While all eyes are currently on the $10,400 World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, it’s important to remember that it is just one tournament in a long festival that runs December 1-20.
During that time there are more than $22 million in guaranteed prize pools being offered across 23 events. Among those to win side event titles were Ethan “Rampage” Yau ($25K High Roller for $894,240), Calen “Big Wheel” McNeil ($600 Limit Omaha 8/B for $21,305), Sergio Grosso ($1,100 Seniors NLH for $130,806), Lawrence Berg ($600 PLO Turbo for $46,307), and Christopher Puetz ($1,600 NLH Bounty Turbo for $79,576).
Here are some other big winners from the series thus far.
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Allen Kessler Wins Limit Omaha 8B Championship
From December 13-14, the $1,100 Limit Omaha 8B Championship took place. With 228 entrants, the $100K guarantee was more than doubled as a $221,160 prize pool was on offer to the top 23 finishers.
Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Esther Taylor (10th – $4,578), Nathan Gamble (11th – $4,578), Calen McNeil (16th – $3,178), Ari Engel (18th – $2,864), and Barry Shulman (22nd – $2,596).
Much to the surprise of poker fans worldwide, Allen Kessler, who has finished runner-up in four WSOP gold bracelet events, closed it out by besting Clyde Gaskins in heads-up play. The victory was good for $52,104 and a bit of redemption for the “Chainsaw” as he claimed a desired trophy.
It’s been a bit of a heater for the “Chainsaw” as back in October, Kessler topped a monster field of 41 runners to win the 2022 Orleans Fall Poker Open $400 Eight-Game Mix for $3,210. Prior to his recent victories, Kessler hadn’t had a tournament victory since 2015 according to the Hendon Mob.
$1,100 Limit Omaha 8B Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Kessler | Las Vegas, NV | $52,104 |
| 2 | Clyde Gaskins | N/A | $42,500 |
| 3 | Seth Anirudh | Las Vegas, NV | $23,377 |
| 4 | Steven Weiler | Tarzana, CA | $16,167 |
| 5 | Patrick Murphy | Nashville, TN | $11,898 |
| 6 | Frankie O’Dell | Las Vegas, NV | $9,191 |
| 7 | Kenneth Donoghue | New Hampshire | $7,409 |
| 8 | Kham Xaythavone | West Valley, UT | $6,192 |
| 9 | Ly Le | Las Vegas, NV | $5,286 |
Massive Opening Event Ends in Heads-Up Deal
The series actually kicked off with a $600 buy-in, $500K GTD No-Limit Hold’em event from December 1-4. That tournament attracted a massive 2,999 runners and more than tripled the guarantee by generating a $1,559,480 prize pool.
Among those to make deep runs were Eric Baldwin (14th – $13,800), Elvis Toomas (24th – $8,455), Thomas Middleton (34th – $7,430), Jose Barbero (43rd – $6,575), Dan Shak (52nd – $5,860), Mitchell Halverson (63rd – $4,743), and Ryan Riess (69th – $4,743).
The tournament ended in a heads-up deal between Jesse Lonis, one of the hottest players in tournament poker, and Idaho’s Sean Banahan. As part of the deal, Lonis finished in second place for $122,184 while Banahan was deemed champion for $136,220 and the tophy.
$600 NLH Opening Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Banahan | Twin Falls, ID | $136,220* |
| 2 | Jesse Lonis | Litke Falls, NY | $122,184* |
| 3 | Richard Alati | Phoenix, AZ | $84,433 |
| 4 | David Chavez | Carson, CA | $82,900 |
| 5 | La Sengphet | Plano, TX | $61,222 |
| 6 | Jatinder Singh | Lowell, MA | $30,307 |
| 7 | Lunique Petiote | Woodbine, GA | $25,915 |
| 8 | David Yokoyama | Wailuku, HI | $22,852 |
| 9 | Thomas Zanot | Phoenix, AZ | $20,227 |
*Denotes heads-up deal.
Esther Taylor Bests Benny Glaser to Win 8-Game Mix
Back on December 8, the $3,000 8-Game Mix $200K GTD attracted 131 entries, which created a $360,250 prize pool. That was paid out to the top 15 players, and among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Leonard August (10th – $8,538), Toby Lewis (11th – $8,538), Eita Sakai (12th – $7,475), Ken Aldridge (13th – $7,475), Nick Milgrom (14th – $6,621), and AJ Kelsall (15th – $6,621).
The final table was filled with recognizable and accomplished poker players, but after Brian Hastings bowed out in third place for $41,069, the title came down to Esther Taylor and Benny Glaser.
Taylor wound up closing it out for a smooth $100,000, while Glaser took $73,496 for his runner-up finish. Glaser would go on to make a deep run in the WPT World Championship and actually began Day 4 as the chip leader.
$3,000 8-Game Mix Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esther Taylor | Pennsylvania | $100,000 |
| 2 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $73,496 |
| 3 | Brian Hastings | St. Johns, FL | $41,069 |
| 4 | Ryan Leng | Las Vegas, NV | $28,100 |
| 5 | Jon Turner | Las Vegas, NV | $20,714 |
| 6 | Aaron Kupa | Florida | $16,572 |
| 7 | Ryan Hughes | Arizona | $13,690 |
| 8 | Yuval Bronshtein | Flordia | $11,492 |
| 9 | David Litt | California | $9,849 |
Ethan “Rampage” Yau Fades the Jinx and Wins WPT $25K High Roller
WPT Wynn Side Event Winners
| *Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Hometown/Country | Prize* | ||||
| 12/5/22 | $600 HORSE $50K GTD | 261 | $134,415 | Rafael Concepcion | Las Vegas, NV | $23,377 | ||||
| 12/4/22 | $600 NLH $50K GTD | 310 | $161,200 | Constantinos Psalidas | Canada | $27,179 | ||||
| Dec. 1-4, 2022 | $600 NLH $500K GTD | 2,999 | $1,559,480 | Sean Banahan | Twin Falls, ID | $136,220 | ||||
| 12/6/22 | $600 Limit Omaha 8/B $50K GTD | 269 | $138,535 | Calen McNeil | Los Angeles, CA | $21,305 | ||||
| 12/7/22 | $600 5-Card PLO $50K GTD | 297 | $154,440 | Eric Hayes | Moorestown, NJ | $30,423 | ||||
| Dec. 5-7, 2022 | $600 NLH $200K GTD | 1,243 | $646,360 | Gerard Morrell | Castle Rock, CO | $101,415 | ||||
| Dec. 7-8, 2022 | $1,100 Seniors NLH $200K GTD | 708 | $690,300 | Sergio Grosso | Toronto, CA | $130,806 | ||||
| 12/8/22 | $3,000 8-Game Mix $200K GTD | 131 | $360,250 | Esther Taylor | Pennsylvania | $100,000 | ||||
| 12/9/22 | $600 PLO Turbo $50K GTD | 407 | $211,640 | Lawrence Berg | Las Vegas, NV | $46,307 | ||||
| Dec. 12-23, 2022 | $1,100 HORSE Championship $100K GTD | 272 | $263,840 | Tyler Willse | Hillsboro, OR | $63,967 | ||||
| Dec. 13-14, 2022 | $1,100 Limit Omaha 8B Championship $100K GTD | 228 | $221,160 | Allen Kessler | Las Vegas, NV | $52,104 | ||||
| 12/14/22 | $1,600 NLH $500 Bounty Turbo $100L GTD | 368 | $351,440 | Christopher Puetz | Austria | $79,576 |
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.