Today
Fossilman is still very much in the mix, and his passion for poker is as strong as ever.
Greg 'Fossilman’ Raymer made his claim to fame by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2004, just a year after Moneymaker’s momentous run.
In his recent interview with Paul Seaton, Raymer looks back at his victory, remembers a scary story about almost being robbed (or worse) just after the Main Event, talks about how one bad beat in the 2005 WSOP potentially cost him tens of millions in equity, and much more.
This Paul’s series of interviews with past WSOP champions has gone from strength to strength, so if you enjoy poker history as much as I do, you should definitely check out this latest sequel.
Nick Airball crushes it on the HCL Mega Cash Mania.
He won close to a cool million playing the $500/$1,000 game on Friday, against the likes of Alan Keating and Phong “Turbo” Nguyen. Keating had a rough session, losing over $500k on the night, while Nguyen dropped around $600k.The PartyPoker Tour in Madrid is going strong.
With the registration still open, the €100k GTD Main Event has already produced the largest field in the tour’s history. It’s pretty clear by now that poker players just love it in Spain, as almost every event in the country posts massive numbers.New WSOP sponsorship rules could create some friction.
This year, the World Series of Poker has introduced a serious set of rules pertaining to wearing sponsor patches and other sponsored gear at the tables. It looks like this could be a major friction point for some players like Patrick Leonard, a CoinPoker ambassador, who was denied the opportunity to promote the site during the Series.Yesterday
Big news for Texas poker: The Lodge has beaten the charges and will reopen soon. That win has clubs and players breathing a sigh of relief, at least for now.
Momentum from this win rolled straight into an outsized {WSOP Circuit] event at Texas Card House Social in Austin. The tournaments broke all expectations, with new records and even some firsts, like a 2-7 ring and Double Board Bomb Pot ring.
The WSOP was so pleased they’ve already announced another stop in September.
But not everything is smooth sailing. PokerOrg reminds us that legal uncertainty still hovers over poker in Texas.
Ongoing legal challenges remain for Texas poker clubs and operators, as the interpretation and enforcement of poker-related laws continue to be questioned.
More details on the Lodge reopening thanks to PokerOrg.
The Lodge will be reopening on the same day that the WSOP kicks off. Let’s hope it’s an auspicious start for everyone involved.The spotlight on Hustler Casino Live wasn’t supposed to be on Scott Palmer Fuhrman, but he certainly stole the show.
The former Congressional candidate, who went by Palmer on the stream, had a session that PokerNews calls a roller coaster.
After being down almost $600,000, Palmer staged a wild comeback, winning a huge $870,000 pot with pocket kings against ace-king and then scooping another $200,000 from Alan Keating. For a brief moment, he was nearly even. But as we know, poker can be a fickle mistress.
May 14
Today is the day.
Rivers Casino is hosting a special tournament with Phil Hellmuth front and centre. We can’t wait to see what goes down.The LIPs Women in Poker Summer festival returns this June at The Venetian.
And 2025 WSOP Main Event winner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi has some words to say about it.The Lodge card club is re-opening.
PokerNews has all you need to know!May 13
Experience trumps youth in Blackpool.
At the 888poker UKPL Blackpool Main Event, Lilian Welch, age 83, outlasted 317 rivals to claim a £31,390 top prize. Welch, a regular at the local casino, became the darling of the rail as she took down the field and secured a deal at the three-handed stage.
The event had a £560 buy-in and drew over 300 entries, including names like Ian Simpson. But it was Welch who managed to turn her decade of casual play into a headline payday.
'She’s been hitting the tables for well over a decade, and that persistence has now paid off big time, as her triumph brought her a very nice payday of £31,390.’
Sometimes poker is about the unexpected. Welch just proved that persistence, not youth, is the real secret weapon at the table.
Looking back to last year’s WSOP controversies.
2025 was an epic one. What shenanigans are going to befall us all this year? Hopefully less 9-high-like-a-boss. IYKYK.The WSOP hands that launched a thousand poker dreams.
