John Hennigan was one of four players to win a WSOP bracelet on Wednesday. (WSOP photo)

In what has to go down as one of the crazier days of the 2019 World Series of Poker, four players won bracelets including a Poker Hall of Famer, a New Jersey online poker beast, and two players for whom the bracelet was a long time coming. Meanwhile, Daniel Negreanu got as close to winning his seventh career bracelet as he could possibly get without actually winning it.

Joseph Cheong Wins First Bracelet in $1K Double Stack

Coming into the final table of the $1,000 Double Stack No Limit Hold’em event, Joseph Cheong’s WSOP resume included three runner-up finishes and one rather infamous third place finish, but no wins. That all changed on Wednesday night though.

Cheong rode a massive chip stack throughout the final table into the final heads-up confrontation with David Ivers and wasted little time in erasing that ‘0’ next to his bracelet count. The win came with a $687,782 payday, Cheong’s second largest WSOP score behind only his third place finish in the 2010 WSOP Main Event.

Ivers walked away with $424,791 s the runner-up.

“I’ve played poker so long, it was just another day at work,” Cheong said afterwards.

This lines with what Cheong said in May 2018, when he said “I’ve never been interested in trophy collecting other than for the fact that first place pays the most money. Also…why a bracelet? Who wants a bracelet? Something cooler might make me want one. I have no interest in any trophy or trinket.”

Final Table Payouts

  1. Joseph Cheong – $687,782
  2. David Ivers – $424,791
  3. Zinan Xu – $314,876
  4. Andrea Buonocore – $235,099
  5. Arianna Son – $176,820
  6. Ido Ashkenazi – $133,970
  7. David Guay – $102,258
  8. Ivan Deyra – $78,638
  9. Brock Wilson – $60,930
  10. David Dibernardi – $47,568

Michael Blake Leads Super Seniors Final 10

Seniors Week in Las Vegas is about to come to an end. On Wednesday, 120 players who managed to make Day 2 of the Super Seniors event were widdled down to just 10. Michael Blake, from Gallup, New Mexico, ended with the chip lead.

Kanajett Hathaitham is the player closest to Blake after finishing with 9,235,000. Rick Austin sits third with 6,475,000.

CardPlayer Magazine co-owner Barry Shulman sits sixth with 3,665,000.

Action resumes at 11 AM PT on Thursday and will play down to a winner.

Final 10 Chip Counts

  1. Michael Blake – 12,300,000
  2. Kanajett Hathaitham – 9,235,000
  3. Rick Austin – 6,475,000
  4. Jeffrey Miller – 5,525,000
  5. Cary Marshall – 5,500,000
  6. Barry Shulman – 3,665,000
  7. Miles Harris – 3,265,000
  8. Bruce Treitman – 3,254,000
  9. William Davis – 2,755,000
  10. Timothy Joseph – 2,535,000

Ismael Bojang Wins $1,500 PLO for Bracelet #1

Ismael Bojang was starting to enter some dangerous territory. After the money bubble burst on Day 2 of the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event, Bojang became the first player to pick up 10 cashes at the 2019 WSOP. It almost moved him into sixth place on the all-time cashes list for players without a bracelet.

He’s not on that list at all anymore though. Bojang outlasted 1,215 other players to win the $1,500 PLO event, $298,507 and his first gold bracelet on Wednesday night, putting an end to a streak of 71 cashes without a win.

“Everybody keeps asking me when I am going to win my first bracelet, I guess I can dodge those questions now,” Bojang said.

Bojang beat James Little heads-up for the title. Little has emerged from relative obscurity in the poker world to pick up eight cashes this summer. The $184,424 runner-up prize is the second largest of his career behind only his win in the World Poker Tour Fallsview Classic in February.

Former WPT Player of the Year, Ben Zamani finished third for $131,335.

Final Table Payouts

  1. Ismael Bojang – $298,507
  2. James Little – $184,424
  3. Benjamin Zamani – $131,335
  4. Johannes Tobbe – $94,669
  5. Denis Bagdasarov – $69,082
  6. Mihai Niste – $51,041
  7. Richard Tuhrim – $38,189
  8. Glen Cressman – $28,940
  9. Matthew Mueller – $22,215

Hennigan Denies Negreanu in $10K Seven Card Stud

The final table of the $10,000 Seven Card Stud event was one for the history books. For the first time in WSOP history, two Poker Hall of Fame members battled heads-up for a bracelet. John Hennigan, who was enshrined last summer, defeated Daniel Negreanu heads up to win the sixth bracelet of his career, four of which are Championship events.

“It was a very tough duel, especially for me,” Hennigan. “(Negreanu) played so well, and I played so poorly, he really did not get what he deserved. He made every right decision and I made every wrong decision, and it was just bad luck for him at the end.”

Along with the bracelet, Hennigan took home $245,451 for the win. Negreanu walked away with $151,700 and the ninth runner-up finish of his WSOP career.

David ‘ODB’ Baker finished third for $104,416. Russia’s Mikhael Semin, the only player the at the final table without a bracelet earned $73,810 for finishing fourth. It’s his second $10,000 Championship event final table of the summer. He previously finished sixth in the $10,000 HORSE.

Final Table Payouts

  1. John Hennigan – $245,451
  2. Daniel Negreanu – $151,700
  3. David ‘ODB’ Baker – $104,416
  4. Mikhail Semin – $73,810
  5. David Singer – $53,621
  6. Chris Tryba – $40,066
  7. Frank Kassela – $30,817
  8. Frankie O’Dell – $24,419

Adam Lamphere Leads $600 NLHE/PLO Deepstack Final Table

Just seven players stand between Adam Lamphere and a WSOP victory in the $600 No Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack event after the Lansing, MI native worked his way into the final table chip lead after outlasting 187 other players on Wednesday.

