
9,500 -49,500

Tags: Bill KleinShaun Deeb

Ho Flops Top Set and Doubles

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Maria Ho
Maria Ho

With roughly 8,000 in the pot on a {9-Spades}{5-Spades}{4-Diamonds} flop, the small blind and big blind checked, and Maria Ho bet 2,800 in early position. The small blind called, the big blind raised to 8,000, and Ho jammed for 37,800. The small blind called and the big blind folded.

Maria Ho: {9-Clubs}{9-Hearts}
Small Blind: {7-Spades}{6-Spades}

Ho flopped top set, but she had to fade an array of cards. Perhaps it was a case of "too many outs", as the {k-Hearts} and {k-Diamonds} completed the board to improve Ho to a boat and secure her double.

Player Chips Progress
Maria Ho us
Maria Ho
92,000 92,000

Dan Smith's Hot Take: Wynn Millions Better than the WSOP Main Event

Level 7 : 500/1,000, 1,000 ante
Dan Smith playing at Wynn.
Dan Smith playing at Wynn.

Dan Smith gave what he dubs a "hot take" on Twitter when he proclaimed the $10,000 buy-in Wynn Millions Main Event, which is currently underway in Las Vegas, superior to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He briefly explained his reasoning and it isn't as crazy of an opinion as it might seem on the surface.

The 2nd Annual Wynn Millions event — PokerNews is live reporting the entire tournament — features a $10 million guaranteed prize pool. In some years, the WSOP Main Event pays $10 million or more .... to the winner. But there's more to judging the quality of a poker event than just the total prize pool, as Smith explained in a tweet.

There are a number of similarities between the Wynn Millions Main Event and the WSOP Main Event, starting with the comparable $10,000 buy-in. Many of the same players that compete in poker's world championship event also have entered the first two major Wynn events, with pros such as Daniel Negreanu and Dan Smith battling it out for big bucks against recreational players chasing life-changing money.

For more on Smith's Take Click Here!

Tags: Dan Smith

Defending Wynn Millions Champ Andrew Moreno on Why He Didn’t Chop in a Big Tournament

Level 4 : 300/500, 500 ante
Defending champ Andrew Moreno
Defending champ Andrew Moreno

The day before attempting to defend his title in the 2022 Wynn Millions, Andrew Moreno, who is in today's field, made an interesting post on social media talking about why he didn’t chip a big tournament he had won just over a week earlier.

The tournament was the Venetian Event #27: $2,500 Ultimate Stack, which attracted 542 runners and offered up a $1,233,050 prize pool. Moreno, who won the 2021 Wynn Millions for $1,460,106, went on to win the tournament for $242,293.

Moreno explained the situation in his post: “The word ‘chop’ got thrown around a few times. First, when we were 4-handed, I politely declined. Then again, when we were 3-handed. Once again, I respectfully declined. When I got heads up, the gentlemen proposed a chop and even offered to give me slightly more money despite having me out chipped 12 million to my 8 million. He was puzzled as to why I would decline a deal. I did so for two reasons.”

Moreno then explained the first reason was that he thought he had an edge, while the second was because he wanted to “seize the opportunity for invaluable final table experience.” Moreno went on to elaborate on “playing for it all” in the post, but PokerNews also took the opportunity to ask him about it during Day 1b of the 2022 Wynn Millions.

“A lot of times in lower stakes buy-ins, dailies, and those sorts of things, people want to chop. A lot of those people tend to take shots in bigger tournaments, and I just recognized a lot of the people that get to the end, I’ve played with a few of them in these bigger events, they just lack the experience because they’re always chopping. It can really cost you because the final three or four places, that’s where all the money is, so if you have no experience between you always chop these dailies, I think it can come back to hurt you a lot more later. I don’t think people really think about that when they chop because they’re so focused on securing some cash.”

