2023 World Series of Poker

Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info

2023 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
akq10
Prize
$2,294,756
Event Info
Buy-in
$25,000
Prize Pool
$10,551,500
Entries
449
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
357
Players Left
149

Salaburu Lets the Katz Out of the Bag

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Over on table 112, the fireworks kicked off when Aaron Katz and Robert Salaburu got their chips in on a 1098 flop with Anton Morgenstern getting out of the way.

Aaron Katz: AJ87
Robert Salaburu: KK104

The Q turn and 3 river changed nothing and Katz doubled for 74,300.

"I had ace-king-jack nut spades," Morgenstern said.

Soon after, the duo locked horns again when they got it in after the J95 flop.

Robert Salaburu: KK52
Aaron Katz: A1086

The J turn and 8 river kept the kings in the lead and Salaburu doubled right back.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Anton Morgenstern de
Anton Morgenstern
455,000
55,000
55,000
Profile photo of Robert Salaburu us
Robert Salaburu
140,000
Profile photo of Aaron Katz us
Aaron Katz
60,000
-50,000
-50,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Aaron KatzAnton MorgensternRobert Salaburu

Lau Is Not a Pussy; Chops With Lehr

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Keith Lehr
Keith Lehr

Nir Cohen had 16,000 in the middle with action in front of him only for Ka Kwan Lau to raise the pot. Keith Lehr moved all-in and Cohen folded.

Keith Lehr: AA43
Ka Kwan Lau: AA42

The board ran out 97575 and they chopped while Cohen mentioned in the table chat he had folded KxKx8x7x.

"I am freerolling the event now, no more bullet," Lau mentioned and Lehr asked "You won't rebuy? You are a pussy ... ."

Lau clarified that he was already on his third and final bullet for the event, which then saw Lehr conclude "ah, you are not a pussy then ... that makes you terrible".

Some of the players glanced at Michelle Chin, who was enjoying a table massage while playing on the same table and she just grinned. Cohen insisted to include the table chat in the coverage.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Michelle Chin us
Michelle Chin
175,000
25,000
25,000
Profile photo of Ka Kwan Lau gb
Ka Kwan Lau
152,000
-36,000
-36,000
Day 3 Chip Leader
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Keith Lehr us
Keith Lehr
124,000
124,000
124,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Nir Cohen us
Nir Cohen
120,000
120,000
120,000

Tags: Ka Kwan LauKeith LehrMichelle ChinNir Cohen

Fitoussi Triples Up

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Bruno Fitoussi
Bruno Fitoussi

On a three-way flop of 56K, Bruno Fitoussi moved the rest of his chips into the pot of already 90,000. Then Oswin Ziegelbecker shoved over the top for 112,000 total and the action was over to Joao Vieira who went deep into the tank.

After using all four of his time banks, Vieira finally made the call, putting himself at risk as the cards were tabled.

Bruno Fitoussi: AA43
Joao Vieira: 10987
Oswin Ziegelbecker: AKQ9

Fitoussi was currently in the lead with his nut flush draw and pocket aces, but still had to dodge a lot of two-pair and straight-outs.

The turn came the Q to give Oswin Ziegelbecker the lead with two-pair of kings and queens, but the river 5 gave the win to Fitoussi with his aces and fives.

Ziegelbecker managed to get a small rebate by taking the side pot while Vieira was sent to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Bruno Fitoussi fr
Bruno Fitoussi
255,000
195,000
195,000
Profile photo of Oswin Ziegelbecker at
Oswin Ziegelbecker
70,000
-70,000
-70,000
Profile photo of Joao Vieira pt
Joao Vieira
Busted
WSOP 3X Winner
Winamax

Tags: Bruno FitoussiJoao VieiraOswin Ziegelbecker

Dinner Break on Day 1

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

According to the tournament info screens, there are already 253 entries in the event and around 200 players remain upon completion of level six. They will be back at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time after the scheduled 60-minute dinner break.

Negreanu Proposes Changes to the Poker Hall of Fame Induction Process

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey
Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey

With its ever-growing backlog of deserving players and industry professionals waiting for their time to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, some players are calling for changes to the nomination and induction process.

