2023 WSOP Day 28: Hallett, Gorodinsky, & Horecki Find WSOP Gold

The action was once again hot and heavy on Monday, June 26, 2023 at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe Las Vegas and the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

Lonnie Hallett and Marcin Horecki each celebrated winning their first bracelets while Mike Gorodinsky perhaps turned around a summer he previously wished to forget after winning his third bracelet.

Read more about what went down on Day 28 of the 2023 WSOP:

Lonnie Hallett Wins Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship ($765,731)

The five-day Event #48: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship came to an exciting conclusion on Wednesday night. There were an impressive nine bracelets between the final three players, with Poker Hall of Famer Billy Baxter aiming for his eighth bracelet and Dan Heimiller going after his third one. Lonnie Hallett closed the door on both players winning more WSOP hardware by winning his first bracelet after shipping this event for $765,731.

“I just can’t believe it, such a huge field it’s almost impossible to do, and somehow it happened. I’m grateful, can’t believe it, I’m so happy,” Hallett said after his triumph according to the WSOP.

Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship Final Table Results

Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship attracted a record field of 8,180 entries to create a ginormous $7,280,200 prize pool. The top 1,227 players banked at least a $1,601 min-cash. Check out the final table results below:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Lonnie Hallett	Canada	$765,731
2	Billy Baxter	United States	$473,212
3	Dan Heimiller	United States	$356,166
4	Shannon Fahey	United States	$269,841
5	Gordon Eng	United States	$205,799
6	Loren Cloninger	United States	$158,006
7	Rudolf Fourie	South Africa	$122,130
8	Ron Fetsch	United States	$95,040
9	David Stearns	United States	$74,464

Mike Gorodinsky Wins Third Bracelet in Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship ($422,747)

Mike Gorodinsky defeated Alex Livingston heads-up to win the four-day Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. for $422,747. His other two bracelets also came in mixed games as he won his first bracelet in the 2013 WSOP Event #5: $2,500 Omaha / Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $216,988 before winning a much bigger prize of $1,270,086 after shipping his second bracelet in the 2015 WSOP Event #44: $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

“The cards made it kind of easy,” Gorodinsky said after his victory according to the WSOP. “I felt like I didn’t really need to think about it much, to be honest. The cards just kind of fell in and then the stacks got to a point where I was able to maneuver kind of easily.”

Gorodinsky had a rough month as he reported that the contents of his private box at the Bellagio were stolen and we may not have seen much of the three-time bracelet winner if he didn’t run deep in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship.

“I had kind of a rocky start to my summer, and my plan actually was if I didn’t cash or go far in this tournament, I was going to fly home for a week and a half to recharge and spend some time with my wife,” shared Gorodinsky. “So, this run was kind of like an unexpected, really cool way to wrap up an otherwise long, tough month.”

Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship Final Table Results

Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Championship witnessed 185 entries generating a $1,720,500 prize pool. The top 28 players banked at least a $16,354 min-cash. Check out the final table results below:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Mike Gorodinsky	United States	$422,747
2	Alex Livingston	Canada	$261,278
3	Brad Ruben	United States	$184,406
4	Brian Yoon	United States	$136,649
5	Scott Seiver	United States	$101,319
6	Carol Fuchs	United States	$76,412
7	Christopher Claassen	United States	$58,633

Marcin Horecki Denies Mike Matusow Fourth Bracelet in Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Mike Matusow might be considered opinionated by some and might seem unorthodox at the poker tables by others. One can’t deny, however, that the player that many refer to as simply “The Mouth” has performed at the poker tables over the years and provided tons of entertaining moments to poker fans worldwide.

Love him or hate him, Matusow nearly notched up his fourth WSOP bracelet. However, Marcin Horecki denied him WSOP glory after a two-hour heads-up battle in Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Meanwhile, Horecki is thrilled he came out of retirement to join the dozens of Polish poker players at poker’s summer camp as he will go home with his first WSOP bracelet and the $155,275 top prize.

“As you know, it’s the first bracelet for Poland, long-awaited,” Horecki said according to the WSOP after his victory. “And I’m kind of old school, a grandfather, let’s say, among Polish poker players. In actuality, I’ve been retired for five years, so I came back to play just for fun, and it seems I did not forget the game. The cards were going my way.”

Horecki was around when there were just a handful of Polish players heading over to Las Vegas every summer. This has grown to dozens of Polish players over the years, a thought not lost on Horecki.

“I would like to thank once again the support of all Polish poker players,” Horecki said. “It meant a lot to me. I hope now we will start winning a lot of bracelets for Poland. The first is done. I wish all professional poker players success, to enjoy the game, and to enjoy life.”

Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Results

A total of 566 entries battled it out in Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better to generate a $755,610 prize pool. The top 85 players secured at least a $2,421 min-cash. Check out the final table results below:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Marcin Horecki	Poland	$155,275
2	Mike Matusow	United States	$95,957
3	Scott Numoto	United States	$66,950
4	James Cheung	United Kingdom	$47,475
5	Sergio Braga	Brazil	$34,225
6	Michael Estes	United States	$25,089
7	Brian Rast	United States	$18,709
8	Chris George	United States	$14,195

Andreas Kniep Leads Final 41 Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker

The five-day Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em has witnessed the field trimmed from the impressive 10,430 entries for a mind-blowing $13,905,360 prize pool down to just 41 hopefuls with two more days of action to come.

Surviving players will resume their battle on Tuesday at 10 a.m. with already $36,576 locked up. Two of these players will become overnight millionaires if they aren’t already with second place earning a juicy $1,003,554 runner-up prize and the winner will take home an even bigger prize of $1,201,564 and the coveted gold bracelet.

Andreas Kniep leads the way with 19,600,000 good for 78 big blinds. Others bagging eight-figure stacks include Champie Douglas (16,225,000), Pavel Plesuv (14,175,000), Paul Gunness (13,850,000), Andras Matrai (12,875,000), Michael Smith (11,425,000), and Powen Fang (10,175,000).

Several bracelet winners are still in contention to add another bracelet to their wrists including Roberto Romanello (6,700,000), Blair Hinkle (6,650,000), Ian Matakis (6,500,000), three-time champion David “ODB” Baker (4,650,000), and two-time champion Erick Lindgren (3,825,000).

Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker Day 3 Top 10 Leaderboard

Place	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Andreas Kniep	Germany	19,600,000	78
2	Champie Douglas	United States	16,225,000	65
3	Pavel Plesuv	Moldova	14,175,000	57
4	Paul Gunness	United States	13,850,000	55
5	Andras Matrai	Hungary	12,875,000	52
6	Michael Smith	Canada	11,425,000	46
7	Powen Fang	Taiwan	10,175,000	41
8	Arnaud Mattern	France	7,565,000	30
9	Michael McNicholas	United States	7,550,000	30
10	Javier Zarco	Spain	7,250,000	29

Ryan Stephens Leads Final 14 in Event #56: $500 Salute to Warriors

The three-day Event #56: $500 Salute to Warriors proved to be popular as an attendance record was smashed with 4,305 entries creating a $1,764,230. Perhaps we will continue to see new events with a three-figure buy-in added in years to come as this allows just about any poker player a shot at WSOP glory.

The action is down to just 14 hopefuls heading into the final day when the action resumes on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Horseshoe with at least $9,966 locked up and their eyes on the WSOP gold bracelet and the $217,921 top prize on tap for the last player standing.

Ryan Stephens enters the final day in the captain’s seat with a 48 big blind stack of 28,775,000 in chips.

Dejuante “DJ” Alexander is the only former bracelet winner remaining in the field after shipping the 2021 WSOP Event #20: Flip & Go No-Limit Hold’em Presented by GGPoker for $180,665 and is near the top of the pack with 20,625,000 in chips. Meanwhile, Yossef Hicham (22,550,000) and Ali Alawadhi (20,425,000) also will kick off the final day with more than 20 million with Raffaello Locatelli (19,825,000) rounding out the top five players.

Event #56: $500 Salute to Warriors Final Day Seat Draw

Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	1	Ali Alawadhi	United States	20,425,000	34
1	2	Michael Lin	United States	6,275,000	10
1	5	David Elisofon	United States	14,850,000	25
1	6	Ryan Stephens	United States	28,775,000	48
1	8	Rajesh Goyal	United States	10,100,000	17
1	9	William Butcher	United States	11,775,000	20
2	2	Kelly Gall	Canada	19,275,000	32
2	3	Dejuante Alexander	United States	20,625,000	34
2	4	Steven Genovese	United States	11,425,000	19
2	5	Timothy Deering	Canada	8,450,000	14
2	6	Raffaello Locatelli	Italy	19,825,000	33
2	7	Lucas Lew	Portugal	11,675,000	19
2	8	Youssef Hicham	Morocco	22,550,000	38
2	9	Jacques Ortega	Brazil	8,675,000	14

Chance Kornuth Leads Final 31 Players in Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

The four-day Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship is another story for the record books. Not only did the 449 entries for a $10,551,500 prize pool set a new record for this event, but this also propelled the $25,000 Pot-Limit Championship to the top of the record books for the largest Omaha prize pool in tournament history.

Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Chance Kornuth has been battling hard all summer for a bracelet and holds a substantial lead with 7,245,000 in chips. Kornuth was at the final table three times at the WSOP this summer only to come up a little short.

That being said, Kornuth is in a spot to add to a massive summer. He managed to win a trophy in The Wynn Summer Classic $2,200 Mystery Bounty for $537,322 and two of his final tables were in events with six-figure buy-ins for more than another $2 million in earnings.

