2018 WSOP Event 1: Jordan Hufty Wins First WSOP Gold in $565 Casino Employees
Jordan Hufty was overcome with emotion just moments after winning Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $61,909. Hufty defeated Jodie Sanders in a grueling heads-up match that lasted nearly four hours. It was fitting these two players were left standing when all the pieces fell into place, as they were the chip leaders throughout the entire day.
After embracing his friends on the rail, Hufty took a moment to himself at the feature table on the main stage and was seen wiping tears from his eyes. When asked about the emotion of winning a World Series of Poker gold bracelet, Hufty struggled to find the right words.
"I've thought about this every day for the last 15 years and for it to actually happen is just unbelievable."
The Aria poker dealer and floorman was quick to credit a couple of his close friends for his success.
"I moved from Michigan to Las Vegas with these two guys and none of this would be possible without them."
Hufty says 95% of his poker is played online, 4% in live cash games, and maybe he finds time for 1% in live tournaments. Coming into today, he only had $1,900 in career live tournament earnings but that number will be growing exponentially now.
"I've thought about this every day for the last 15 years and for it to actually happen is just unbelievable."
"I have a passion for poker, it's just something you can't explain. It's nice that this happened so early in the series so I will probably fire a few more events here and there."
At the start of the day, Hufty felt fairly confident coming in as one of the largest stacks and said he just needed to stick to his plan.
"I felt confident and I knew I just needed to avoid making mistakes and capitalize on my opponent's mistakes. When you are 70 big blinds deep heads-up, it can be a grind, but I never lost focus."
Some players will often get nervous being on the big stage and under the lights for the first time, but that didn't seem to faze Hufty.
"I've dealt a lot of nosebleed games and even been at this table on Poker After Dark before, just on the other side of it. I didn't feel out of place on the big stage like I thought I would."
Hufty mentioned he is going to take a couple of days off to celebrate and some tequila shots might be on tap for the weekend.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jordan Hufty | United States | $61,909 |
| 2nd | Jodie Sanders | United States | $38,246 |
| 3rd | Katie Kopp | United States | $26,250 |
| 4th | Zachary Seymour | United States | $18,332 |
| 5th | Won Kim | United States | $13,031 |
| 6th | Tom Booker | United States | $9,432 |
| 7th | Thomas Yenowine | United States | $6,953 |
| 8th | Skyler Yeaton | United States | $5,222 |
| 9th | Jason Pepper | United States | $3,998 |
| 10th | Brad Helm | United States | $3,120 |
Event Summary
In what has become the customary opening event of the World Series of Poker, the Casino Employees event got the summer started with another great turnout. Late registration remained open for 12 levels and a total of 566 entries were accounted for. This unique tournament doesn't necessarily attract the big names in the poker world, but rather it brings the gaming industry together for a game that they all love.
Some familiar faces to take to the felt included former gold bracelet winners Mike Majerus, Chad Holloway, Jon Friedberg, and defending champion Bryan Hollis. WSOP social media phenom Kevin Mathers took a seat along with PokerNews employees Simkha Blank and Milko van Winden, none of whom were able to spin up a stack to make the money.
It wasn't long after the dinner break on Day 1 when the money bubble burst with Jason Bardol and Ryan Side busting on the same hand. The two players would split the min-cash of $837 and the remaining 84 players rejoiced in excitement. There was a total of $283,000 up for grabs and the eliminations started to come fast and furiously towards the end of Day 1.
A few notables to make the money included Jon Friedberg (81st Place - $862), Ty Stewart (52nd Place - $1,085), Isaac Hanson (38th Place - $1,227), Johnny Gagelonia (33rd Place - $1,418), and former bracelet winner Dieter Dechant (17th Place - $2,018). After a full 20 levels were played on Day 1, there were just 13 players still standing with a shot at the title.
The action got off to a quick start on Day 2 with double knockouts happening on multiple occasions. The official final table was down to just eight players before the first level reached its end. Not long after that, Skyler Yeaton, Thomas Yenowine, Tom Booker, Won Kim, and Zachary Seymour all hit the rail in quick succession within one hour. It looked as though it would be a quick final table but the remaining three players were still fairly deep.
Three-handed play lasted for nearly 90 minutes with Hufty continuously holding the chip lead. Katie Kopp was on the short stack but she put up a good fight before eventually running into Hufty's pocket aces. That set the stage for the two chip leaders to battle in an epic heads-up duel.
Hufty started out strong and worked his way towards the two million chip mark before Sanders started to wrestle it away. The chips swung back and forth for hours with Sanders briefly claiming the lead for a hand or two. Hufty was clearly the more aggressive of the pair, and he eventually gathered too much momentum for Sanders to overcome.
