New Jersey Player Outduels Hellmuth (and 1900 others) For WSOP Online Bracelet
New Jersey players may find themselves limited to only two World Series of Poker (WSOP) online events this year. However, after last night’s event, it’s clear that they are not wasting any opportunities. New Jersey player LuckySpewy1 is the first person to win an online bracelet at this year’s WSOP.
LuckySpewy1, the online alias of Yong Kwon, outlasted 1,964 other competitors (and 860 re-buys) in the $400 WSOP online no-limit hold’em event that ran on June 2 for just under 12 hours. The Korean player scored $165,263 for the win, the only six-digit prize of the tournament.
Kwon also won his very first WSOP bracelet last night. He drew a full house over second-place finisher MeatIsMurder after roughly 20 minutes of heads-up play.
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Hellmuth comes up short
Despite the tournament’s low price tag, the event drew plenty of interest and business. With the entries and the rebuys, there were 2,825 entries in all. The prizepool topped the $1 million mark without the benefit of a guarantee.
At least one of those entries came from 15-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. The Poker Brat revealed via Twitter that he was playing under the screenname “lumestackin.”
In fact, the Poker Hall of Famer did quite well and arrived at the final table with 23 big blinds. Sadly, a 16th bracelet was not to be, at least in this event.
Actually, Hellmuth fell victim to LuckySpewy1 when Kwon outran the Brat’s pocket threes with king-ten. A ten on the river sent the man with the most bracelets to the rail in 5th place.
Still, Hellmuth picked up just under $40,000 for his trouble. That’s not a bad return for a $400 investment (plus any rebuys he may have contributed).
However, the tournament clearly belonged to the man from New Jersey as things wound down. Along with Hellmuth, LuckySpewy1 also eliminated the remaining three players after Hellmuth went down.
The Korean player never found himself in any jeopardy on the final table. He began play at the ultimate table with a 3 million chip lead and pressed his advantage accordingly.
New Jersey players have one more WSOP event for certain
It is good that Yong Kwon wrapped up the victory from his home in New Jersey. Unfortunately, there may only be one more online WSOP event available for players.
The upcoming event will run on Sunday, June 9. It is a $600 buy-in pot-limit Omaha tournament that will use six-handed tables. With 15,000 as the starting stack and 20 minute blinds, it’s a fine opportunity for players who don’t mind the four-carded game.
However, uncertainty surrounds the remaining seven online events on the slate. The US Department of Justice‘s recent opinion on the Wire Act has threatened the very legality of the multi-state compact that allows New Jersey players to participate in Nevada-based games.
The DOJ has set June 14 as its day to announce prosecutorial guidelines surrounding this new interpretation. Until then, we won’t know if shared liquidity will even survive the Series.
Hopefully, the DOJ will take the hint from the massive public outcry, lawsuits, and allegations of corruption and cronyism. However, Garden State players need to make this weekend’s tournament count, because it could be the last of its kind for a while.