Although Kornuth does enter the penultimate day of action when it resumes on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Horseshoe in the driver’s seat, he has plenty of hungry players on his tail with WSOP bracelet winners Dylan Weisman (4,355,000) and Isaac Haxton (4,320,000) as his nearest competitors.

The final 31 players each locked up at least a $68,722 payout with Wednesday’s champion taking home a massive $2,294,756 top prize.

Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Day 2 Top 10 Leaderboard

Place	Name	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Chance Kornuth	United States	7,245,000	145
2	Dylan Weisman	United States	4,355,000	87
3	Isaac Haxton	United States	4,320,000	86
4	Firas Kashat	United States	4,185,000	84
5	Ka Kwan Lau	Hong Kong	3,890,000	78
6	Sergio Martinez Gonzalez	Spain	3,870,000	77
7	Mads Amot	Norway	3,465,000	69
8	Bradley Anderson	United States	3,225,000	65
9	Andriy Lyubovetskiy	Ukraine	2,305,000	46
10	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	2,290,000	46

Jason Daly Leads Final 17 in Event 58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Max

Event #58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Max progressed to its third and final day with the field of 263 entrants down to just 17 hopefuls with $8,061 locked up and in the hunt for the bracelet and the $165,250 top prize when the action resumes on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Horseshoe.

Jason Daly leads the way with a 45 big blind stack of 1,119,000 with Daniel Maczuga (1,100,000) and Nick Pupillo (1,040,000) also resuming the battle as chip millionaires. Nick Pupillo recently earned his first bracelet just a few days ago in Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw for $181,978 and is hoping to add his second in less than a week.

Meanwhile, 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen (150,000) is still in the hunt for his fourth WSOP victory but has his work cut out for him with one of the shorter stacks in play.

Event 58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Max Day 2 Top 10 Leaderboard

Place	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds	Big Bets
1	Jason Daly	United States	1,119,000	45	22
2	Daniel Maczuga	United States	1,100,000	44	22
3	Nick Pupillo	United States	1,040,000	42	21
4	Mavrick Yoo	United States	920,000	37	18
5	Tom Koral	United States	805,000	32	16
6	David Bach	United States	775,000	31	16
7	Kuenwai Lo	China	740,000	30	15
8	Alex Torry	United States	680,000	27	14
9	Brent Mutter	United States	660,000	26	13
10	Milfred Sageer	United States	615,000	25	12

Other Events in Action

Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout attracted 1,598 entries on its first of three days to create a $4,266,660 prize pool. The 240 surviving players will resume battle on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Horseshoe with already a min-cash of $4,816 locked up. Robert Kuhn (1,410,000 – 118 big blinds) leads the way in the hunt for his first bracelet and the $675,275 top prize that is scheduled to be awarded on Wednesday.

Michael Trivett leads the way after the first of three days in Event #60: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Single Triple Draw with a 201 big blind stack of 401,000. The event attracted 566 entries to create a $731,580 prize pool with 160 players surviving the opening day on Monday. Players will play into the money and beyond when the action resumes on Tuesday at 1 p.m. with the top 83 players guaranteed at least a $2,404 payout with Wednesday’s eventual bracelet winner taking down the $151,276 along with the prestige that comes with becoming a WSOP champion.

June 27, 2023 WSOP Schedule

Three bracelets are scheduled to be awarded on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at the 2023 World Series of Poker including the exciting conclusions of Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker and Event #56: $500 Salute to Warriors. The third bracelet will be earned online in the one-day Online Event #11: $888 No-Limit Hold’em Crazy 8’s at WSOP.com for players located in Nevada and New Jersey.

Three other live events debut today with the poker arena perhaps having an older feel earlier in the day with Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors beginning at 10 a.m. Event #62: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha begins its action a couple of hours later at 12 p.m., while Event #63: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship is sure to draw in some of the top names in poker when the action begins at 2 p.m.

Below is a look at today’s schedule while head to the PokerPro opening WSOP article to check out the full schedule of the 2023 World Series of Poker.

Time	Event	Info
10 a.m.	Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em	Day 5 of 5
10 a.m.	Event #56: $500 SALUTE to Warriors – No-Limit Hold’em	Day 3 of 3
10 a.m.	Event #59: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout	Day 2 of 3
10 a.m.	Event #61: $1,000 SUPER SENIORS No-Limit Hold’em	Day 1 of 4
12 p.m.	Event #62: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha	Day 1 of 3
1 p.m.	Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship	Day 3 of 4
1 p.m.	Event #59: $3,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em	Day 2 of 3
2 p.m.	Event #63: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship	Day 1 of 3
3:30 p.m.	Online Event #11: $888 No-Limit Hold’em Crazy 8’s	Day 3 of 3

Images and hand details courtesy of WSOP/PokerNews.
Article by Jason Glatzer
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