After nearly four hours of heads-up action, Sanders got all of his chips in the middle with pocket threes and was called by the king-queen of Hufty. The board looked safe for a Sanders double up, but when the dealer placed the king on the river, Hufty broke down after capturing his first WSOP gold bracelet.
That brings an end to another event inside the Rio Convention Center for the PokerNews live reporting team. There is still plenty of action in the surrounding rooms that will wrap up later today and continue tomorrow.
In this Series
- 1 2018 WSOP Event 1: Jordan Hufty Wins First WSOP Gold in $565 Casino Employees
- 2 2018 WSOP Event 2: Elio Fox Wins First Ever WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $393,693
- 3 2018 WSOP Event 3: Joe Cada Wins 2018 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em SHOOTOUT for $226,218
- 4 2018 WSOP Event 4: Julien Martini Wins $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better ($239,771)
- 5 2018 WSOP Event 5: Nick Petrangelo Wins WSOP $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller ($2,910,227)
- 6 2018 WSOP Event 6: Jeremy Perrin Wins The GIANT Turning $365 Into $250,966
- 7 2018 WSOP Event 7: Roberly Felicio Wins the 2018 WSOP COLOSSUS for $1,000,000
- 8 2018 WSOP Event 8: Johannes Becker Wins $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball ($180,455)
- 9 2018 WSOP Event 9: Paul Volpe Wins Third WSOP Bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 10 2018 WSOP Event 10: William ‘Twooopair’ Reymond Wins $365 WSOP.com ONLINE Event ($154,996)
- 11 2018 WSOP Event 11: Tim Andrew Triumphs in the $365 PLO GIANT for $116,015, Mizrachi Fifth
- 12 2018 WSOP Event 12: Jeremy Harkin Wins $1,500 Dealer's Choice for $129,882
- 13 2018 WSOP Event 13: Benjamin Moon Wins $1,500 Big Blind Antes for $315,346
- 14 2018 WSOP Event 14: Daniel Ospina Wins First Bracelet for Colombia in 2-7 Lowball Draw
- 15 2018 WSOP Event 15: Andrey Zhigalov Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. for $202,787
- 16 2018 WSOP Event 16: Justin Bonomo Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in $10K Heads-Up Championship
- 17 2018 WSOP Event 17: Ognyan Dimov Wins Third Bracelet for Bulgaria in Event #17 ($378,743)
- 18 2018 WSOP Event 18: Adam Friedman Wins Second Bracelet in $10K Dealer's Choice
- 19 2018 WSOP Event 19: Craig Varnell Wins $565 Pot-Limit Omaha ($181,790)
- 20 2018 WSOP Event 20: Jeremy Wien Conquers $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $537,710
- 21 2018 WSOP Event 21: Arne Kern Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MILLIONAIRE MAKER ($1,173,223)
- 22 2018 WSOP Event 22: Philip Long Wins $1,500 Eight Game Mix ($147,348)
- 23 2018 WSOP Event 23: Brian Rast Wins Fourth Bracelet in 2-7 Lowball Championship, Brunson 6th
- 24 2018 WSOP Event 24: Michael Addamo Wins Event #24: $2,620 MARATHON No-Limit Hold'em
- 25 2018 WSOP Event 25: Benjamin Dobson Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 26 2018 WSOP Event 26: Filippos Stavrakis Dedicates WSOP PLO Bracelet ($169,842) to His Brother
- 27 2018 WSOP Event 27: John Hennigan Wins 2018 WSOP $10K HORSE for Fifth Bracelet and $415K
- 28 2018 WSOP Event 28: Fortunate River Gives Gal Yifrach First WSOP Bracelet & $461K Prize
- 29 2018 WSOP Event 29: Hanh Tran Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw ($117,282)
- 30 2018 WSOP Event 30: Ryan Bambrick Wins First Gold Bracelet in Dominating Fashion
- 31 2018 WSOP Event 31: Steven Albini Wins $1,500 Stud to Deny Jeff Lisandro 7th Bracelet
- 32 2018 WSOP Event 32: Matthew Davis Tops Biggest Seniors Event Ever to Win $662,983
- 33 2018 WSOP Event 33: Michael Mizrachi Wins His Third Poker Players Championship Title
- 34 2018 WSOP Event 34: Robert Peacock Wins First WSOP Gold in $1,000 DOUBLE STACK
- 35 2018 WSOP Event 35: Yueqi Zhu Claims First WSOP Gold in $1,500 Mixed Omaha
- 36 2018 WSOP Event 36: Farhintaj Bonyadi Wins Event $1,000 Super Seniors ($311,451)
