Alex Foxen's impressive run at the Wynn Millions event is over as the pro busted in 57th place for $46,406.
Less than an hour later, he was joined on the rail by Kristen Bicknell. Bicknell is a partypoker ambassador, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner, and Foxen's fiancée. Bicknell took 53rd place for $51,650. It's been a storied run for the pair.
There's no denying that Alex is lucky like a fox. He's good at the game, sure. But you don't need to be too good when your opponents run full-houses into your quads in the biggest live tournament of all time. After a run that involved sick coolers, Foxen's household even managed to keep a horse in the game.
Bicknell's tourney, on the other hand, was a more straightforward run. She played her usual sharp game, running her stack up until she ran it into pocket-kings a few minutes ago.
The family that plays together...
The Wynn Millions event exceeded all expectations. The event attracted an enormous quantity of players to shatter its $10 million guarantee. There were 1,328 entries when registration closed on Day 1d. The total prize pool is $12,483,200 with the vig taken off the top.
Despite the number of players, the poker world didn't skimp on quality at this event. Large events are often won by unknowns when amateurs swamp out the pros by sheer numbers. That is not the case here. Day Four still sports a display case worth of WSOP bracelets. Pros like Foxen, Bicknell, Maria Ho, Ari Engel, Jared Jaffee, and Ralph Perry were all still in the running at the beginning of play today. Many still are.
Foxen and Bicknell's run was news from the start. When the smoke cleared after all four Day 1s, Alex Foxen and Kristen Bicknell were both in the top ten by chip count. They ranked 7th and 8th going into Day 2 respectively.
The pair's joint first and second-place finish at the MSPT back in 2018 sparked controversy after viewers accused them of soft-playing each other. That final table remains controversial, though opinions vary on the nature of their play. Some, like Joey Ingram, view it as pretty natural given the context. Others, like James Obst, are adamant that something untoward went down that day.
As a result, any deep run for the pair is subject to scrutiny when they're both in the same tourney.
Deeper and deeper
On Day 2, Foxen made headlines with a notable cooler against Bryn Kenney. Kenney ran his ace-queen into Foxen's pocket threes on an A-A-3-3 board. That ended Kenney's run and significantly boosted Foxen's.
At the end of day two, both players were both still well in the running. They had slipped a few rungs on the ladder but were still very much in play going into Day 3.
Foxen's Day 3 was similarly eventful. While Bicknell continued to accrue chips, her beau's stack seesawed in size. At the 4k/8k blind-level with the tournament in hand-for-hand on the bubble, he picked up pocket-aces against Alvarado's pocket-kings. Foxen's hand held, naturally, and Alvarado became the tourney's bubble boy.
Foxen and Bicknell out
Today — Day 4 of the event — saw 61 players return. Four had busted when Foxen picked up pocket-queens. Foxen jammed for about 16 big blinds and got a caller. Jesse Yaginuma turned over Ax-Qx.
The flop brought an ace. The turn brought a queen. The river, another ace. Foxen went to the rail moments before Art Papazyan went out in 56th just across the room from him.
Reporting doesn't say whether Foxen was watching when Bicknell picked up the A♦️7♣ and three bet all-in. Phillip Shing insta-called with pocket kings.
Shing was thrilled to see the flop come K♣J♦️6♠. The next two cards were rags, the 2♣ and 4♣ respectively. Bicknell watched Shing rake in her chips before joining Foxen away from the felt.
Featured image source: Twitter
