It's been a pretty incredible year for poker.
We've had it all. Live poker has continued to boom, with record attendances at the WSOP and EPT.
Individual narratives have been compelling, with new stars exploding on the scene and old faces coming back to say 'Lest you forget!'
And, of course, there have been some scandals for the curious to feast on. It wouldn't be a year in poker without a few of these, and the 2024 WSOP Main Event delivered a big one.
What follows are the biggest poker stories of the year – the stories that dominated the poker world’s interest, the stories that shocked or entertained, and the stories you wanted to read most on PokerOrg.
1. 2024 WSOP Main Event controversy
When Jonathan Tamayo won the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event, the leading narrative centered not on his actions at the final table but rather on the actions of his supporters' rail and the eye-catching laptop they utilized in an effort to relay strategy tips. As part of Tamayo’s rail, Dominik Nitsche and 2015 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen passed on seemingly pertinent information during three-handed play with the help of a laptop-based poker solver.
In the post-Moneymaker era, the supporters’ rails for Main Event final table competitors are regularly boisterous and animated in their backing. It’s not unusual for a rail to offer their horse advice on how to play potential situations or to dissect the approach their opponents are taking – this wasn’t the issue being raised. Rather, the community took umbrage specifically with the use of the laptop on the rail. It was a terrible look for poker, some said. It shouldn’t have been allowed, others complained.
While PokerOrg had boots on the ground covering the Main Event during the final table, the controversy emerged mostly in the aftermath as the community began to voice its concerns, reservations, and disapproval. In the days following his win, Tamayo spoke with PokerOrg in a comprehensive interview, offering a no-holds barred insight into his thoughts on the swirling debate. Jordan Griff, the opponent Tamayo defeated at the heads up stage of play, told his side of the story in an appearance on the Doug Polk Podcast before opening up to PokerOrg on what's next for him.
When the dust settled, rules were tweaked and added by all major tour operators to ensure this sort of thing wouldn't happen again at marquee events.
2. GGPoker buys World Series of Poker
In August, an announcement hit the wires with news of Caesars Entertainment’s definitive agreement to sell the World Series of Poker brand to NSUS Group, Inc – the parent company of online poker provider GGPoker. There were rumblings and rumors floating about the poker community in the lead-up to the announcement, but no confirmation had come until this moment.
As the news spread, prominent voices within the poker community voiced their opinions on the sale. GGPoker Ambassador and WSOP legend Daniel Negreanu spoke with PokerOrg on the matter, giving us an inside look at his thoughts. "I’m really excited to see this deal get to the finish line, as a lot has gone into it," Negreanu told us. "I think it really opens things up in terms of opportunities for growth both domestically and internationally."
The deal was completed ahead of schedule at the end of October and the first big WSOP festival was run under the GGPoker ownership for the first time in December, when the $50 million guarantee on the Super Main Event was narrowly missed.
3. Kristen Foxen goes deep in WSOP Main Event
There hasn't been a woman on the WSOP Main Event final table since 1995, when Barbara Enright finished fifth. But that was when the field was just 273 strong. The 2024 Main Event, with 10,112 runners, was the biggest ever, and with 13 players left, it looked for the world like Kristen Foxen would make the final nine.
There was huge interest in her run and people were already talking about a new poker boom if she went on to win the tournament. Unfortunately, her epic journey finished in 13th place when she made a huge move against Joe Serock with 
on a 
board. Unfortunately, Serock had 
and Foxen was drawing to a ten that didn't come on the river.
It felt like the air was sucked from the WSOP tournament room after this, but Kristen had a message for her fans who had given her so much support.
“It was overwhelming and very, very sweet," she said. "I felt very prepared for the spot and the run. Comparing it to how I played ten years ago, I’m proud of myself."
When asked if she felt like she inspired any current or future women players, Foxen was direct.
“Don’t be afraid to sit down and play with guys,” she said.
4. Liv Boeree makes final table of Super Main Event
It wasn't the WSOP Main Event, but it was close. The 2024 WSOP Super Main Event came with a $50 million guarantee, the biggest ever in poker history. For a moment, it looked like Liv Boeree – out of retirment for the marquee event – was going to win it.
In the end, she finished fourth after a dramatic run that saw her knock Chris Moneymaker out in 10th, on the final table bubble. Had Moneymaker won it, 21 years after his only WSOP bracelet in the 2003 Main Event, it would have been the single biggest story of the year.
As it was, Boeree took on the mantle and broke the record for the biggest ever cash by a female player. To add extra feelgood to the story, Boeree pledged 20% of her $2.8 million winnings to charity.
Boeree's huge comeback cash was even picked up by Sky Sports News in the UK, bringing poker back onto mainstream screens in a big way on Christmas Eve.
5. WPT $5 million freeroll
When the WPT announced it wouldn't be putting a guarantee on the 2024 WPT World Championship, it felt like the WSOP had come out on top of the winter battle.