- 37 2018 WSOP Event 37: Eric Baldwin Wins Second Bracelet, Dedicates it to His Father
- 38 2018 WSOP Event 38: Yaniv Birman Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship ($236,238)
- 39 2018 WSOP Event 39: Preston Lee Captures $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout Bracelet ($236,498)
- 40 2018 WSOP Event 40: Scott Bohlman Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Big Bet ($122,138)
- 41 2018 WSOP Event 41: Robert Nehorayan Wins $1,500 Limit Hold'em for $173,568
- 42 2018 WSOP Event 42: Shaun Deeb Gets Revenge on Ben Yu to Win $25K PLO for $1,402,683
- 43 2018 WSOP Event 43: Timur Margolin Takes Down $2,500 NLHE for $507,274
- 44 2018 WSOP Event 44: Nicholas Seiken Wins $10k 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for $287,987
- 45 2018 WSOP Event 45: Mario Prats Garcia Wins $1,000 Big Blind NLH For $258,255
- 46 2018 WSOP Event 46: David Brookshire Wins WSOP $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo 8 ($214,291)
- 47 2018 WSOP Event 47: Matthew 'mendey' Mendez Wins First WSOP Online PLO Bracelet ($135,077)
- 48 2018 WSOP Event 48: Tommy Nguyen Wins Monster Stack for $1,037,451
- 49 2018 WSOP Event 49: Loren Klein Wins $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $1,018,336
- 50 2018 WSOP Event 50: Jay Kwon Wins $1,500 Razz ($125,431)
- 51 2018 WSOP Event 51: Ryan Leng Ships First WSOP Gold in $1,500 BOUNTY ($272,504)
- 52 2018 WSOP Event 52: Scott Seiver Wins $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship ($296,222)
- 53 2018 WSOP Event 53: Couden Tops Elezra, Matusow, Negreanu, and Fitoussi to win $1,500 PLO8
- 54 2018 WSOP Event 54: Portugal's Diogo Veiga Wins $3K Big Blind Antes ($522,715)
- 55 2018 WSOP Event 55: Giuseppe Pantaleo and Nikita Luther Win the $1K Tag Team for $175,805!
- 56 2018 WSOP Event 56: Calvin Anderson Wins His Second Bracelet in the $10K Razz ($309,220)!
- 57 2018 WSOP Event 57: Jessica Dawley Wins the WSOP Ladies Championship for $130,230!
- 58 2018 WSOP Event 58: Tribe Has Spoken: Jean-Robert Bellande Wins First Bracelet for $616K
- 59 2018 WSOP Event 59: Mike Takayama Makes History as the First Filipino to Win a WSOP Bracelet
- 60 2018 WSOP Event 60: Galfond Wins 3rd Bracelet in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
- 61 2018 WSOP Event 61: Ryan 'Toosick' Tosoc Wins WSOP.com $1,000 Championship ($238,778)
- 62 2018 WSOP Event 62: Galen Hall Wins $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em for $888,888
- 63 2018 WSOP Event 63: Chance 'BingShui' Kornuth Wins Second Bracelet in WSOP.com Online High Roller for $341,598
- 64 2018 WSOP Event 64: Matsuzuki Wins First WSOP Gold Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- 65 John Cynn Wins the 2018 WSOP Main Event for $8,800,000!
- 66 2018 WSOP Event 66: Longsheng Tan Wins $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $323,472
- 67 2018 WSOP Event 67: Anderson Ireland Wins $1,500 PLO Bounty for First Bracelet and $141K
- 68 2018 WSOP Event 68: Guoliang Wei Wins Fourth Chinese Bracelet in The Little One for One Drop ($559,332)
- 69 2018 WSOP Event 69: Ronald Keijzer Wins $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed for $475,033
- 70 2018 WSOP Event 70: Yaser Al-Keliddar Wins Event #70: $3K Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $154K
- 71 2018 WSOP Event 71: Phil Hellmuth Wins 15th Career Bracelet in $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em!
- 72 2018 WSOP Event 72: Jordan Polk Wins $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO for $197,461
- 73 2018 WSOP Event 73: Denis Timofeev Bests Leo Margets to Win the $1,000 Double Stack Turbo
- 74 2018 WSOP Event 74: Shaun Deeb Wins Second Bracelet of the Summer in $10,000 6-Max ($814,179)
- 75 2018 WSOP Event 75: Joe Cada Wins His Fourth Career Bracelet in The Closer ($612,886)
- 76 2018 WSOP Event 76: Brian Hastings Wins the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E and 4th Bracelet
- 77 2018 WSOP Event 77: Ben Yu Wins Third Bracelet in $50,000 High Roller $1,650,773
