POKER’S HOT SEASON
Bracelets, big bets and a shot at paradise
By Sean Chaffin
Summer is big for card players with the World Series of Poker underway along with several other tournament series going on around town. Here’s a look at some of that action as well as some other items from the world of poker.
Big Names Rise to Top at WSOP
Just past the halfway point in the World Series of Poker, England’s Benny Glaser has taken the spotlight as the action plays out at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. The English poker pro had cashed in with three bracelets. That brings his career
total of eight on the all-time list just behind Johnny Moss with nine and Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel and Johnny Chan, each of whom have 10. Sitting just behind Glaser are several players with seven bracelets including Billy Baxter, Brian Rast, Daniel Negeanu, John Hennigan, Nick Schulman, Men Nguyen, Scott Seiver and Brain Rast.
Glaser’s first bracelet came in a $1,500 Dealer’s Choice event for $150,246, and he followed that up just days later in the $1,500 Mixed Omaha for $258,193. The third win came in the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball for $208,552. There were plenty of events left in Las Vegas to possibly add more to his total.
“It feels outrageous, honestly” he said after the third win. “Three in one series. That’s so many in one series and it’s not even over yet. It’s unreal.”
Glaser has five bracelet wins since 2021, after grabbing two in 2016 and his first in 2015. The 36-year-old has been a force on the poker scene over the last few years and may battle players like Phil Ivey (11) and Phil Hellmuth (17) at some point for the most bracelet wins in history.
Some other big names have made some noise at this year’s series as well. In the $10,000 No Limit 2–7 Lowball Draw Championship, Nick Schulman came out on top for his seventh bracelet for $497,356. Schulman is a poker pro who is also a regular commentator on PokerGO. Longtime high roller and PokerStars ambassador Jason Koon also found the winner’s circle in the $50,000 High Roller for $2 million. He came out at a final table that included several big names including Andrew Lichtenberger (runner-up for$1.3 million), Ben Tollerene, Brock Wilson and Viktor Blom.
“I’ve dedicated my entire life to being very good at this game,” he said after the win. “Every person in here is trying to win. It’s not like these guys have been around for 2 or 3 years. You’re talking to guys who have multiple decades of resumes and somehow we’re still here and we’re playing the biggest game and winning. It’s amazing.”
John Racener added his third bracelet in the $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty for $247,595 after winning another last year. The poker pro from Florida finished runner-up of the $10,000 Main Event in 2010 for $5.5 million.
WSOP is also offering 30 online events this summer and two-time World Poker Tour champion and former WPT player of the year Jonathan Little. The founder of PokerCoaching.com finished in the top spot in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $90,663. Little has had many close calls in the series and now has his first piece of hardware. Spanish poker pro Adiran Mateos continues to find success after a huge 2024 that saw him win the Card Player player of the year title. He took down an online event as well for $253,080 for his fifth bracelet.
David “ODB” Baker added to his trophy collection as well, scoring his fourth bracelet in the $5,000 Seniors High Roller for $646,845. After the latest win, the player from New Haven, CT, reflected on his bracelet wins and their importance to him.
“All my bracelets have their own thing,” he said. “The first one, I beat an old friend of mine and it was ‘get the monkey off your back.’ The second one came right after I won the LAPC [L.A. Poker Classic], so it was kind of cool because it was the only summer I did side bets on bracelets and stuff. And I grew up playing Limit Hold’em, so that one felt special too.
“The third one was in the $1,500 Razz and that one really felt special because a few years earlier, I had been heads up and I had a 30-to-1 chip lead and I ended up losing and then I came back in the same event. All three of those were about the bracelet, but this one, it’s still about the bracelet because I love the World Series, but it’s also about the money. I mean, $650,000 is a lot of money.”
WSOP Circuit Schedule Announced
Players looking for even more action are in luck as the second half of the 2025 WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) schedule was released in June. The remaining schedule runs July through December, marking a transition to a calendar-year format for the series. The WSOP also announced that a new “ticket to paradise” would replace the annual tournament of champions.
In 2026, the schedule will run from January through December. The U.S. schedule includes stops in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Atlantic City, California, New Orleans, Lake Tahoe and numerous other locations. As part of the changes, the annual tournament of champions is being phased out. Instead, every WSOPC ring winner from July 1 through Dec. 2 will now receive a $5,000 “Ticket To Paradise” package that includes a $2,500 buy-in and complimentary accommodations in the Bahamas as part of the WSOP Paradise. Here’s a look at the events on tap for the rest of the year.
Dates / Location
Aug. 7-18 Harrah’s Cherokee (Cherokee, NC)
Aug. 14-25 Harrah’s Atlantic City (Atlantic City, NJ)
Aug. 14-25 Graton Resort and Casino (Rohnert Park, CA)
Aug. 21-Sept. 1 Caesars New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
Sept. 4-15 Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Council Bluffs, IA)
Sept. 10-21 Horseshoe Hammond (Hammond, IN)
Sept. 18-29 Caesars Southern Indiana (Elizabeth, IN)
Sept. 25-Oct. 6 Thunder Valley Casino (Lincoln, CA)
Oct. 2-13 Horseshoe Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)
Oct. 9-20 Harrah’s Pompano Beach (Pompano Beach, FL)
Oct. 23-Nov. 3 Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe (Lake Tahoe, NV)
Oct. 29-Nov. 9 Choctaw Casino Resort (Durant, OK)
Nov. 6-17 Grand Victoria Casino (Chicago, IL)
Nov. 6-24 Commerce Casino (Los Angeles, CA)
Nov. 21-Dec. 3 Horseshoe Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)
Nov. 27-Dec. 8 Harrah’s Cherokee (Cherokee, NC)
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and senior writer for Casino Player and Strictly Slots magazines. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions or email him at seanchaffin@sbcglobal.net for story assignments.
