WPT Choctaw Sets Final Table to Play in Las Vegas

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on May 21st, 2022

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The World Poker Tour just wrapped up a stop at Choctaw Durant Casino/Resort this week. It is one of the most remote locations for a WPT festival, as it is located about 1.5 hours from the nearest airport in Dallas, Texas. But the Native American Oklahoma casino is a massive property, a haven for poker players and gamblers of all kinds. It has become a staple on the main tour each year, as the WPT and Choctaw Durant have been partners for more than a dozen years. This year, the entire festival ran from April 28 through May 16, with the WPT Choctaw Main Event set for the end of the series – May 13-16 – as the grand finale. The entire series was well-attended. Women were out in force, taking down several side event titles and comprising approximately 10% of the fields, on average. Let’s see how the Main Event played out.

Leaving the Guarantee in the Dust

As per usual, the turnout for the WPT Choctaw Main Event left the guarantee in the dust. The two starting days of the tournament attracted 787 entries, which pushed the prize pool well past the $2M guarantee. In fact, it stopped at $2,754,500. Day 2 began with 254 survivors from the two starting flights. The field thinned during the first part of the day, and players exited quickly on the way to the money bubble. That bubble play began after the dinner break, with the top 99 players set to be paid. https://twitter.com/WPTlive/status/1526053262574616576?s=20&t=LDWvTAqCQFodo7h6b4dQJg Jeff Platt was one of the last to be eliminated before the dinner break, and then several players busted on the exact bubble. Justin Kruger, George Watford, and Michael Simpson split the first two payouts three ways, each taking home $4,467. Payouts then went to the min-cash of $6,700. Players dropped fast, with names like Ashley Hine, Jim Carroll, Jessica Richards, Justin Zaki, Brian Piccioli, Kenny Nyugen, and Eric Afriat busting as the evening moved forward. ClubWPT qualifier Eric Zbikowski busted in 49^th place, and Rodger Johnson was the last elimination of the night.

Finding the Final Table

Day 3 started with 36 remaining players and payouts at $13K. Chance Kornuth was the chip leader, followed by previous WPT Choctaw winner James Mackey, Arthur Morris, Bin Weng, and reigning WPT Choctaw champion Dapo Ajayi. Frank Stepuchin was the first to go. A bit later, Rania Nasreddine left in 26^th place. Kornuth busted Alex Foxen in 21^st place for $21K, and Mackey sent Lee Hammond out in 17^th place. When Iris Angeleri departed in 16^th, that left Kristen Foxen (formerly Kristen Bicknell) as the last woman in the field. Mackey ousted Andrew Moreno in 15^th place, and Kornuth sent Ajayi out in 14^th place for $31K. https://twitter.com/WPT/status/1526403123216015362?s=20&t=jsFkBJS0YBgvCmJNgUuUWg The next eliminations were Jeff Banghart, Nicholas Manganaro, Jeffrey Yanchek, and Joey Gargiulo. The final nine then consolidated to one table. Soon after, Ray Qartomy busted Bin Weng, James Hundt ousted Arthur Morris, and Mackey sent Anees Puri home with seventh place money of $78K. The final six will play for the win at the HyperX Esports Arena at Luxor in Las Vegas in just a few days – Thursday, May 26.   Mackey is seeking to repeat at WPT Choctaw, where he won the Main Event in 2016. Qartomy will play his fifth WPT final table, Kornuth his third, and Foxen her second. The top prize awaiting the winner is $486,600, with $320K reserved for second. They’re all guaranteed at least $101K. https://twitter.com/WPT/status/1526454540282867712?s=20&t=jsFkBJS0YBgvCmJNgUuUWg

Another Final Table Ready

In April, the World Poker Tour hosted its WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Main Event, which resulted in six players awaiting their chance to play for the win as well. This will play out on May 25, the day before WPT Choctaw.   While chipleader Darren Elias already holds the record for most WPT cashes (45) and most WPT wins (4), he certainly wouldn’t mind adding another victory to that poker portfolio. However, Viet Vo is anxious to turn several final tables into a win. That event is holding a $1,000,300 top prize, with $660K for second and all players guaranteed at least $215K, which is the sixth-place payout. https://twitter.com/WPT/status/1514051389810425858?s=20&t=jsFkBJS0YBgvCmJNgUuUWg

What’s Next?

The main tour will sit back for a month and a half until the time for WPT Venetian Las Vegas. This will put the World Poker Tour action up against the end of the World Series of Poker. It is incorporating its WPT Venetian Festival into the Venetian’s summer tournament series, with that Main Event set to begin on July 12…as the WSOP Main Event plays toward its final table. After that, the WPT picks up again in Florida in August and heads to Australia in September.   Meanwhile, the new WPT Prime tour just kicked off in Hanoi, Vietnam. The tour that is taking the place of WPTDeepStacks started its WPT Prime Vietnam Festival on May 19, with the Main Event starting on May 26. From there, the tour will head to the Gold Coast of Australia in June before a pause. