Landon Tice'ssummer crossbook with Jeremy Becker may not yet be underway, but the "child of the sim" is already heating up. On Wednesday, Tice took down a 2024 Wynn Millions Poker Series$400 buy-in event for $32,025 and his first Wynn trophy.
The victory for Tice, who topped a 512-player field after coming into Day 2 with 20 big blinds, shows that he means business in his upcoming high-stakes bet with Becker, which was set up by Daniel Negreanu and stipulates that both players crossbook 25 mutually played events between May 28 and July 1.
Tice took a bit of a shot at Becker in his winner's photo, giving a yawn while holding up Becker's trademark three-five offsuit.
Martin Zamani raised to 10,000 from under the gun and Artem Kobylynskyi called from the button before the big blind joined in.
The flop was 3♠Q♦3♦ and the big blind checked before Zamani continued for 15,000. Kobylynskyi called and the big blind got out of the way for a A♣ turn.
Zamani thought for a moment and slid out 51,500 — enough to force a quick fold and take the pot. Zamani is a big mover on Day 2 and has no eclipsed the 700K mark.
Kristen Foxen is nursing a short stack. She started the orbit with 62,000.
Big Blind: A player in the cutoff raised to 8,000 and Foxen called. The flop was 4♥4♣8♥ and Foxen check-folded to a continuation bet of 10,000.
Small Blind: Foxen folded to a raise.
Button: Foxen folded to a raise.
Cutoff: Foxen shoved 53,000. The rest of the table got out of the way and she took the small pot.
Late Position: Folded to a bet of 9,000 from Adam Hendrix.
Early Position: Folded to a raise.
Under-the-Gun: Folded to a raise.
Big Blind: Adam Hendrix raised to 8,000 from the button and a player in the small blind called before Foxen came along from the big blind. All three players checked the flop of 7♣5♥2♥ and the turn was 6♠. The small blind checked and Foxen bet 9,000. Hendrix called and the small blind raised to 35,000. Foxen and Hendrix gave it up.
Foxen ended the orbit with 42,000, good for just over ten big blinds.
Poker players can often be sources of wisdom and insight, and PokerNews has been fortunate enough to speak with a few players in the Wynn Millions Championship field in the past.
Here are quotes from five players who played Day 1b of the Wynn Millions Championship.
Andrew Moreno
Andrew Moreno
Three years after winning the first-ever Wynn Millions for $1.5 million, Andrew Moreno was back at the Wynn and in the Day 1b field.
When he won the inaugural Wynn Millions event in 2021, he toldPokerNews he was “grateful above all else" after accomplishing a goal he set earlier in the year to move over $1 million in career earnings.
“I think just declaring what I wanted to do was really important to me because I believed in myself and I wanted to hold myself accountable … I’m just so shocked it happened so quickly.”
Moreno called the Wynn Millions "probably the best event I’ve ever played as far as the structure and the room."
“The floors listen to the players a lot, and there was always an open-ended conversation. Everything about the tournament was pristine.”
Adam Hendrix
Adam Hendrix
Another player who was in the Day 1b field was Adam Hendrix, Alaska's all-time money leader with over $6 million in earnings.
When he appeared on the PokerNews Podcast last spring, Hendrix discussed his poker upbringing and his dominant year in 2022, as well as specializing in Pot-Limit Omaha.
"I think the skill gap in PLO is still pretty big. There (are) a lot of people that don't bother studying at all, compared to no-limit, now everybody sort of studies in some way. But PLO is still sort of the Wild West."
Jared Griener
Another state's all-time money leader, Jared Griener, was in the Day 1b field and is back on Day 1c. PokerNewscaught up with the Utah all-time money leader last year at the WPT Gardens Poker Championship, where he talked about the poker scene in southern California.
“It has its ups and downs; there’s a lot of people with some attitude, but I kind of enjoy that. And there’s no doubt that I’ve had way more success in LA and it’s just because I play here so much that I know all the players. And once you play someone over and over again, I feel like that’s kind of my strongest (skill) is just adjusting based on who you are and what I know about you.”
Shannon Shorr
Shannon Shorr
Shannon Shorr recently had his name scrubbed from the "Best Without a Bracelet" list, and now the veteran grinder is looking for his first Wynn trophy after a deep run the other night in the $2,200 NLH 6-Max event.
PokerNewsspoke with Shorr back in 2022 about a PGT US Poker Open victory that brought him $213,900.
"That was super cool. I live in Vegas, so it's nice to just be able to commute and go play poker. Playing against the highest (level) and the toughest competition is super fascinating and a lot of fun. It's like a small player pool, a lot of us guys who have been around 15 years, so there's an innate respect that we all have for each other. So it's a vibe playing, and to get there and win is just a super cool experience."
Ari Engel
Just weeks ago, all-time Circuit ring leader Ari Engelwon a record-extending ring. Now, Engel is looking for a Wynn trophy to add to his suitcase.
Engel is also a two-time bracelet winner, and spoke with PokerNews back in October 2021 after winning his second bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.
“In these kinds of situations, it’s a balance between wanting to put pressure on other players who presumably want to move up, and then at the same time kind of protecting your own chip lead. You’ve got to strike the right balance depending on how the other players are playing and how the stacks work out.”
As Level 13 winded down, Calais Campbell raised to 8,000 from middle position and the big blind called to see 6♠J♦J♠ on the flop. The big blind check-raised Campbell's bet of 8,000 to 23,000. Campbell shook his head and gave up the pot with a toss of his cards into the muck.
Nearby, Chris Moorman raised to 8,000 and then folded to a shove from another player at the table.
Elsewhere, action was heads up with over 50,000 in the middle and J♦Q♦10♦4♥ on the board when Ben Yu bet 15,000 from the cutoff. His opponent tanked for a moment before he gave up the pot.
