What’s your favorite poker scene in a movie? They can be tense, fun, or more often outrageously clichéd, but they always tend to serve the same purpose: drama.
Whether it’s a tense staredown in a smoky backroom, an elegant man in a tuxedo sliding towers of chips in a hushed VIP room, or cowboys pointing pistols at each other in a saloon, poker has a way of honing a point of conflict to a razor-sharp edge.
Day 15 at the 2024 World Series of Poker was certainly a day for drama, with highlights including huge hands, big winners and even accusations of… are we going to call it ‘cheating’? Some certainly will.
You can skip on down to our Hand of the Day for that particularly juicy nugget or read our extended take on it, but first let’s get to our favorite scenes from what was a blockbuster Day 15.
The star vehicle: Ivey, Mercier and Glaser advance in 2-7 Triple Draw
For sheer star power there was one place to go on Tuesday, and that was the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship.
The $10K Championship events carry extra pull among the elite, awarding some of the biggest prizes and the ‘Champion’ titles - all at the cost of having to negotiate your way through fields stacked with world-class talent.
Day 2 saw this field play all the way down to 13 players, led by Danny Wong (1,315,000) and featuring a rogue’s gallery of stone-cold killers straight out of central casting. Jason Mercier ended the day in second spot (1,165,000), closely followed by the defending champ Benny Glaser (1,025,000), with poker’s leading man Phil Ivey not far behind (755,000).
Phil Ivey might have to go through Allen Kessler to win the $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. Also still in the mix are WSOP bracelet-winners Justin Saliba (6th, 670,000), Renan Bruschi (9th, 575,000), Jonathan Cohen (10th, 545,000) and Steve Zolotow (12th, 400,000). Allen Kessler, meanwhile, sits in 8th with 585,000.
Will this one end with a big Hollywood number, or could we be in for a Chainsaw massacre? We’ll find out by the end of the day and you can follow all the action on PokerOrg.
The action flick: Schulman does all his own stunts in $25K High Roller win
19 players came back for Day 3 to finish this big one, led by Yingui Li. By the time the final table was set all nine players were guaranteed at least $118K, which was the prize collected by Samuel Laskowitz after Shaun Deeb’s pocket kings sent him out in ninth. A huge flip then took place which saw the two chip leaders - Nick Schulman and Noel Rodriguez - clash in a straight-up drag-race for the chip lead.
Shaun Deeb had to settle for 8th placeIt was a hand tailor-made for explosive action: Schulman’s 
vs the 
of Rodriguez. Schulman got his whole stack of over 10 million chips in the middle preflop and was at risk with his made hand, with Rodriguez barely covering him holding two overcards. The 
board changed nothing, and Schulman ended up with a stack he would use to batter the final table into submission, eliminating five players on his way to the $1,667,842 top prize.
Nick Schulman won a 'million dollar flip' on his way to the High Roller titleThe bracelet is Schulman’s fifth, but surprisingly his first in No-Limit Hold’em. “No limit has always been my favorite game, it’s my first love in poker,” Schulman told us after his win, “I did fall into playing mixed for a long time, and I returned to no limit and this is incredibly rewarding. This one feels really special.”
And how about that key hand against Rodriguez?
“It is what it is. This is the life we've chosen, we're all built for it or whatever. But when you get a flip like that - really it was probably the biggest flip I've ever had. It was for 45% percent of the chips, a million dollar flip. But, this is what we do.”
The Biblical epic: Christ is king (of Big O)
The greatest story ever told? It just might be for one household in Maryland over the next few years, as the Old Line State’s Michael Christ came to Las Vegas and took down the $1,500 Big O event for $306,884.
20 of 1,555 players made it through to Day 3, including the iconic Sammy Farha whose run ended in 11th place ($20,129). Christ got lucky in the run to the final table, rivering a higher full house against Tomoki Matsuda when all-in and at risk, which gave him the chip lead as the sharp end of the tournament approached.
Michael Christ outlasted 1,555 players to win the Big OIt was a lead he’d hold onto, eliminating five players at the final table including runner-up Matthew Beinner ($204,601), resulting in his first WSOP bracelet and over $300K in prize money. It’s the biggest result on Christ’s Hendon Mob page, because it’s the only result. Did we just witness a miracle? Holy sh*t, indeed.
“Do you like movies about gladiators?”
When the WSOP named a tournament ‘Gladiators of Poker’ they knew what they were going for: drama, of course. With a price tag of only $300 and a $3M prizepool guaranteed, this one was sure to attract plenty of warriors and generate plenty of carnage, and so it proved. In the end 20,647 entries created a prize pool of $5,079,162, of which the biggest chunk went to its winner, Stephen Winters.
Last Gladiator standing, Stephen WintersJust 14 combatants made it through to the last day of the event, and once Argentina’s Mario Lopez went out in 10th ($32,680) the stage was set for an all-American final table.