Every summer, the poker world looks forward to two things: the return of the WSOP and the inevitable flood of greatest hands lists. PokerOrg delivers their take with the first half of their top ten, highlighting key moments from Moneymaker’s game-changing ace to Johnny Chan’s cinematic slow play against Seidel.Legal drama, grand juries, and a May 26 poker party.
The Lodge Card Club, Texas’ largest card room, will finally reopen on May 26 after being shut down by a TABC raid in March. According to PokerNews, the raid was due to suspicions of illegal gambling and money laundering, leading to the club’s assets being seized and operations halted.
Top shareholders Doug Polk, Jake Abdalla, and Jason Levin found themselves under the spotlight, but a grand jury decision in April meant no indictments and the return of assets.
The club is set to bring back both cash games and tournaments from day one, with the first event being a $50 no-limit hold’em turbo at 10:15 a.m. Staff are being rehired and the lights are coming back on, just in time to coincide with the first day of the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
WSOP reveals that it will give $100k in bonuses to the top-performing dealers this summer.
The World Series of Poker has come out with more information about its latest dealer rating feature. There will be $100,000 in bonus cash added, spread across all 100 bracelet events.
The top three rated dealers in each event will get to split $1,000, and ratings refresh for every event, so every tournament starts with a clean slate.
Opinions are still divided within the poker community, but adding some extra cash for the hard-working folks that make the series tick certainly helps.
May 12
Aria Poker Classic starts in time for the WSOP crowd.
If you are looking for more Vegas action, in addition to the WSOP, this one might be for you.May 11
Feel good story of the day. Blackpool’s most dedicated regular finally cashes in big.
Lilian Welch has been a familiar face at the Grosvenor G Casino in Blackpool for 14 years, but now she can add a new title to her collection: 888poker UKPL Blackpool Main Event champion.
At 83 years old, Welch outlasted a field of 318 entries to claim £31,390, the biggest score of her career.
The £560 buy-in event saw a prize pool of £151,050 and paid 38 spots, with notable players like Brandon Sheils and 888poker Ambassador Ian Simpson making the money. Welch’s win shows that sometimes, playing for fun is the best strategy of all.
It’s a wrap on the Aussie Millions.
After the event went on hiatus for 6 years, it returned to the delight of the players. An announcement about their next event is apparently coming soon.May 10
It’s all over in Monte Carlo, and we have the winner!
Roman Stoica outlasted the competition and managed to beat Bernhard Binder in the final skirmish to walk away with the EPT Main Event title and €825,000 richer. Congratulations!Annette Obrestad is back and she has plans for the summer.
After her big return for the 2026 WSOP Europe, it looks like Annette Obrestad plans to continue pursuing poker. She has her eyes set on the summer series and is particularly excited about the Mini Mystery Millions, the opening event of the 2026 World Series of Poker.Apparently, headphones will be one of the topics for the upcoming TDA summit.
According to Matt Savage, banning headphones from the tables will be on the agenda to discuss during the Poker Tournament Directors Association Summit in late June, and this is a huge topic, especially with how fast the technology is evolving.May 09
The debate around the new system for rating WSOP dealers continues.
Jeremy Ausmus is the latest player to chime in with his opinion on this rather controversial topic, digging under the surface and sharing his ideas how the series could attract high quality dealers.Allen Kessler is bringing more mixed game fun to Las Vegas this week.
A new edition of the Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker is underway, taking place at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
Featured on the schedule are H.O.R.S.E, Omaha 8, T.O.R.S.E, Big O, 2-7 Triple Draw, and more, plus there is a $10,000 added Player of the Series package up for grabs.
Bernhard Binder is chasing history in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event.
With only 20 players left in the Main, the Austrian player has an opportunity to become the first EPT champion from his country. There is still a lot of work to be done, as the action continues today, and you can watch it all live on the PokerStars YouTube channel.Vegas Matt runs deep in a celebrity poker tournament.