One of those players is Daniel Negreanu, poker's biggest ambassador and himself a member of the Poker Hall of Fame who was inducted in 2014. Negreanu has long called for overhauls to the Poker Hall of Fame nomination process and renewed his calls this week on his daily vlog during the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

"How I would fix the Hall of Fame is this: every single year, two players get in — players, not contributors," Negreanu told his vlog viewers. "Every single year, two players get in. Every third year ... we add an additional third person who is a contributor to the game. That would be the Isai Scheinbergs and the Matt Savages of the world. Every three years, one of them would get in. That way, we don't have to constantly compare apples to oranges."

Read About Negreanu's Proposed HOF Changes

Poker Pro Ali Imsirovic Admits to Multi-Accounting, Denies Some Cheating Allegations

Level 6 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Ali Imsirovic
Ali Imsirovic

In a 28-minute YouTube video released on Sunday, accused poker cheater Ali Imsirovic wanted to "set the record straight," and in doing so he admitted to some of the allegations against him, but also denied others.

Within 15 seconds after the video began, the 2021 GPI Player of the Year admitted that starting in 2020, he ended up "making a really bad mistake and began multi-accounting MTT's at that time."

Imsirovic, along with Jake Schindler, was accused in 2022 by many of his high-stakes peers of multi-accounting online and colluding during live events. Months later, they were barred from PokerGO Tour events.

Read the full article

Level: 7

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 2,000

Cohen Folds Out Negreanu

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu

After a raise and a call, Daniel Negreanu three-bet to 18,000 on the button. Only Nir Cohen called in middle position.

"Good luck, buddy," Negreanu told his opponent.

Cohen and Negreanu both checked on the 975 flop and they checked again on the Q turn. Cohen then bet 30,000 on the Q river and Negreanu used a time bank as he thought through a decision.

"Queen-nine? Do you have a full house? You're betting like you have a full house. Queen and nine, now that makes sense. What else makes sense?"

Negreanu, who is playing an online bracelet event on a tablet and has two phones in front of him, including one attached to a selfie stick, eventually folded.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Nir Cohen us
Nir Cohen
260,000
140,000
140,000
Profile photo of Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
130,000
-10,000
-10,000

Tags: Daniel NegreanuNir Cohen

Assorted Counts and Re-Entries After Dinner

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Sean Winter us
Sean Winter
515,000
320,000
320,000
Profile photo of Aaron Mermelstein us
Aaron Mermelstein
485,000
70,000
70,000
Profile photo of Eric Kurtzman us
Eric Kurtzman
410,000
180,000
180,000
Profile photo of Peng Shan cn
Peng Shan
210,000
30,000
30,000
Profile photo of Bryn Kenney us
Bryn Kenney
150,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Profile photo of Tyler Brown us
Tyler Brown
150,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Henrik Hecklen dk
Henrik Hecklen
150,000
90,000
90,000
Profile photo of Tong Li cn
Tong Li
150,000
-110,000
-110,000
Defending Champion
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Daniel Alaei us
Daniel Alaei
150,000
WSOP 5X Winner
Profile photo of Iaroslav Boiko ua
Iaroslav Boiko
150,000
Profile photo of Jeffrey Hakim us
Jeffrey Hakim
150,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Chen Takes From Zinno

Level 7 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

James Chen checked the 6528Q river out of the blinds and Anthony Zinno checked behind to get shown the A874 for a straight. That won the pot as Zinno mucked his cards.

Jeffrey Hakim sat down on the table while Ian Bradley was no longer in contention and had re-entered. The Brit said he had seen his aces cracked in a big pot and the now biggest stack on his former table belongs to Christopher Frank.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Christopher Frank de
Christopher Frank
475,000
355,000
355,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of James Chen tw
James Chen
280,000
75,000
75,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Anthony Zinno us
Anthony Zinno
275,000
65,000
65,000
WSOP 4X Winner
Profile photo of Ian Bradley gb
Ian Bradley
150,000
-170,000
-170,000

Tags: Anthony ZinnoChristopher FrankIan BradleyJames ChenJeffrey Hakim