Lamphere bagged up 17,200,000 which puts him ahead of second place Dan Matsuzuki’s 14,000,000. Raghav Bansal ended the day with the third biggest stack at 9,300,000.

Rainer Kempe made his first WSOP final table since 2017, ending the day with 8,000,000 and the fourth biggest stack.

Among the 187 casualties on Day 2 were former #1-ranked PocketFivers Calvin Anderson, Tim West, and Ari Engel. Jesse Silvia, Tony Miles, Matthew Wantman, Jamie Gold, and Jake Schwartz also busted on Wednesday.

The final table begins at Noon PT.

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Adam Lamphere – 17,200,000
  2. Dan Matsuzuki – 14,000,000
  3. Raghav Bansal – 9,300,000
  4. Rainer Kempe – 8,000,000
  5. Aristeidis Moschonas – 7,325,000
  6. Ashish Ahuja – 6,975,000
  7. Stephen Ma – 6,325,000 Amazon
  8. Daniel Moravec – 2,950,000

Ryan Hughes Leads $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Final Table

In the three-year history of the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet event, nobody has outperformed Ryan Hughes, but he doesn’t have a bracelet to show for it. Yet.

Hughes, who finished second in this event in 2018 and seventh in 2017, finished Day 2 with the chip lead with just seven players remaining. Hughes is the only player to cash in this event all three years.

Right behind Hughes is Arthur Morris. Phillip Hui, with seven cashes coming into this event, sits third. Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton and three-time bracelet winner Loren Klein are also at the final table.

Jared Bleznick, David Benyamine, Jeff Lisandro, Max Kruse, Chris Ferguson, Layne Flack, Alex Foxen, Dan Smith, John Monnette and Joao Vieira were amongst the players who busted on Wednesday with an in-the-money finish.

The final table begins at 2 PM PT.

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Ryan Hughes – 1,212,000
  2. Arthur Morris – 728,000
  3. Phillip Hui – 425,000
  4. Joseph Couden – 405,000
  5. Jonathan Depa – 223,000
  6. Mike Sexton – 182,000
  7. Loren Klein – 95,000

Ignacio Molina Leads $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Bounty After Day 1

Day 1 of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Bounty event drew 1,807 players, but 10 levels of play left just 272 standing. Leading the field is Ignacio Molina of Andorra with 624,500.

Kevin Naegelen sits second with 576,500 and Baitai Li is third with 506,000.

Phil Ivey headlines the list of notables to make it to Day 2. The 10-time bracelet winner bagged up 59,500. He’s joined by Nacho Barbero, Martijn Gerrits, Loni Harwood, Steven van Zadelhoff, Justin Young, and Barry Greenstein.

Day resumes at Noon PT.

Top 10 Chip Counts

  1. Ignacio Molina – 624,500
  2. Kevin Naegelen – 576,500
  3. Baitai Li – 506,000
  4. Benjamin Chalot – 505,000
  5. Walter Fisher – 499,500
  6. David Thomas – 475,500
  7. Tom Hall – 470,000
  8. Shahar Levi – 460,000
  9. Matthew Volosevich – 455,500
  10. Harrison Gimbel – 454,500

Keith Lehr Leads $25K PLO High Roller After Day 1

The biggest buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event on the calendar got underway Wednesday, with 222 players entering the $25,000 PLO High Roller. Keith Lehr edged out Pennsylvania poker pro Paul Volpe for the Day 1 chip lead as 128 advanced to Day 2.

Lehr finished with 692,000, while Volpe ended up with 682,000. Firas Sadou sits third with 625,000. Shaun Deeb continues his quest for the WSOP Player of the Year title and finished with the ninth biggest stack.

Alex Epstein, Ben Tollerene, Justin Bonomo, John Racener, Ben Lamb, and Anthony Zinno were among the notables moving on to Day 2.

Phil Galfond, Mike Gorodinsky, Michael Mizrachi, Dan Zack, Chance Kornuth, and Chris Hunichen were among the players who busted at least one bullet on Day 1. Players are allowed one re-entry.

With registration open until the end of the second level of play on Day 2, the field should surpass the 230 from 2018. Action resumes at 2 PM PT.

Top 10 Chip Counts

  1. Keith Lehr – 692,000
  2. Paul Volpe – 682,000
  3. Firas Sadou – 625,000
  4. Dario Sammartino – 595,500
  5. Ludovic Geilich – 590,000
  6. Alexey Makarov – 584,500
  7. Niko Soininen – 574,500
  8. John Riordan – 537,000
  9. Shaun Deeb – 518,500
  10. Ka Lau – 492,500

Daniel ‘centrfieldr’ Lupo Wins $500 Online NLHE Turbo Deepstack

Stand up New Jersey. For the second time this summer, a New Jersey online poker pro has picked up some shiny gold hardware. Daniel ‘centrfieldr’ Lupo, the #3-ranked player in the Garden State, beat out 1,180 other players to win the $500 Online No Limit Hold’em Turbo Deepstack for the first bracelet of his career.

His win comes just 2.5 weeks after Yong Kwon won the $400 Online bracelet event.

Final Table Payouts

  1. Dan ‘centrefieldr’ Lupo – $145,273.90
  2. David ‘DTC13’ Clarke – $89,692.92
  3. ‘johnsonck’ – $63,771.03
  4. ‘JSTRIZZA’ – $45,959.67
  5. ‘staeks’ – $33,475.82
  6. ‘MisterKK’ – $24,729.16
  7. ‘jnutz’ – $18,526.99
  8. ‘TonyStarsGFK’ – $13.994.64
  9. ‘HITRII999’ – $10,734.52