One of FanDuel’s largest ambassadors, is much better known for his casino and slot exploits, but he dabbles with poker here and there.
Just a couple of days ago, Vegas Matt managed a deep run in the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational event, finishing in second place. Will this inspire the popular casino streamer to play more Hold’em and perhaps join the action over at FanDuel Poker?
More poker fun is coming to Dublin in July.
As the World Series of Poker winds down, players will be looking for next opportunities to put their bankrolls to work. Irish Poker Tour will be landing in Dublin at the end of July, featuring the €300 Main Event with a €200k guarantee, so it might be a great opportunity to wind down from all the bracelet chasing and get back to the normal routine.May 08
Jeremy Ausmus shares his 2026 WSOP plans.
For anyone planning their picks for the WSOP Fantasy Draft, Jeremy Ausmus has revealed his plans for the summer, and it looks like he’ll be going at it pretty hard, although he won’t be there right from the start.
It looks like his focus will primarily be on larger buy-ins with smaller fields but tougher competition, so there are some pros and cons to consider.
Registration for the World Series is now live in the WSOP LIVE App.
Without any special announcement, registration for the 2026 WSOP has become available in the WSOP LIVE app, and you can use quite a few methods to pay for it.
However, it seems that players who haven’t completed in-person verification previously are still having issues, although mobile verification should be an option. Could just be a technical issue to do with the app version, but it looks like no one can say for sure.
Looks like 30min breaks to happen in the WSOP Main Event, down from 75mins.
Kevmath is noticing changes to the structure that weren’t there before 👀.May 07
WSOP officially confirms new live dealer rating system for WSOP Live app.
Ok we knew WSOP was going to introduce a live dealer rating system on their WSOP Live app, and now it has been officially confirmed. Thanks to their latest tweet, Jeff Platt explained everything about this new feature, how the system works, how ratings will be shared internally with tournament staff, and how dealers with the highest ratings will earn rewards throughout the series.
This looks like a big step toward improving the overall player experience while also recognizing and rewarding top-performing dealers during the WSOP.
PokerNews reports that Texas is now officially a heavyweight in the poker world.
The first-ever WSOP Circuit series in the state promised $2.1 million in prizes and ended up quadrupling that with over $7.1 million paid out to players. The Main Event set a new state record with 1,709 entrants and a $2.5 million prize pool.The EPT Monte Carlo update of the day.
It’s all gooooo!The Aussie Millions Main Event numbers are in.
And just wow💥!There is always hype around The Triton Invitational.
And for good reason. Every year it is a stellar lineup. We love being a fly on the wall to this one.Phil Hellmuth is offering you the chance to bust him for only $250, which is probably less than one of his signature hats.
The Hellmuth Deepstack Turbo Black Chip Bounty Tournament hits Rivers Casino Philly on May 14, and you can even win your way in with a $100 daily qualifier. If you bust Phil, just try not to trigger a full lecture on your questionable play.May 06
Jason Koon triumphs in the €100k Invitational event at EPT Monte Carlo.
Yesterday, Jason Koon posted on X that he’s about to play against the toughest lineup imaginable in the €100k Invitational Sit & Go event at EPT Monte Carlo.
Today, he is the last player standing in that lineup, picking up another amazing win to add to his resume and another cool million to bump his lifetime tournament winnings and bring the total over $73,000,000.
Nine figures seem well within Koon’s reach!
May 05
WSOP 2026 layout is here.
Well, Kevin Mathers, the go-to source for all things WSOP, has uncovered the layout for the upcoming 2026 edition. The details surfaced after he spotted a post circulating on Facebook.
As always, nothing stays hidden for long when Kevin’s on the case. Take a look at what to expect for this year’s setup.
May 04
GGPoker is teaming up with Grosvenor Casinos.
The online poker giant GGPoker has teamed up with Grosvenor Casino, one of the biggest brands in live casino gaming in the United Kingdom.