Venetian Event #27: $2,500 Ultimate Stack Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Andrew MorenoLas Vegas, NV$242,293
2Brent HartInglewood, CA$166,462
3Bret WigalLas Vegas, NV$117,140
4Christina GollinsHenderson, NV$83,847
5Guillermo Sanchez OteroUnited Kingdom$63,502
6Timothy PaiSan Jose, CA$47,472
7Barry HutterHollywood, FL$35,142
8Leonardo ValenzuelaShepherd, MT$27,127
9Noam MuallemLas Vegas, NV$21,578
Andrew Moreno
Andrew Moreno wins at Venetian.

Ironically, Moreno did do a three-handed deal at last year’s Wynn Millions final table, but to be fair, he was the short stack at the time and there were literally millions on the line. As for what it was like to be back where he had his seven-figure life-changing victory just months before welcoming his first child into the world with wife Kristy Moreno (formerly PokerNews hostess Kristy Arnett)?

“It’s really surreal. It feels like a dream,” he admitted. “I started my poker career here at the Wynn. They used to have the $3 chips for the $1-$3 no-limit game like 15 or 20 years ago. It’s just kind of nice to have it come full circle all these years later.”

As for his defense strategy, Moreno added: “I just take everything hand-by-hand. Anytime my hand goes too far in the future it doesn’t serve me, so I just bring it right back to what’s happening right in front of me. As the tournament progresses there’s more noise with those sorts of things, like pay jumps or bubbles, but I really try to focus on every single hand.”

For more on Moreno, check out the post-victory interview he did with PokerNews:

Tags: Andrew Moreno

Deeb Spikes River to Double

Level 3 : 200/400, 400 ante
Shaun Deeb
Shaun Deeb

With roughly 15,000 in the pot on a {q-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}{7-Clubs} flop, Shaun Deeb bet 5,000 in early position and a middle position player called.

The {4-Diamonds} fell on the turn and Deeb jammed for 16,100. His opponent snap-called.

Shaun Deeb: {a-Clubs}{k-Spades}
Opponent: {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}

Deeb ran into top set and started to get up from his seat, but sat right back down as the {j-Hearts} spiked the river to give him Broadway and the double-up.

Player Chips Progress
Shaun Deeb us
Shaun Deeb
WSOP 6X Winner
60,000 60,000

Mark Seif Defeats Mitch Garshofsky to Win Wynn Millions $1,100 NLH Seniors $100K GTD

Level 2 : 200/300, 300 ante
Mark Seif
Mark Seif

The 2022 Wynn Millions is a series comprised of 16 events with more than $15 million in guaranteed prize money. There's a tournament for just about any type of poker player — high stakes, mid-stakes, no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, bounty events, etc. And there are two seniors events for players aged 50 and above — $400 and $1,100.

From February 28-March 1, the $1,100 NLH Seniors $100K GTD attracted 246 runners and more than doubled the guarantee by creating a $239,850 prize pool.

Among those to finish in the top 27 and cash were David Levi (24th - $2,434), Lee Markholt (23rd - $2,677), Kathy Liebert (16th - $3,279), Bob Mather (13th - $4,147), Scott Epstein (7th - $7,771), and Curt Kohlberg (4th - $17,029).

After Andrew Robbins bowed out in third place for $24,585, the title came down to Las Vegas pros Mark Seif and Mitch Garshofsky. Ultimately it was the former who came out on top to claim the trophy and $60,610 first-place prize.

Wynn Millions $1,100 NLH Seniors $100K GTD Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Mark SeifLas Vegas, NV$60,610
2Mitch GarshofskyLas Vegas, NV$37,417
3Andrew RobbinsCincinnati, OH$24,585
4Curt KohlbergBoston, MA$17,029
5Zozimo RevoredaMexico$12,544
6Scott LevyTexas$9,666
7Scott EpsteinLas Vegas, NV$7,771
8Eric SiegelMelville, NY$6,452
9Gary BainCanada$5,493