It’s tough to win a World Series of Poker bracelet. Over the last couple of weeks more than 36,000 have tried, but fewer than 20 have won one.
And only one man has won two.
But then Benny Glaser is a winning machine. The British player has serious online form, having won 15 titles in the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and another 10 in the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).
Then there’s his live tournament record, where he’s notched wins on the European Poker Tour, at the Irish Poker Open and the Wynn Summer Classic, among others.
As of a week ago, he also had five WSOP bracelets. Now, a few days later, he has seven. Glaser’s first of the summer came in the $1,500 Dealers Choice, and on Thursday he added the $1,500 Mixed Omaha title for back-to-back wins at the WSOP.
There’s still a lot of poker to be played at this year’s series, and while people have won three bracelets in years' past, no one’s ever won four in a single WSOP. Could Glaser be the first?
On current form, nothing looks impossible for the man from southern England, and those who picked him for their fantasy poker teams will certainly be hoping he can make WSOP history. “I would be very excited about that prospect, but I’m going to first work on getting a third,” Glaser told us after his victory. Read all about it.
Lamb goes oh-so-close in $25K Mixed
From one happy Benny to one disappointed Ben. Having come all the way back from just two big blinds, Ben Lamb fought his way through to the heads-up conclusion of the $25K Mixed PLO/NLH, and with a strikingly healthy chip lead looked like a near-certainty to add a third WSOP bracelet to his collection.
Alas for Lamb, it was not to be, as Lou Garza mounted a comeback of his own to take down the title, bank first-place prize money of $1,302,233 and strap a second bracelet to his wrist.
Tournament poker is a tough business and coming so close to a win, even when you pick up $868,140 for your troubles, is a bittersweet feeling. Or so we hear — Lamb put it perfectly himself in what is surely the very definition of a ‘classy post’.
The last hand of the event saw Lamb run headlong into the bullets of Lou Garza, and the pocket aces held. See our report of the last hand, plus the view from the rail, right here.
Hit by bullets in the Shootout
Aces were also the key to sending Punnat Punsri through to the final day of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout event, when Thailand’s all-time #1 picked up pocket rockets only for his opponent to jam all-in with an underpair. Punsri's bullets held and he finds himself heading into the final day on Friday as a result.
“Poker tournaments bring the best out of me in terms of discipline and self-improvement,” Punsri told PokerOrg at the day’s end. “I'm proud when I discover new things about myself and recognize ways to improve.”
He’ll have a chance to do just that when the field reconvenes on Friday to play it out for the $267,372 up top. At least, most players will be playing for that — one player will be looking at an even bigger payday for taking it down.
Remember Daniel Strelitz, who reached the final table of the $1K Mystery Millions, but was due a $1M bonus if he won? Strelitz had a ClubWPTGold pass which would have awarded him the incredible bonus on top of his tournament winnings, but ended up out in third for ‘only’ $429,950.
Well, turns out there’s another Gold pass out there, and it’s in the possession of Mike Lavin, who won it in a freeroll and is still in with a shot in the Shootout.
We interviewed Lavin recently, and let’s just say the guy knows how to close; he’s won 17 WSOP rings in five years, mostly online, and if he can seal the deal on Friday he’ll bank an extra seven-figure payout.
Will we see the return of the oversized novelty check? Assuming security lets it into the building, somebody might need to go fish it out of that pool…
Additional images courtesy of PokerGO/WSOP/WPT/Joe Giron/Engin Akyurt/Unsplash.
