The 2026 World Series of Poker kicked off at Horseshoe Las Vegas yesterday and the headlines started immediately. Martin Kabrhel returned in classic fashion, standing up mid-hand and sparking a debate over whether his hand should’ve been ruled dead. Players weighed in, the floor got involved, and poker Twitter quickly picked sides.
Then came one of the funniest moments of the day: during the $550 Mini Mystery Millions, an actual hand-ranking/rules card somehow ended up on the flop before anyone noticed. The clip instantly made the rounds online.
Meanwhile, the curtain surrounding the new Thunderdome/Mothership setup continues building anticipation. Daniel Negreanu played coy, Kabrhel claimed to have seen it and approved (“finally”), and others called the setup impressive. The ballroom feels different (dimmer, warmer, rearranged).
And Shaun Deeb dropped a bomb: just 30 minutes into the table, Nicky P allegedly threatened to spit on another player “if they were outside” and then tried to fight him.
Day 1 may be over, but the 2026 WSOP is already off to an entertaining start.
Kevin Mathers, the go-to guy for all things WSOP, recently shared a photo of players checking out the WSOP 2026 schedule displayed between Paris and Horseshoe in Las Vegas. Once again, the series features 100 bracelet events and will run through mid-July as poker’s biggest stage returns for another summer grind.
Two events kick off today:
The first (of many) Daniel Negreanu’s vlogs we’ll get to enjoy over the next six weeks has just landed.
Every year, Negreanu documents his World Series of Poker exploits with daily vlogs, talking about his preparations and tournaments, analyzing some interesting hands, and, of course, addressing any and all hot issues as they arise.
This is one of the best ways to stay up to date with WSOP happenings if you don’t have too much time to go through all the different content.