Just like Schulman in the High Roller, and Christ in the Big O, Winters also knocked out five opponents at the final table, with heads-up play against Simon Britton ($253,300) lasting just a single hand.The win brings Winters his first WSOP bracelet and the biggest score of his career with a $401,210 payday. "I guess this is for the little guys," the unassuming Winters said in his victory speech.
First acts
The first act in any movie script is key when it comes to establishing your characters and giving them an obstacle to overcome. Three such stories kicked off yesterday at the WSOP, and while the characters may differ, their objectives were all the same: make it through to Day 2.
The $600 Mixed NLH/PLO event drew a huge cast of 3,351, and those surviving to make an appearance in Act 2 include Daniel Negreanu (960,000), Alex Livingstone (655,000) and Nick Guagenti (330,000). Canada’s Stephen Scuderi carries a major chip lead into Day 2 with 2,735,000 (Tony Diehl in second has 2,030,000). 145 players will return at 11am in the hopes of playing down to a winner, who will bag $207,064.
Daniel Negreanu talks to a tablemate in the Mixed NLH/PLO eventThe $3,000 NLH Six-Handed event went from 1,230 to 61 players over 21 short 30-minute levels. Day 1 victims included Landon Tice, Ryan Riess, Sammy Farha, Brian Rast, Chris Moorman and over a thousand others. Leading the way into the second and final day’s play is Jake Ripnick (2,680,000), but there’s a long way to go - especially when you have the likes of Maria Ho (630,000), Joe McKeehen (510,000), Alex Foxen (370,000) and Faraz Jaka (325,000) giving chase. A huge $516,135 awaits the winner.
Finally, the $1,500 7-Card Stud event attracted 406 players who played 15 x 40-minute levels, throughout which the field was knocked down to 107. High Roller winner Nick Schulman was a little too busy to defend his 2023 title in this one, leaving the door open for the likes of Ren Lin (229,000), John Cernuto (176,000), Ari Engel (124,000) or indeed any of the remaining players to swoop in for the win. Burke DeLange has the chip lead with 312,000. They’ll play 10 x 60-minute levels from 1pm, and finish up on Thursday where the top prize will be $113,725.
Hand of the day
Every movie needs a hero and a villain, and where Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen fits into the script very much depends on who you ask.
We’ll need a quick rewind for this one, given it’s a story that didn’t break until a day after the hand took place.
Late on Monday, Day 2 of the $300 Gladiator, with 28 players remaining and the blinds at 500k/1M/1M, Brian Smith shoved UTG for around 4.5M chips with and got called by both Steve Foutty and Men Nguyen, who held 
and 
respectively.
Smith spiked the 
on the river to stay in contention, but soon afterwards complained that his stack was missing around 4.5M chips. Officials initially maintained that nothing untoward had happened, before revising their position and requesting Foutty and Nguyen to each give Smith 1M in chips.
Smith went on to bust soon afterwards in 26th place, but video was then shared on X by @TiltedTay which appears to show Nguyen pulling back his chips, possibly shorting the pot.
Given the event is over, it seems unlikely we’ll ever know the full story. You can read more on this story, and how various players have reacted to it, in our extended look.
Tweet of the day
Ever flopped a set, turned quads and rivered a straight flush?
Actually, we’ll revise that: Ever flopped a set, turned quads and rivered a straight flush, and not been dreaming?
Daniel Negreanu has, in one of the strangest and rarest spots we imagine he’s ever been in. God bless PLO.
Video of the day
Yesterday’s Tweet of the day saw Jared Jaffee all steamed up about poker content creators. The upshot was that, erm, they’re bad. All of them. All the time.
It looks like that tweet’s been deleted, which is just as well because it seems like Jaffee’s new motto is: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
The day in numbers
$1,667,842
Nick Schulman’s prize in the $25K High Roller, plus his first No-Limit Hold'em WSOP bracelet
20,647
Entries in the Gladiators of Poker event, down from 23,088 in last year’s incarnation but still great box-office
4M
Chips apparently shorted from the pot in Monday’s controversial hand
Results
Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Winters | $401,210 |
| 2 | Simon Britton | $253,300 |
| 3 | Quang Vu | $192,030 |
| 4 | Brendon Herrick | $146,450 |
| 5 | James Morgan | $112,350 |
| 6 | Sung Pil Kim | $86,710 |
| 7 | Steve Foutty | $67,320 |
| 8 | Jordan Johnson | $52,590 |
| 9 | Caleb Levesque | $41,337 |
Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed)
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Schulman | $1,667,842 |
| 2 | Pedro Rodriguez | $1,111,897 |
| 3 | Dean Lyall | $760,083 |
| 4 | David Stamm | $529,833 |
| 5 | Ben Heath | $376,762 |
| 6 | Roberto Perez | $273,414 |
| 7 | Yingui Li | $202,574 |
| 8 | Shaun Deeb | $153,302 |
| 9 | Samuel Laskowitz | $118,552 |
Event #27: $1,500 Big O
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Christ | $306,884 |
| 2 | Matthew Beinner | $204,601 |
| 3 | Dylan Lindsey | $146,595 |
| 4 | Eduardo Lezcano | $106,315 |
| 5 | Matthew Bretzfield | $78,056 |
| 6 | Damjan Radanov | $58,025 |
| 7 | Tomoki Matsuda | $43,681 |
| 8 | John Bunch | $33,305 |
| 9 | Jonathan Will | $25,723 |
Ongoing events
Event #28: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andres Gonzalez | 7,015,000 |
| 2 | Nicolas Vayssieres | 4,495,000 |
| 3 | Balakrishna Patur | 4,455,000 |
| 4 | Evan Benton | 4,285,000 |
| 5 | Mukul Pahuja | 3,970,000 |
| 6 | Fahredin Mustafov | 3,600,000 |
| 7 | Haiyang Yang | 2,790,000 |
| 8 | Nick Maimone | 2,655,000 |
| 9 | Scott Stewart | 2,455,000 |
Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed - Final 13)
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny Wong | 1,315,000 |
| 2 | Jason Mercier | 1,165,000 |
| 3 | Benny Glaser | 1,025,000 |
| 4 | Philip Sternheimer | 790,000 |
| 5 | Phil Ivey | 755,000 |
| 6 | Justin Saliba | 670,000 |
| 7 | Tobias Leknes | 605,000 |
| 8 | Allen Kessler | 585,000 |
| 9 | Renan Bruschi | 575,000 |
Event #30: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em / Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Scuderi | 2,735,000 |
| 2 | Tony Diehl | 2,030,000 |
| 3 | Jacob Vaage | 2,020,000 |
| 4 | Jared Passanante | 1,755,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Goldberg | 1,550,000 |
| 6 | Alen Bakovic | 1,460,000 |
| 7 | Brian Keith Etheridge | 1,435,000 |
| 8 | Charlie Dawson | 1,415,000 |
| 9 | Seth Weinberg | 1,395,000 |
Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Ripnick | 2,680,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Palau | 2,250,000 |
| 3 | Akinobu Maeda | 1,920,000 |
| 4 | Ioannis Angelou-Konstas | 1,675,000 |
| 5 | Alexandre Reard | 1,430,000 |
| 6 | Valentin Oberhauser | 1,400,000 |
| 7 | Ryan Wolfson | 1,350,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Lazrus | 1,325,000 |
| 9 | Chander Jain | 1,275,000 |
Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burke DeLange | 312,000 |
| 2 | Jeffrey Lo | 267,000 |
| 3 | Chun Yam | 240,500 |
| 4 | John Bunch | 231,500 |
| 5 | Ren Lin | 229,000 |
| 6 | George Tatalovich | 227,000 |
| 7 | Will Berry | 213,500 |
| 8 | Christopher Chung | 207,500 |
| 9 | Hal Rotholz | 202,000 |
Bracelet winners
- Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion – Asher Conniff (USA)
- Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – Jose Garcia (USA)
- Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout – Daniel Willis (UK)
- Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – James Chen (USA)
- Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions - Malcolm Trayner (Australia)
- Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
- Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
- Event #8: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Bryce Yockey (USA)
- Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Guagenti (USA)
- Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
- Event #11: $1,500 Badugi - David Prociak (USA)
- Event #12: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em - Simeon Spasov (Bulgaria)
- Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship - Robert Mizrachi (USA)
- Event #14: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em - Thibault Perissat (France)
- Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Caleb Furth (USA)
- Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Brent Hart (USA)
- Event #17: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - TJ Murphy (USA)
- Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha - Dylan Weisman (USA)
- Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - John Racener (USA)
- Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em - Stephen Winters (USA)
- Event #21: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) - Brek Schutten (USA)
- Event #22: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (6-Handed) - Aaron Cummings (USA)
- Event #23: Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em - Dan Sepiol (USA)
- Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Sean Troha (USA)
- Event #25: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Daniel Vampan (USA)
- Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Schulman (USA)
- Event #27: $1,500 Big O - Michael Christ (USA)
Coming up on Day #16
The $1,500 NLH Freezeout has reached the business end, with 22 players returning for Day 3 and a $412,484 first prize. Phil Hellmuth’s bid for bracelet number 18 fell short, as he exited in 48th with a $9,007 consolation prize, but Nick Maimone (8th, 2,655,000) and Ebony Kenney (15th, 1,990,000) are still in the hunt. Spain’s Andres Gonzalez (7,015,000) has a major chip lead over France’s Nicolas Vayssieres in second place (4,495,000), but this is one script that just might have a twist in its tail.
The star-studded $10K 2-7 Championship, the $600 Mixed NLH/PLO and the $3K NLH 6-Max are all expected to crown winners on Wednesday, while the $1,500 7-Card Stud will thin the field over 10 hours of play to set up a grand finale on Thursday.
Meanwhile, three new events will get cracking, starting with event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack at 10am, followed by event #34: $2,500 NLH Freezeout at noon and event #35: $1,500 HORSE at 2pm.
It’s been a blockbuster day, for sure: Anyone else up for a sequel? We sure are. See you tomorrow.
WSOP Day #15 gallery