However, the WPT had an ace up its sleeve and announced it would be running a $5 million freeroll, capped at 2,000 runners, to give ordinary players a shot at life-changing money.
It took a lot to give the 2,000 seats away and there were some very entertaining moments along the way. And while the freeroll itself didn't quite hit as hard as we thought it could, the stories it wrote were epic and the final table one for the ages. The brilliantly named Chase Bricker ended up with the $1 million first prize.
More importantly, the ambition was great and it put extra eyeballs on the huge festival at Wynn Las Vegas.
The WPT World Championship was run like the elite event it is, and the big story came from Chris Moorman who finished fourth in 2023. Inceredibly he was eliminated in fourth again this year, but with a brutal beat to add a bit more salt to the wound.
6. Hellmuth storms off No Gamble, No Future set
Phil Hellmuth makes headlines just about any time he sits down at a poker table and his appearance on PokerGO’s No Gamble, No Future was no exception. In a vintage Poker Brat moment, Hellmuth erupted into an expletive-laced tirade against Humboldt Mike after losing a $50,000 pot on the river and quit the game. As he made his exit, Hellmuth removed his microphone pack and threw it down on the table.
The entire episode built towards this moment as Hellmuth dealt with innocent-enough needles from his tablemates and unfortunate runouts. After getting the last of chips in the middle with 
against Humboldt Mike’s 
, it looked as though Hellmuth’s fortunes had changed on the 
flop. The turn 
brought added outs to Humboldt Mike, but Hellmuth remained positive. Until, that is, the dealer laid down the 
river to improve Humboldt Mike to the winner. As his opponent took to his feet for a celebratory dance, you could almost see the steam bellowing out of Hellmuth’s ears.
As the needles continued to rain down on him, Hellmuth couldn’t take it any longer. “Buddy, I told you… Alright, you want me to quit? I’m going to quit.” And that was just the opening remarks. Hellmuth continues for another minute, going so far as to label Humboldt Mike as the most out-of-line player he’s come across in a year and a half.
There’s no way a second-hand retelling of the rant will live up to the reality – the real thing is always better, check it out below.
As you can see, PokerGO’s editing team made good use of their bleep button that episode.
7. $1.1M WSOP bracelet winner DQ’d
As we all know, scandal sells. Thus, when the winner of GGPoker’s WSOP Online $25K GGMillion$ Super High Roller Championship – a player known as ‘forzaitalia’ – was retroactively disqualified from the event and his $1.1M in winnings were redistributed back to the affected players, the entire poker community had to know the details of the story.
While GGPoker never offered up a reason for the disqualification, they did confirm that “the offending players have been permanently banned from playing on GGPoker Network.” The eight other players at the final table of the event received refunds in the form of an entire pay ladder. Chris Brewer, Bryn Kenney, Adrian Mateos, Patrick Leonard, Roman Hrabec, and Ole Schemion were amongst the players to score a pay jump.
The MTT Database Review Twitter/X account broke the news first and, in doing so, asked whether this was the biggest refund in online poker history. While the ban and refund will no doubt stand as one of the most notable in poker history, the 2007 and 2018 PokerStars WCOOP Main Events still hold the record for the largest refunds.
There was one other question that needed answering: Does Brewer get the WSOP bracelet for his second-place finish? Unfortunately for him, the answer to this question was also no, but he posted saying he was, “quite happy either way.”
7. ‘Shame’ – Daniel Negreanu calls out cheapskate tipper
This might not be one of the 'biggest stories' of the year, strictly speaking, but it was one of the top five most read stories on PokerOrg. And it led to a huge debate about what high stakes players should tip.
Back in September, the Poker Masters slate took over the PokerGO Studio and Daniel Negreanu was in the building ready to battle. If Negreanu were to make the headlines that week, it was a safe bet to assume he won one of the events.
Well, in this instance, you would be dead wrong.
Instead, while seated at the table with his fellow PGT regulars, Negreanu witnessed an act so offensive to his worldview that he immediately took to the X/Twitter streets to tell the story. According to Negreanu, one of his tablemates – a millionaire poker player – ordered two bottles of Fiji brand water from a waitress in the PokerGO Studio. The bottles of water were free of charge – as is the case in many poker rooms – but common courtesy dictates that the recipient of the waters should tip the waitress who delivered the goods.
Negreanu’s beef with this player emerged when a $5 bill, already in hand, was withheld as a tip in lieu of two $1 bills. Apparently, the player had to dig through his wallet to find these $1 bills. For Negreanu, this was an affront worthy of public shaming. The poker community, as they are wont to do in these spots, came out firing with all sorts of responses, running the gamut from wholeheartedly agreeing with Negreanu to flipping the script and imposing shame on him for publicly airing dirty laundry.
Negreanu summed up his outlook on the matter in his original post: “Actions speak louder than words.”
