This Week

Caesars has agreed to be taken private by Fertitta Entertainment, owned by billionaire Tilman Fertitta, in a $17.6 billion all-cash deal.

The offer is $31 per share, which is almost 50 percent more than the stock price before rumors started flying. Fertitta will take on nearly $12 billion of Caesars’ existing debt, financed with a little help from ten different banks.

The combined company would run 60 casinos and gaming spots, at least until regulators step in. According to Legal Sports Report, past mergers have forced companies like Caesars to shed properties to avoid cornering local markets. For example, both Caesars and Fertitta already operate casinos in places like Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

GGPoker is giving Ontario players exclusive online qualifiers for two major WSOP events.

If you’re based in Ontario, you can play your way to the WSOP 2026 in Las Vegas or the debut of the WSOP Super Circuit Canada, which lands at Playground Poker Club in Quebec this August.

This marks the first time the Super Circuit is being held anywhere in North America. The festival is promising a C$5,000 Main Event with a record C$10 million guarantee, though the full schedule hasn’t dropped yet.

PokerStars Power Path tickets still up for grabs.

Unpopular WSOP opinions.

Wow, WSOP signs Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

Such a cool winner’s photo of Kristen Foxen at the WSOP.

PokerStars Ontario is back, baby.

From satellite ticket to high stakes regular: Moneymaker keeps dealing out the surprises.

Full Final Table replay of the $25K World Series of Poker High Roller.

How to lose at everything, by Rampage.

Michael Mizrachi is making the impossible look routine at this year’s WSOP, at least according to PokerNews.

After registering late and losing most of his stack on his very first hand, Mizrachi was left with less than a big blind. Most players would already be halfway to the parking lot, but not 'The Grinder.’

Instead, he turned his 3,000 chips into a stack of 1,429,000, charging up the leaderboard with the same relentless style that made him a world champion. PokerNews calls it “vintage Mizrachi“—fearless, pedal-to-the-floor, and apparently allergic to elimination.

As the final day approaches, the field is left to wonder: Is it really a comeback if he does this every year?

Four days after completing a miracle comeback from one chip, Naoya Kihara has won another WSOP bracelet.

We have the first double bracelet winner of the year, and it’s Naoya Kihara. Just days after winning the $10,000 2-7 NL Lowball Single Draw Championship following an unbelievable comeback from a single chip, the Japanese poker pro has captured another title, this time in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship.

What makes the story even crazier is the timeline. It took Kihara nearly 14 years to win his second WSOP bracelet, but only four days to win his third. After one of the most remarkable comebacks you’ll ever see, he followed it up by topping a 130-entry field in Seven Card Stud and taking home more than $300,000.

An incredible run and one of the stories of the summer so far.

The final table of the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller at the WSOP was stacked with some of the game’s most recognizable names.

Kristen Foxen took down the top prize, pocketing $1,773,083 and her latest bracelet, according to the official WSOP channel. Galen Hall finished runner-up, still banking over $1.1 million, with Biao Ding rounding out the top three.

The rest of the table didn’t exactly walk away empty-handed. Joey Weissman, Ignacio Moron, Zdenek Zizka, Ihar Soika, Giuseppe Calio, and Barak Wisbrod all scored six-figure payouts for their efforts. Not bad for a day’s work in Las Vegas.

Martin Kabrhel didn’t hang around long in the WSOP $25k High Roller.

According to PokerNews, he bought in on Day 2 but was out after a single hand when his pocket sixes met Nick Petrangelo’s ace-king.

Kabrhel joked about wanting a free afternoon, but the dealer had the final say as the ace hit the board. As he left, he quipped, “Okay, that’s it for today. One hand and one hand only. See you later, alligator. I really enjoyed this.”

It has not been an especially memorable WSOP for Kabrhel so far, with his best score a 28th place finish worth $15,879. The High Roller event itself drew 242 entries and a prize pool approaching $5.7 million, but Kabrhel will have to look elsewhere for his next deep run.

Kristen Foxen finally gets the WSOP bracelet she can brag about.

Kristen Foxen has finally ticked the last remaining box in her poker career according to her own standards. After years of winning bracelets in what she considered lesser events, she took down the WSOP $25K High Roller for $1.7 million and her sixth bracelet, outlasting a field that PokerNews described as “all the best pros in the world.”

“It feels like where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m just so blessed that I found poker, that I’m able to do this,” Foxen told PokerNews after her win.

Galen Hall made things interesting by coming into the final day with a monster chip lead, but ultimately Foxen was the last one standing. This marks her fourth seven-figure cash in the last year and the fourth-highest live tournament payout for a female player ever.

This is the first time hearing this story. So cool! WSOP Main Event runner-up Perry Green tells all to PokerOrg.

The three-time bracelet winner famously lost to Stu Ungar heads-up for the Main Event title in 1981. Now, aged 90, he’s still competing at the WSOP.

Teething problems still plague the World Series of Poker.

Linda Johnson aka First Lady Poker its down with Table 1 Vegas for an in-depth interview.

WSOP and Poker Flops: when sharing gets you shut out.

Ivan’s recent piece dives into the dust-up between WSOP and Poker Flops, who found themselves blocked and copyright-claimed after posting short clips from the WSOP live streams. The Poker Flops team was not amused, calling out WSOP for old-fashioned thinking and saying it is hurting the game’s exposure.

Poker Flops responded with a harsh statement, calling out the WSOP for not keeping up with the times and limiting the game’s exposure with their “backward views.”

Ivan points out that while content distribution has been a thorny subject in poker, WSOP does put a lot of resources into producing these streams. Still, the debate over free exposure versus content control continues, with no easy answers in sight.

Jennifer Tilly manifesting winning the WSOP Main Event.

Criticisms of the WSOP’s YouTube coverage roll in.

Krissy Foxen just did what?!