This week’s poker news centers around the 2018 World Series of Poker, which has now made its way into the Main Event. One familiar face returned to the Main Event but has already been bounced. That’s where we’ll start our weekly recap of the poker news:
Phil Ivey Returns, Eliminated From 2018 World Series of Poker
It’s been a while since Phil Ivey, the poker Hall of Famer and 10-time bracelet winner, has been a regular on the World Series of Poker. After having his hands full in court over baccarat winnings over the past five years, we haven’t seen a lot from Ivey on the main poker circuit. While he did make his return to the WSOP Main Event this weekend, unfortunately for him, it was not long lasting. His run at the 2018 Main Event was cut short by Brian Altman, who ushered out.
Looking at his past performances, Ivey’s best finish at the main event was seventh when he earned $1.4 million.
Jeremy Perrin Wins First World Series of Poker Gold Bracelet
The first win is always a memorable one. For Jeremy Perrin, this weekend will be one he’ll remember for a long time.
Perrin has won the $365 ‘Giant’ No-limit Hold’em Event at the 2018 WSOP. A field of 8,920 entrants was whittled down to just a table of nine over the course of the weekend and Perrin survived them all. As a result, he’ll take home $250,000. Luis Vazquez finished in second place and collected $154,512 and Svetlozar Nestorov finished third and won $117,531.
With such a large field, the prize pool rounded out to $2,676,000. The 38-year-old also earned 528 Card Player of the Year points, which will bring him onto the stat sheet for the first time. This was his first POY qualified score, so he still has a lot of climbing to do.
Rio Player Wins $1.4 Million In Pai Gow Poker
As the World Series of Poker continues at the Rio Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, a different player garnered headlines for a big win at a different poker table.
On Monday, Caesars Entertainment announced that one lucky player collected a $1.42 million payday playing Pai Gow poker at the Rio casino. Of course, playing Pai Gow is usually a game of many ties but this player happened to bet and hit the progressive jackpot. The jackpot itself was so massive because it is a combined jackpot from across nine of the Caesars Entertainment-owned casinos in Las Vegas.
Don’t feel too bad for the casino. Across the state of Nevada, there are 92 casinos that offer Pai Gow with a combined 250 tables overall. Those tables raked in $98.2 million in revenue over the prior 12 months, so while the payday seems large, it’s a tiny sliver of what the casino won.
While the casino didn’t release the identity of the gambler, it goes to show that the World Series of Poker isn’t the only way to win big on the poker tables in Las Vegas.