WSOP Day #31: Negreanu does it; Spitale lands the Milly

Daniel Negreanu 'won some all-ins'

Negreanu told PokerOrg, "I’ve always wanted to be considered among the greats, but when you look at the numbers, it’s like ‘he doesn't win’ and it’s frustrating because sometimes you know you're doing everything right but the public doesn’t. They think, ‘Oh, he must not be playing well,’ but you don’t know; you don’t see what I went through for a couple of years. You don’t know the hardships. 

"And now, they’re like, ‘Oh, he must have done something different.' Well, yeah, I won some all-ins.'"

It was 9,558 days since 'Kid Poker' won his first bracelet and Negreanu has been at the top of the game, its most visible ambassador, ever since. After a few relatively difficult WSOP summers, Negreanu said he had made some alterations to his approach this time around, and they have paid immediate dividends.

Negreanu's prize is $1,178,703, but the prestige will mean even more.

Watch Negreanu's winning moment here.

With five players remaining on the last day, it was actually Yockey, the man who suffered the horrendous beat yesterday, who made most of the early moves. He knocked out both David Benyamine and Dylan Smith in short order and led the tournament three-handed, with overnight leader Chris Brewer unable to get much going.

Brewer could only win small pots rather than the significant big ones, with Yockey and Negreanu still jostling at the top. Eventually he went broke during a hand of no limit hold'em, and it was Yockey laying down the beat this time. His turned a flush to beat Brewer's aces.

Yockey had a 2:1 chip lead heads up and the chance for redemption after yesterday's misery. But Negreanu kept his head above water through another level or so, won a massive PLO double up (see Hand of the day) before vaulting into a big lead during a stud hand in which he made a bigger two pair than his opponent's. He sealed the deal in another PLO hand, flopping trips with and fading outside draws.

With that, the thousands of people watching across the world got the result they desired so much. Negreanu is finally back in business.

PokerOrg's Adam Hampton was ringside for the biggest night of the WSOP so far.

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Spitale wins the Milly

For all the understandable excitement about the Negreanu vs. Yockey showdown in the Poker Players Championship, their prizes weren't even the biggest being awarded on Thursday night. Over on a neighbouring table, the final stages of the mammoth $1,500 Millionaire Maker played out, and while Negreanu and Yockey were still sparring, both Franco Spitale and Justin Carey had banked their seven-figure prizes.

The also got it finished in the most spectacular way.

Spitale, an Argentinian pro and non-profit orchestrator, had been the chip leader overnight and sealed the deal, taking $1,250,125. Carey, who was placed third in the counts at the start of the day, edged up one spot to earn $1,001,170.

Franco Spitale: Milly Maker champion!

Spenser Sembrat

It wasn't plain sailing for Spitale. He slipped down the counts in the early stages of the final, mainly dodging the hands that caused eliminations of the players in ninth through fourth. Stephen Dauphinais and Carey were usually the players applying the finishing touches in those confrontations, and they both sat above Spitale at one point or another during short-handed play.

But Spitale knocked out Dauphinais in third, beating , and was able to grind down Carey in the heads-up duel. By that point, the tournament had already delivered on the promise of its name: two millionaires had been made. The final hand was an almighty pair vs. over-cards pre-flop showdown, with Spitale's hitting running cards to improve to a full house against Carey's flopped set of deuces. Spitale's rail went beserk after the perfect-perfect runout. 

The Argentinian, who is heavily involved in charity work in his native Buenos Aires, and provides food and clothing to the less privileged in the area, will be a popular champion. He's also one to continue to watch at the poker tables with this significantly boosted bankroll.

Jazayeri halts the Mad Turk for first bracelet

With 11 players left in the Super Seniors event, UK-based Turk Yucel Eminoglu had more than twice the chips of his nearest challenger — and he was on a roll. But that roll ended on Thursday evening, when Eminoglu squared off against Sean Jazayeri of Irvine, CA, who was gathering some momentum himself.

Jazayeri was wise to Eminoglu's gutsy bluffing, and managed to spike a few cards at the right time as well. It eventually meant that a first bracelet was heading to the wrist of Jazayeri, along with a $368,025 payday.

"It's always been on my bucket list," Jazayeri told WSOP after completing the deal. "Hopefully I'll win a bracelet in an open event, too, but man, this is a dream come true."

