The first bracelet of the day on Tuesday went to Dash Dudley, a Michigan native whose support on the rail included his mother and fiancée. The $10K PLO Championship win came with more than $1 million in prize money.
Dudley credited his mother for introducing him to poker in his early teens, a passion he carried into college in 2002, and he has since become a PLO cash game specialist. He prepared for the final table the night before, but years of practice came into play, as well as the support at the Rio and home in Michigan. “It definitely feels good when I am sure to have all those people behind me,” he said.
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Next up on Tuesday was the $800 NLHE Deep Stack, which produced the first 2019 WSOP champion from Spain. Santiago Soriano became the first Spaniard to claim gold this summer, and it was his first career bracelet as well. “It feels amazing,” he said. “I started leading with ten left. I ran really good; I never lost an all-in. I felt comfortable, felt confident, didn’t see myself as an underdog.”
The pro poker player had taken a few months off before the WSOP but returned to the tables prepared. “I was ready to win.”
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Finally, it was the $1,500 Razz tournament, which everyone loves to hate, and Kevin Gerhart took the title and his first bracelet in that event. “First razz tournament, first bracelet,” he said. “I mean I’ve played a bunch of other tournaments with razz, but this is the first razz tournament.”
Gerhart had never made a WSOP final table, so that was his goal coming into the summer. And when it happened, he made that into a win. It was a tough final table, but he said he felt great throughout the action. “To win a poker tournament, you have to run hotter than the sun. I still can’t believe it’s over … I’m one of the elites now with a bracelet.”
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