Here Are the Celebrities & Poker Pros Confirmed to Attend WSOP Paradise

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Nov 22, 2023 5 min read Last updated Nov 24, 2023

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise is a winter series held at the Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas. The series runs from December 3-14 and will feature 15 bracelet events across different variants with over $51 million in guarantees. PokerNews will be on hand to provide live coverage of the event, with photos, videos, and player interviews live from the tournament floor in The Bahamas.

GGPoker Ambassador Daniel Negreanu is confirmed to attend the event and recently spoke with PokerNews about his plans in The Bahamas. Meanwhile, legendary WSOP commentary duo Lon McEachern and Norman Chad have already ventured to the Atlantis to film instructional videos to help attendees learn everything they need to know when on-site for the WSOP Paradise.

The WSOP has also been busy confirming both celebrities and poker pros who will be in attendance.

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Celebrities in the House

One of the biggest draws for players to venture to the Bahamas for WSOP Paradise will be the opportunity to play against a slew of celebrities. Several celebrities have already been confirmed, while others are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Here’s a look at those celebs we know are coming:

• ”Boston" Rob Mariano – Arguably the greatest player from the hit reality TV show Survivor, Mariano is no stranger to poker having won multiple rings on the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS).
• Sergio Aguero – A soccer legend who happens to be Argentina’s third-highest all-time top goalscorer. He is considered one of the best strikers of all time.
• Tony Parker – 4-time NBA champion. The San Antonio Spurs legends first took on the WSOP back in 2021, and now will get another go at it in Paradise.
• Hoodie Allen – American rapper who earlier this year abandoned his stack in the WSOP Main Event in order to attend his friend’s wedding.

Phil Hellmuth

It wouldn’t be the WSOP without the all-time bracelet winner, and fortunately, poker fans can look forward to the “Poker Brat” being in the Bahamas. 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth recently confirmed that he will look to add an 18th piece of hardware before the year is out.

Hellmuth recently made his first post-summer WSOP appearance in the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) in Las Vegas, and he must have caught the itch for more poker action.

Fun Fact – Hellmuth has only one documented tournament cash from the Bahamas. According to the Hendon Mob, it came back in the 2013 PCA when he finished fourth in Event #15: $5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) for $33,180.

Shaun Deeb

If Hellmuth’s legacy at the WSOP is tied to bracelets, Shaun Deeb’s is no doubt intertwined with the WSOP Player of the Year Race. Deeb, who has six bracelets of his own including one from this past summer, not only contends hard for the POY title each and every year, he’s made it a personal mission to help pump it up in the public’s consciousness.

Deeb, who won the WSOP POY title in 2018, will make his way to the Atlantis on Paradise Island, and he’ll do so while trying to win $1,000,000 in his well-documented body fat bet against Bill Perkins.

According to the Hendon Mob, Deeb has 10 cashes in the Bahamas dating back to 2007. In 2011, he had a pair of runner-up finishes in PCA tournaments for $75,000 and $62,080 respectively, and in 2014 he won the PCA $2,20 Open Face Chinese tournament for $32,380. More recently, he took fourth in the 2023 PCA $25,000 PLO High Roller for $121,500.

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Jonathan Little

Another poker pro that’ll travel south to the Bahamas is noted poker coach and author Jonathan Little, who contributes strategy articles right here on PokerNews. Little, who is fresh off winning the StormX Invitational III in partnership with PokerGO for $130,386, will be looking for his first WSOP gold bracelet.

The Bahamas might just be the place for him to do it too as he has notched 13 cashes on the island nation according to the Hendon Mob. That included two final tables earlier this year during the PCA, and back in 2007 finishing fifth in the $8,000 PCA Main Event for $317,873.

Who Else Will Be There?

Here’s a list of people PokerNews has learned will be at the WSOP Paradise:

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2023 WSOP Paradise Schedule

The 2023 WSOP Paradise shuffles up and deals in The Bahamas on December 3 with the $1,650 buy-in Mystery Millions. It boasts a $5 million guarantee on its prize pool, so will be the perfect curtain raiser for the 11-day festival.

Every bracelet-awarding event promises at least $1 million will be awarded, with the $1,500 Millionaire Maker and the $103,000 Ultra High Roller coming with a $5 million guarantee.

Of course, the biggest tournament of them all is the $5,300 Main Event, which will pay out $15 million to those fortunate and skillful enough to make it into the money place.

GGPoker has been busy qualifying players from all over the world via their “Road To Paradise,” which launched at the beginning of October. Each WSOP Paradise package comes with entry into the prestigious $5,000 WSOP Paradise Main Event, scheduled to unfold amid the tropical splendor of Atlantis Paradise Island from December 9, offering an impressive $15 million in guaranteed prizes. But that's not all; winners will also savor a 10-night stay at the luxurious Atlantis Paradise Island resort, celebrated for its lavish amenities and awe-inspiring ocean vistas.

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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