Sean Jazayeri: Super Seniors champion ticks off one item on his bucket list

Omar Sader

This tournament, restricted to players of 70 or older, nonetheless had 3,362 entries and a nearly $3 million prize pool. Jazayeri admitted that play wasn't quite as aggressive as it is in open events, but Eminoglu is a player always happy to get his chips in and put pressure on opponents. Jazayeri was equal to that, however, and managed to overcome a significant heads-up deficit to rein in the Mad Turk. 

Eventually stayed good against to settle things in Jazayeri's favor. He held aloft a single finger in his winner's photo, as if he's just starting to count those bracelets coming in...

Oh, Boi! Italian upsets the odds to land $3K title

It had seemed to be a two-horse race, with two massive chip leaders coming into the final table and everyone else battling for third. But after a topsy-turvy, rollercoaster performance on the last day, Italy's Paolo Boi turned one of those short stacks into a tournament winning haul, bagging a second bracelet for Italy in consecutive days.

Yesterday, it was Dario Sammartino but today was all about Boi, who took $676,900 for victory in Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em. His final opponent was Noel Rodriguez, the leader overnight, who had to make do with $451,299 for second.

Paolo Boi: A champion, but back to work next week

"It's been very hard for four days," Boi told WSOP after his win, explaining that he had been forced to grind the short stack for most of the tournament. However, he sprang into the chip lead four-handed and his mindset changed. "I started to think I could win from this point," he said.

Boi had only modest poker results before this event, totalling less than $185,000. While he has now multiplied that total three times over, he has no immediate plans to change much about his life. "Next week I have to go back to work," he said.

This was a cosmopolitan final table, with players from Spain, the UK and Canada, as well as its Italian champion. But Vanessa Kade's elimination in eighth ended the Canadian hopes, with the UK's Marc Foggin following in sixth and Juan Vecino returning to Spain with a third place finish.

Funkhouser makes one stick in 2-7 Lowball Draw

David Funkhouser's excellent 2024 WSOP continued on Thursday when the man from Long Beach, CA, landed a debut title at the series in Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw. 

Funkhouser was at his second final table of the summer, from six cashes, all in mixed games tournaments. But he made this one stick, downing French grinder Michel Leibgorin heads-up, and picking up a prize of $123,314 — big enough to put career earnings past the $1 million mark.

David Funkhouser: A winner at last

Danny Maxwell Photography

Funkhouser told WSOP of his happiness to finally get over the line after a career of falling just short. "[I've come] close this year and close for many years," he said. "Played dozens, if not hundreds of these...It's great to win and it ain't easy."

There were two players at the six-handed final who had previously won WSOP bracelets: United States' Ali Eslami and Owais Ahmed. But Charles Tucker knocked out Eslami in fifth, with Leibgorin eliminating Ahmed in fourth. Funkhouser was shortest at this point, but moved steadily up the counts and ended up busting both Tucker and Leibgorin to seal the win.

Moen's surge lands Deepstack title

Chris Moen more than doubled his career tournament earnings to date when he beat a field of 5,271 entries to take down Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack late on Thursday night. With all other final tables already done and dusted, including those headline-grabbing finals detailed above, it was a calmer affair as Moen, from Sioux Falls, SD, beat Thomas Kuess heads up for a first bracelet.

Christopher Moen: Two-day race ends with bracelet

Spenser Sembrat

Moen was placed 244 of 284 players coming back for the final day, but went on a surge at the right time. With players falling left and right, Moen eased his way to the final, from which he knocked out six of his final seven opponents. He started the day with 245,000 chips but had all 158 million of them by the end.

The victory earned Moen $289,323.

Shimamoto and Nathan lead hunt for Friday's bracelets

Two tournaments played down to their final tables on Thursday, leaving five players in contention for Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship and ten left in Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em.

Branden Shimamoto tops the field in the former, with each of the last five aiming for what would be a first WSOP bracelet. Shimamoto bags 94 big blinds, ahead of Luke Varrasso's 70 and Harrison Ashdown's 52. With those stack sizes, there's plenty of time for things to change.

The best-known player in the last five is Darryll Fish. He has a short stack, however, returning with only 9 big blinds. The winner will take $282,876.

Kevin Nathan leads the way in the Seniors High Roller, with the French rapper and movie star Bruno Lopes on his shoulder. Nathan already has one bracelet, won in a $1,500 NLH event in 2006, and is now in top spot looking for his second.

Lopes, however, who is better known by his rap name 'Kool Shen', has become a formidable player on the European circuit since all but hanging up his mic. The Winamax-sponsored player seeks a breakthrough triumph on American soil.

Bouncing round the rest...

