World Series of Poker

13 Stories

Bankrolled Poker Player: 'I Did Lie About Having Colon Cancer'

GoFundMe shuts down Rob Mercer, who now says he might have another kind of cancer

(Newser) - An amateur staked to a spot in the World Series of Poker Main Event by sympathetic donors after saying he was suffering from a terminal illness has admitted to making up the sob story. That was wrong, said Rob Mercer of Vallejo, California. "I did lie about having colon...

Jeopardy! Champ Taking a New Gamble
Jeopardy! Champ
Taking a New Gamble

Jeopardy! Champ Taking a New Gamble

James Holzhauer will make his debut in the World Series of Poker

(Newser) - After a formidable run in trivia, James Holzhauer is getting back to his roots. The Jeopardy! phenom oft-described as a professional gambler is hitting Las Vegas and doing a little, well, gambling, vis a vis the World Series of Poker. As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports, Holzhauer is set to...

Poker Player Is Now $8.8M Richer
Poker Player Is
Now $8.8M Richer 

Poker Player Is Now $8.8M Richer

John Cynn of Indiana wins the big game at World Series of Poker

(Newser) - John Cynn of Indiana is the 2018 World Series of Poker champion, winning the series' marquee no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event Sunday in Las Vegas. The 33-year-old Cynn eliminated Tony Miles on the 442nd hand of the final table, reports the AP , after playing almost 200 hands just...

New Poker World Champ Is a Rookie, 'Pretty Tired of Poker'

Scott Blumstein is $8.1M richer after winning grueling World Series of Poker

(Newser) - A New Jersey man with an accounting degree is this year's World Series of Poker champion. Scott Blumstein won the series' marquee no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event early Sunday in Las Vegas surrounded by dozens of relatives and college friends. He is now more than $8.1...

Pro Poker Player Calls Out Opponent for Bullying

'You're just an abusive person, man'

(Newser) - What happens when you push a Canadian professional poker player too far? Apparently you get a stern talking-to. For the Win reports Canadian player Griffin Benger squared off with English player William Kassouf in this year's World Series of Poker. According to Fox Sports , Kassouf is a "very...

World Series of Poker Player Leaves $7K in Uber

And driver comes through for him

(Newser) - A World Series of Poker player says he hit an "emotional jackpot" thanks to an Uber driver who returned his $7,000 ante. Jacob Brundage, of Lakeland, Fla., told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he lost a tote filled with cash and playing chips June 1. The 39-year-old says...

Guy Enters Pro Poker Event by Mistake, Wins $81K

Panicked newbie Christian Pham managed to outplay the pros

(Newser) - It's one thing to outlast hundreds or thousands of poker players to win one of the World Series of Poker's 68 events and the Las Vegas tournament's coveted gold bracelet. It's another thing entirely to win a game you've never played before. Christian Pham of...

Poker Legend Amarillo Slim Dead at 83
 Poker Legend 
 Amarillo Slim 
 Dead at 83 

obituary

Poker Legend Amarillo Slim Dead at 83

Texan was game's first superstar

(Newser) - Amarillo Slim, a poker Hall of Famer who was instrumental in bringing the game into the national limelight, died Sunday at 83 of colon cancer, his son tells the Los Angeles Times . Slim, born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr., "brought poker out of the back alleys," says a historian...

Online Poker Creates Real-Life Teen Champs

Players can participate in thousands of hands a day

(Newser) - The last winner of the World Series of Poker, 22-year-old Joe Cada, had been legally able to play poker in a casino for less than a year. Yet by the time he blew away the competition at the WSOP, Cada had played millions of hands—by his reckoning, 2,000...

Poker Crowns New Champ, 21
 Poker Crowns New Champ, 21 
VEGAS' WORLD SERIES

Poker Crowns New Champ, 21

Joe Cada beats Darvin Moon with pocket nines in Las Vegas

(Newser) - Earlier this year, Joe Cada couldn’t legally gamble in Las Vegas—but early this morning, the 21-year-old was crowned the youngest-ever winner of the World Series of Poker in Sin City. “It’s a dream come true,” Cada, who won $8.5 million, tells the Sun . Pocket...

Logger Earns World Series of Poker Final

Darvin Moon will take on 21-year-old Joe Cada

(Newser) - A logger and a community college dropout have outlasted 6,492 other competitors and will go head-to-head in Monday's final of the World Series of Poker. Joe Cada, 21, flirted with elimination in the round that ended today in Las Vegas but holds 136 million chips and a substantial lead...

Phelps' Gal Pal Meets Mom
 Phelps' Gal Pal Meets Mom 

Phelps' Gal Pal Meets Mom

Girlfriend spends Thanksgiving with fam

(Newser) - Olympic champion Michael Phelps brought his latest prize home: his girlfriend spent Thanksgiving with the family in Baltimore, People reports. The pair met in Vegas, where Phelps is practicing for the World Series of Poker and his gal pal works as a cocktail waitress. The Olympic sensation says the card...

Psychologist Wins Poker WS
Psychologist Wins Poker WS

Psychologist Wins Poker WS

Laotian-American defeats Vietnamese-Canadian, wins $8M

(Newser) - A psychologist from California with less than two years of poker experience won the World Series of Poker, thanks to a combination of canny, aggressive play and timely hands. Jerry Yang entered the last hand with $107 million, a WSOP record, and personally eliminated seven of his final eight rivals...

13 Stories