If Tuesday saw the WSOP get up and running, on Wednesday it really started to move. The first bracelet was won, many of the game’s biggest giants entered the fray, and an old friend announced they would, indeed, return to the biggest stage of all.
ICYMI Phil Hellmuth has confirmed that, contrary to the rumors (that he started), he will indeed be playing the WSOP Main Event this year. He even posted that “BetRivers might give away a Ford Mustang”. That word ‘might’ is bearing a serious load in that sentence, if you ask me, but hey: positivity, amirite? Maybe they'll actually give away two?
Hellmuth is well known for his outrageously eye-catching late Main Event entrances, and this year now promises to be a doozy with a ‘Highway to Hellmuth’ 1980s rock theme. For those about to nit it up like a rock, we salute you.
You can read more on Hellmuth’s not-completely-shocking U-turn here.
‘Mr Min-Cash’ beats ‘Mr 69’
The $500 Industry Employees event drew a little fire last year for being too lax with its entry criteria. What began life as the Dealers World Poker Championship turned into the Casino Employees event, and then the Industry Employees event, which felt like it covered almost anyone involved in poker. Some feared that a poker pro wolf in sheep’s clothing would infiltrate and decimate the tournament, but that was not the case. When the last card fell and the winner was declared, it was a dealer left holding all the chips.
Phovieng Keokham has won the first bracelet of the 2025 WSOP in Las Vegas.“I've been in the industry for over 25 years,” event winner Phovieng Keokham told PokerOrg as the dust was settling. “I’m a dealer from southern California. I play the series every year for 20+ years but this is my biggest cash. ‘Mr Min-Cash’, they call me!”
With a payday of $64,369, Keokham’s going to need a new nickname. ‘Mr WSOP bracelet winner’ is now more accurate, but not nearly so catchy.
Speaking of nicknames, it seems the WSOP+ app lets you put just about anything in there when it comes to your name, but this may be more down to an oversight than an encouragement of personal expression. Just ask Christopher Zollo, who entered the Employees event under the name ‘SuckMe69’ but was made to change it. Zollo ended up heads-up for the title and all-in with, naturally, 
, but there was no happy finish for him this time. $42,886 should help cushion the blow. So to speak.
Big prizes (and points) to be won in the $5K NLH
If it’s established pros you seek, the $5K 8-handed NLH has plenty. Day 1 brought 558 entries to the table, and ended with 205 of them left. There are bracelet winners everywhere you look, with the likes of Dylan Linde, Patrick Leonard and Jeremy Ausmus making moves towards another win and another title — not to mention getting some points on the board for their backers in the PokerOrg Fantasy Freeroll.
On the rampage: Ethan Yau is in the $5K NLH.Worth mentioning: If you’re reading this in time you can still get in on the action. Pick a team of 8 WSOP crushers and they’ll collect points for you with each cash in the series. More points gets you up the leaderboard, the winner gets a $10K seat to play something exciting. Get involved now if you’ve still got time (entry closes at noon PT, May 29). It’s free. Looky here.
Back to the $5K NLH and it was Jake Schwartz who bagged the overnight chip lead with 538K, good for 215 big blinds when action resumes. Also in the top 10 are bracelet-winners Thomas Cazayous, Shawn Daniels and Antonio Galiana, as well as someone yet to win a bracelet but surely edging closer all the time in Victoria Livschitz, CEO of Octopi Poker.
Victoria Livschitz is a strong contender to win her first WSOP bracelet this year.If you want to join them, the door is still open: registration is possible right up to the end of level 12, which should be around 2:15pm.
Elsewhere, the $1K Mystery Millions continues with more starting flights, the $1,500 O8 has gotten going and the $5K PLO kicks off later today — as does the first stud event of the series, $1,500 seven-card stud.