The UK's Jonathan Bowers took over at the top of the counts in Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. The latest prestigious championship event attracted 811 entries of which 48 remain after Day 2, deep into the money. The Nordics are making their presence felt, as you might expect in this discipline, with online sensation Niklas Astedt in fourth place and Eelis Parssinen in sixth. Only two players in the top 10 are American: James Carroll, in seventh, and Joshua Adkins, who is ninth. They will play to a final on Friday.

The $500 Salute to Warriors event, where $40 of each entry goes to veterans charities, attracted 4,517 entries on Day 1 -- enough to send $180,680 to those worthy causes. There were still 678 players left at the end of the day, with a $207,486 first prize awaiting one of them. Bob Bobberts bagged the biggest stack.

The numbers in the Salute to Warriors were all the more impressive given that a $2,500 NLH event also got under way. This tournament, Event #68 on the schedule, drew 2,229 entries and built a prize pool of $4,963,975. With 335 entries left overnight, that will play down close to a final as well on Friday — a final that may yet still feature one of the world's best.

Phil Ivey bagged a stack of 719,000, which put him in sixth place overnight. Andrew Chang leads, the only player with more than 1 million in his stack, with the chasing pack also featuring Andre Akkari, Brian Yoon, Georgios Sotiropoulos, Eric Afriat and both Alex and Kristen Foxen, among others. Oh, soccer superstar Neymar Jr played too and heads into Day 2 just outside the top 50.

Last, but not least, was Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, in which 157 of a starting field of 611 remained at the end of the day. Jon Turner, a player who used to be best known as the online beast 'PearlJammer' holds the chip lead, ahead of fellow online tournament titan Denis 'aDrENalin710' Strebkov. Phil Hellmuth fired this one and put 161,000 in his bag overnight, good for 17th place. 

There's a whole host of other big-name players in contention, even if Phil Ivey swung and missed. Max Pescatori, Phil Hui, Adam Friedman, Eli Elezra, Brian Hastings, Barry Greenstein, Shaun Deeb and Brian Rast are among the multiple bracelet winners still in with a shout. They're not quite at the money yet, though. The bubble bursts at 92.

Photo of the day

Daniel Negreanu tries to figure out how to show off his new bracelet while also indicating how many he has won. It's not easy. But it's a nice problem to have.

Daniel Negreanu with his new bracelet

Hand of the day

Bryce Yockey had been enjoying his time at the PPC final table despite facing off against Daniel Negreanu and Chris Brewer. He had knocked out the latter and had held a decent lead against Negreanu for much of the heads-up battle.

But the following pot, during a PLO phase of play, not only kept Negreanu alive, but also gave him the boost he needed to take on Yockey and chip away decisively at the lead.

This was one of those PLO classics, with aces up against a double-suited ace cracker.

Negreanu looked at and made a standard 3x raise from the small blind. Yockey, with , would have loved to see it, and three-bet to 2.225 million. Negreanu called, knowing he would need to improve, but also knowing he was live.

The flop was huge. It came . Technically, Yockey still had the best hand, but Negreanu had more equity: 62% to 38%. Yockey potted, Negreanu moved all-in. This was now potentially the hand that gave Yockey a second bracelet of the summer and sent Negreanu back to his rail as a disappointed second.

The turn was the , a blank. But the river was one of Negreanu's multiple outs. He picked up the near 15 million chip pot, doubling up, and rode the momentum all the way to a famous triumph.

Watch the hand play out:

Tweet of the day

Tom Dwan missed the cut-off line for the $10K PLO. Cue Twitter firestorm. Here's the tweet that started it:

And here's the PokerOrg deep dive, including a chat with the man himself.

Video of the day

There are rails, there are excited rails and then there are Argentinian rails. See the jubilation as Franco Spitale lands the Milly Maker.

The day in numbers

10

Players with seven or more WSOP bracelets, now including Daniel Negreanu.

12

Tournaments running consecutively on Thursday, the busiest day of the WSOP.

158,130,000

Chips in Chris Moen's tournament-winning stack at the end of the $600 Deepstack. He started the second and final day with 245,000.

Coming up on Day #32

Two more bracelets will be awarded on Friday, with the final stages of Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship and Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em all playing out.

Meanwhile, we'll get down to a final in all of the $10K PLO Championship, the $500 Salute to Warriors, the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em and the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, setting up a very busy Saturday for bracelet makers.

Three more tournaments get started too, including two championship events. They're the $10,000 Ladies Championship, which is no limit hold'em, and then the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship. All of this will be overwhelmed, however, by the opening flight of the $400 Colossus. There were 15,894 entries to this one last year, through three flights. It is certain to do numbers again.

