What it really means to win a WSOP bracelet (warning: emotional scenes)

Additional reporting by Chris 'Lefty' Land

When Philip Sternheimer won his first WSOP bracelet today, he immediately FaceTimed his wife, dangled the gold above his phone and said three words: “We did it.”

The screams on the other end overwhelmed him, and his face crumpled with emotion. We were just behind him, and it got us going, too. 

This isn’t Sternheimer’s first rodeo. This was his sixth cash this summer, including a third place in the $10K Dealers Choice. He cashed seven times at the 2024 WSOP. He’s won on the PGT Tour, and he’s won high rollers on the Partouche Poker Tour and at the Aria. Prior to today’s $763,087 win in the $10 K PLO8 Championship, he’d already amassed close to $3.5  million in live earnings.

But a gold bracelet is the one that every poker player wants to win.

Philip Sternheimer and friends celebrate his first WSOP bracelet win, something he said was a "lifelong dream."

The WSOP hits different 

Talking to PokerOrg's Chris 'Lefty' Land afterwards, Sternheimer put into words the emotions he was feeling. 

“In 2012, I played as a recreational player, and I actually reconnected with my wife, who spotted me in the Main Event on Day 4," he said. "Ever since, I’ve been taking poker more and more seriously, and extremely seriously the last few years. I just came third a couple of days before, and you always wonder how many more chances you’ll get at this.

“It’s been maybe half an hour, and I can’t really comprehend it yet. I tried to not allow myself to think about what would be if I won or lost; I tried to stay in the moment.

“It’s really a lifelong dream. I was thinking this morning as I was walking to the tournament area... I don’t think I’ve ever wanted something as bad.”

GG, Philip Sternheimer. 

$10K PL Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship results