Every year, poker fans watch the happenings in the $50K buy-in Poker Players Championship, as some of the biggest names in poker compete in it. This year, fans were aflutter when Phil Ivey finished several days as the chip leader. But it was one of the underdogs that came out on top in the end.
Phil Hui is a longtime grinder, as he and girlfriend Loni Harwood display a constant respect for the game and put in the work to improve. And he won the PPC, which is his second bracelet but the most impactful. “It has been my dream,” he said. “I’d rather win this over the Main Event. … This is the one tournament that I wanted to play. Just to be lucky to play it…and to win it…it’s incredible.”
After spending much time in low-stakes tournaments and most of this year studying for the WSOP summer, Hui credited that study and Harwood’s NLHE skills with the win. And though his name will now be engraved on the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, he believes he has more work to do before it really belongs there. “I’m happy it’s there,” he said, “but I need to do a lot more to be in that group with those guys. They’re unbelievable.”
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The winner of the $600 buy-in NLHE Deep Stack Championship was someone who had never been in that position before. Joe Foresman had never cashed in a WSOP event, as he spends much of his life as a graphic designer and musician. He had played poker for more than 15 years, though, and defeated poker pro Will Givens heads-up to win.
“When I got to the final table today, quite frankly, I said if I finished in fifth, I didn’t care. I mean, it’s still $100,000,” he said after the win. “This is still more than anything I could’ve ever imagined.” And for a small business owner, the money is big. He mentioned possibly buying a house, investing in a friend’s business, and giving some money to charity.”
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Anthony Zinno had been to the WSOP winner’s circle before, but he grabbed his second yesterday. After practicing Omaha Hi-Lo for years, he was pleased to win the $1,500 PLO-8 bracelet. “It’s pretty cool when you work really hard on one particular game you love and then it works,” he said. “This is truly a culmination of work; I feel very proud overall. I feel amazing.”
Having been a poker pro for quite a few years, Zinno noted that the one thing he still wants most out of the game is respect, that people enjoy playing with him and respect his work ethic. “I treat every player the same whether they don’t know how many big blinds they have or if they are the best player in the world. I want my legacy to be someone that welcomed people into the poker world and helped them gain respect for the game, more so than accolades.”
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