Twenty years after his iconic WSOP Main Event victory, Jamie Gold is making another deep bracelet run, this time in honor of his veteran father.
Gold, whose $12 million Main Event payday remains the second-largest in WSOP history, sits among the chip leaders with just 80 players remaining from 4,478 entries in the annual WSOP $500 SALUTE to Warriors event. This year's tournament will donate more than $180,000 to the USO, which supports the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
"My dad was in the service, so I always like to play this Salute to Warriors event," the former world champion explained. "It's never easy with 4,500 entries. I'll be happy if I just make the final table, and then of course I'll feel like I have to win it! One goal at a time."
In the 977th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz are joined at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas by a pair from the UK in Grosvenor Poker's Katie Swift and Philip "The Tower" Heald.
The quartet discusses the recent high-profile bet between Phil Hellmuth and Shaun Deeb, one involving the former's son, Phillip "P3" Hellmuth III, and the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Deeb stands to win $14,000 max, while Hellmuth could potentially win $10,000,000! It's an extremely long shot, but what do you think?
From there, the crew looks at a pair of game-changing hands. In the first, Dario Sammartino shared on social media that an automatic shuffler has apparently sorted the cards, which resulted in two very similar hands, and in the other, a dealer error resulted in the final two players in the COLOSSUS being dealt the wrong cards in the first hand of heads-up play. No one noticed in real time, and the tournament ended as a result.
Other topics include changes to the Poker Hall of Fame, The Tower advocating for Barny Boatman and John Duthie to be inducted, and a look ahead to Grosvenor Poker's famed GOLIATH, which will run July 23-August 2. Finally, don't forget to order your Think Jerky here!
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
A new PokerNews Podcast drops three times a week during the 2026 WSOP! You can expect a new episode every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 8a PT / 11a ET / 4p UK time. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you do not miss an episode!
When Kristen Foxen won the 2026 WSOP $25,000 High Roller, it was her first outright victory in a major nosebleed event. It was also the exclamation point on one of the most sustained periods of elite tournament poker anyone has produced in recent memory.
Since finishing 13th in the 2024 WSOP Main Event for $600,000, the six-time bracelet winner has been making final tables so regularly they might as well reserve her a seat. Few, if any, have come close to matching her record in that time. And with the WSOP just two weeks in, there's no indication she's stopping any time soon.
Four seven-figure scores. Twenty-three final tables. Nearly $11 million in prize money. Almost all of it earned against the best players in the world, in the toughest tournaments.
Since 2023, Santhosh Suvarna has battled against the best players in the world. His fearless attitude, combined with his affable nature, has propelled him to over $20 million in career earnings, with the vast majority coming in just the last three years.
Fast forward to 2026, and Suvarna is now the first Indian to win three live WSOP bracelets. Here, PokerNews takes a look back at his WSOP history and how he's come to be a recurring fixture in these big buy-in events.
In a major shake-up to the Poker Hall of Fame, the induction process is shifting away from its traditional "winner-takes-all" format. A brand-new voting system has been introduced, paving the way for up to six of the eight nominees to be inducted in a single year.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame. Once the public determines the top eight nominees, the final decision will rest with the 33 living Hall of Fame members.
Matthew PittDavid Prociak is already safely through to Day 2
Day 1c of Event #57: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha bursts into action at 12 p.m. local time, and it is expected to be popular. Day 1a drew 683 entrants, which nearly doubled to 1,235 on Day 1b, bringing the total to 1,918 players bought in so far. Last year's event only saw 1,932 buy-ins, which means Day 1c of the 2026 edition could be as big as last year's entire event!
Before this flight, 109 players have advanced to Day 2 on June 23. Here are the top ten chip counts across both completed Day 1s.
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Craig Jones
United States
1,004,000
100
2
Paul Roy
United States
934,000
93
3
Bradley Butcher
United States
869,000
87
4
Steven Sarmiento
United States
825,000
83
5
Christopher Jacobson
United States
810,000
81
6
Harry Rubin
United States
795,000
80
7
Oleksii Holubov
Ukraine
755,000
76
8
Joseph Curcio
United States
716,000
72
9
Paulo Villena Gini
Brazil
650,000
66
10
Robert Emmerson
United States
644,000
64
📌 Event Snapshot
Event: #57 – $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Date(s): June 20–24
Time: 12 p.m. local time
Buy-In: $1,000
Format: Pot-Limit Omaha
Late Registration: 9 levels (~ 7:40 p.m.)
Reentries: two per flight
Starting Stack: 20,000 chips
Levels: 40 minutes (Day 1), 60 minutes (Day 2–3)
2025 Winner: Carlos Leiva – $237,852
2025 Field Size: 1,932
2025 Prize Pool: $1,700,160
Structure and Schedule
Action begins at 12 p.m. local time for the final flight. Players begin with a 20,000 starting stack and 40-minute levels. Registration remains open till the end of the dinner break after Level 9, which should be around 7:40 p.m. as currently scheduled.
Survivors from the starting flights combine for Day 2 at noon on Tuesday, June 23, when PokerNews traditional live coverage will start.
Are You Using MyStack?
Planning on playing this event? PokerNews activates MyStack for every WSOP event, regardless of that tournament's buy-in, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting
MyStack is a free poker tool that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
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