Day #31 gallery

$600 NLH Deepstack

Results

Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em

Full results on WSOP

Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship 

Full results on WSOP

Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em

Full results on WSOP

Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Full results on WSOP

Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw

Full results on WSOP

Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack

Full results on WSOP

Ongoing events

Event #62: $600 PokerNews Deepstack Championship

Results so far on WSOP

Event #65: $5,000 Seniors High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (final 10)

Results so far on WSOP

Event #66: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

Full chip counts on WSOP

Event #67: $500 Salute to Warriors - No-Limit Hold'em

Full chip counts on WSOP

Event #68: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Full chip counts on WSOP

Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Full chip counts on WSOP

Bracelet winners

• Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion – Asher Conniff (USA)
• Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – Jose Garcia (USA)
• Event #3: $500 Kickoff No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout – Daniel Willis (UK)
• Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better (8-Handed) – James Chen (USA)
• Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions - Malcolm Trayner (Australia)
• Event #6: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship – Darius Samual (UK)
• Event #7: $1,500 Dealer's Choice – John Hennigan (USA)
• Event #8: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Bryce Yockey (USA)
• Event #9: $1,500 Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Guagenti (USA)
• Event #10: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Scott Seiver (USA)
• Event #11: $1,500 Badugi - David Prociak (USA)
• Event #12: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em - Simeon Spasov (Bulgaria)
• Event #13: $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship - Robert Mizrachi (USA)
• Event #14: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty No Limit Hold'em - Thibault Perissat (France)
• Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Caleb Furth (USA)
• Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Brent Hart (USA)
• Event #17: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - TJ Murphy (USA)
• Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha - Dylan Weisman (USA)
• Event #19: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship - John Racener (USA)
• Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em - Stephen Winters (USA)
• Event #21: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (6-Handed) - Brek Schutten (USA)
• Event #22: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw (6-Handed) - Aaron Cummings (USA)
• Event #23: Event #23: $1,500 SHOOTOUT No-Limit Hold'em - Dan Sepiol (USA)
• Event #24: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship - Sean Troha (USA)
• Event #25: $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Daniel Vampan (USA)
• Event #26: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Nick Schulman (USA)
• Event #27: $1,500 Big O - Michael Christ (USA)
• Event #28: $1,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Evan Benton (USA)
• Event #29: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship (6-Handed) - Phil Ivey (USA)
• Event #30: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack - Alen Bakovic (Canada)
• Event #31: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed - Nicholas Seward (USA)
• Event #32: $1,500 Seven Card Stud - Richard Ashby (UK)
• Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (8-Handed) - Alex Manzano (Chile)
• Event #34: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Antonio Galiana (Spain)
• Event #35: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Phillip Hui (USA)
• Event #36: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (8-Handed) – Timur Margolin (Israel)
• Event #37: $10,000 Big O Championship – John Fauver (USA)
• Event #39: $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (8-Handed) - Sergio Aido (Spain)
• Event #40: $1,500 Razz – Scott Seiver (USA)
• Event #41: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot - Xixiang Luo (China)
• Event #42: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship - James Obst (Australia)
• Event #43: $1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8; Omaha Hi-Lo 8; Big O - Magnus Edengren (Sweden)
• Event #44: $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Jared Kingery (USA)
• Event #45: $10,000 HORSE Championship - Maksim Pisarenko (Russia)
• Event #46: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship - Khang Pham (USA)
• Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em - Chris Hunichen (USA)
• Event #48: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) - Chris Vitch (USA)
• Event #49: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em - Erlend Melsom (Norway)
• Event #50: $10,000 Razz Championship - George Alexander (USA)
• Event #51: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout - Peter Park (USA)
• Event #52: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em – Mostafa Haidary (Australia)
• Event #53: $3,000 Nine Game Mixed - Yuri Dzivielevski (Brazil)
• Event #54: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold'em - Franco Spitale (Argentina)
• Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller – Santhosh Suvarna (India)
• Event #56: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (2-7, A-5, Badugi) – Patrick Moulder (USA)
• Event #57: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em – Frank Funaro (USA)
• Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship - Daniel Negreanu (Canada)
• Event #59: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em - Sean Jazayeri (USA)
• Event #60: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em - Paolo Boi (Italy)
• Event #61: $2,500 Mixed: Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better - Dario Sammartino (Italy)
• Event #63: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw - David Funkhouser (USA)
• Event #64: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack - Chris Moen (USA)