With this deal, GGPoker will become the official sponsor of all live poker tournaments sponsored by the venue, taking the players’ experience to the next level.
Aussie Millions is back and its writing some amazing poker stories already.
After a long hiatus, Aussie Millions has returned in style, and, as any major poker tournament series should do, it is creating some extraordinary winners’ stories. It’s the moments like this that remind us that the poker dream, albeit changed, is still very much alive.Albert Daher is the last man standing in the EPT All In for One Drop High Roller.
Having outlasted the other 75 entries, Daher lifted the trophy for winning the prestigious event and added over €2,000,000 to his bankroll. Not a bad day at the office.Here’s your full schedule for the tournament action this summer in Las Vegas.
While the World Series of Poker will be the star of the show, there are plenty of other tournament series taking place in Las Vegas at the same time. Whether you’re looking for cheaper alternatives or something to play while waiting for your WSOP event to restart, Kevmath has your covered.May 03
The next generation of coverage is coming to the 2026 WSOP.
Jeff Platt shares some exciting details about what we can expect from live coverage of the 2026 World Series of Poker, and it all sounds pretty amazing. Looks like we’re in for quite a poker summer!WSOP sets a new record for the largest prize pool in Texas history.
Despite recent turmoil with The Lodge, poker fans in the Lone Star State remain undeterred. The WSOP Circuit event at the Texas Card House attracted a total of 1,709 entries, resulting in a prize pool of almost $2.6 million!
This is the largest tournament prize pool in the history of the state, and we certainly hope to see more of the same, especially with all charges against The Lodge dropped. The future of poker in Texas looks brighter than ever.
Check out this interesting debate on running it twice in three-way pots.
I’m not sure I’m getting the full grasp of the argument, but you can feel free to chime in. Basically, it’s the discussion about what should happen in three-way all-ins when the short stack doesn’t want to run it twice, but the other two larger stacks want to go for the second run for the side pot.Allen Kessler throws his name in the hat for the 2026 WSOP Fantasy Draft.
The World Series of Poker fantasy fever is slowly starting. For those interested in picking Allen Kessler, he was kind enough to post his entire planned schedule for the summer, consisting, not surprisingly, of predominantly mixed game events.May 02
Paul Seaton brings an interesting Op-Ed on the way that tournament winnings are tracked on The Hendon Mob.
Right now, the go-to site for tracking poker players’ tournament results only shows each individual player’s cumulative winnings, not accounting for the money they spent on buy-ins along the way.
Is this the right way of doing things, or should buy-ins be deducted from the total? There are certainly arguments for both approaches, and it’s hard to say which one is better.
The excitement is on for the 2026 WSOP Fantasy League!
David 'ODB’ Baker will be running the popular WSOP Fantasy League this year again. Apparently, the excitement is already building and Baker expects this to potentially be the biggest year yet in his 11 years running the competition.PokerStars is experimenting with dynamic delays for its EPT Monte Carlo coverage.
The goal is to remove breaks during the coverage so that viewers are kept engaged for the entire duration. This means that streams might start with a bigger delay to kick things off, but, after that, the audience can enjoy uninterrupted coverage that removes tournament breaks.The All In for One Drop High Roller attracts a solid crowd in Monte Carlo.
The European Poker Tour €100k High Roller in Monte Carlo attracted a total of 76 entries, raising over a quarter of million for the One Drop Foundation.
That’s a great charitable effort, but there is plenty of money up for grabs for the players, too, as the winner will take home just over €2 million!
Kevmath officially confirms his 2026 WSOP role.
Not that anybody had any doubts, but it is now official: The legend that is Kevin Mathers, or 'Kevmath’ (whichever you prefer) will be working at this year’s World Series of Poker.
This will mark his 10th year of working with the Series, and he’ll once again be there to provide updates, answer player questions, and more. Expect to see his name appear a lot in the WSOP Live app!