The highly-anticipated World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship event may have fallen short of attracting the required number of entries to hit its $40 million guarantee this year, but it has succeeded in its goal and that’s what matters. That’s the message from WPT President and CEO Adam Pliska after the flagship tournament of the ongoing World Championship series at Wynn Las Vegas recorded an overlay.

$10,400 WPT World Championship Fails to Meet $40M Guarantee

The WPT World Championship event returned for a second edition this year with a massive $40 million guarantee, making it the largest-guaranteed tournament in poker history. When registration closed, the tournament failed to meet its ambitious guarantee, ending up with an overlay of $2.4 million. 

The WPT is unbothered by that as it remains focused on its goal of creating “the best tournament” for players.

Goal Achieved 

Pliska believes the goal has been achieved, with the WPT receiving plenty of positive feedback from players. That has always been the goal and the team will remain committed to bringing the best poker experiences and contributing to the growth of the game, Pliska said.

The WPT team does not view the overlay as a failure but rather an investment in the WPT brand, the players, and poker as a whole.

Just like any other World Series of Poker (WSOP) festival, the debuting WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas is headlined by the Main Event which got underway over the weekend. The $5,300 buy-in, $15M GTD tournament features a seven-figure top prize, and the WSOP has sweetened the pot by awarding a custom-made gold bracelet to the winner.

Bracelet Design has Island Twist 

In partnership with world-renowned memorabilia manufacturer Jostens, the WSOP has prepared a personalized bracelet for the winner of the WSOP Paradise Main Event. The new bracelet is custom-made from 10-karat yellow gold similar to the classic summer trophy, but it comes with an island flare, representing the newest home of the series, as revealed by WSOP Vice President Gregory Chochon.

Weighing nearly 95 grams, the bracelet is hand-set with 494 genuine blue topaz round stones and will land in the hands of the winner which will be crowned on December 12.

Few Events Left

The action continues at Atlantis Paradise Island with a few other events yet to play out, including Event #11: Flip & Go, Event #12: No-Limit Hold’em FREEZEOUT (Online), Event #13: Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, Event #14: The Closer – Turbo Bounty, and Event $15: High Roller No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed.

Erik Seidel just added another major title to his already impressive poker resume after coming out victorious in Event #7: $50,000 Super High Roller at the ongoing World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise in the Bahamas. The win earned Seidel his 10th gold bracelet, with the $1,704,500 first-place prize also representing his largest WSOP cash thus far.

Final Table Results

Seidel defeated Seth Gottlieb heads-up to secure the title, as the latter settled for the runner-up spot with $1,052,800 in winnings. 

Overall, the Poker Hall of Famer triumphed against 136 opponents to get to the top, outclassing a tough final table that featured the likes of Orpen Kisacikoglu (3rd, $778,300), Jason Koon (4th, $582,100), Koichi Chiba (5th, $440,500), Alex Foxen (6th, $337,300), Jonathan Jaffe (7th, $261,400), and Adrian Mateos (8th, $205,000).

Seidel Enters Elite Club with 10th Bracelet

Seidel’s Super High Roller victory at WSOP Paradise is another significant achievement for the Hall of Famer, especially as he had not won any live bracelet since 2017.  His latest win further establishes his reputation as being among poker’s cream of the crop with 10 gold bracelets, joining Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey, and the late Doyle Brunson. 

What started as an ordinary day at the gaming tables at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh turned into a memorable one for five players after their game triggered a huge $905,000 bad beat jackpot, allowing each of them to walk away with at least $45,000. 

Quad Aces vs. Royal Flush Triggers $904K Bad Beat Jackpot

The $905,000 bad beat jackpot was hit on November 28 at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh after Scott Thompson lost his quad aces to the royal flush of Brent Enos. Being the loser in that hand, Thompson took home the largest slice of the jackpot, worth $362,000. Enos received $271,000, while the three others who were at the same table with Thompson and Enos were each awarded $45,000. 

It looks like Rivers Casino Pittsburgh is slowly becoming a “national bad beat jackpot hotspot”, something that the venue welcomes with open arms. The venue currently holds the record for awarding the biggest bad beat jackpot in the US which was worth $1.2 million. It was hit in August 2022, with the “loser” taking home nearly $500,000.

The world record for the largest bad beat jackpot was set at Playground Poker Club in Quebec, Canada just this year. A poker bad beat jackpot worth an astonishing CAD $2,590,185 (approximately $1.9 million) was hit on August 9, with the loser of the hand receiving CAD $984,270.

The highly-anticipated WSOP Paradise is just less than a week away, with the action kicking off on December 3 at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The poker world can expect top-notch action and high-level competition, with 15 gold bracelets and $50 million in guarantees up for grabs. 

But that might not be the only thing that we can look forward to at the inaugural event, with organizers likely to reveal the dates of the 2024 WSOP Las Vegas while the Bahamas series is ongoing. 

55th WSOP Las Vegas — Possible Dates

Looking at the schedule of the past editions, the 55th WSOP Las Vegas festival could run from May 28 to July 16, 2024. Building on the success of the 2023 series, organizers will likely set bigger goals for next year, including creating new records once again. 

To achieve that, they need to attract as many players as possible by coming up with a jam-packed bracelet schedule – let’s say 95 to 100 bracelet events. The Main Event will once again be the main attraction, and it is likely to take place from July 3 to 16. Online qualifiers and promotions are expected to return as they’ve played a crucial role in the festival’s past successes.

Negreanu Could Be First to Announce Details of 2024 WSOP

Let’s stay tuned to Daniel Negreanu’s socials, as he will likely take charge of announcing the key details of the 2024 WSOP. The Poker Hall of Famer remains an ambassador for GGPoker which is WSOP’s online partner. Negreanu already confirmed he will play all events at WSOP Paradise.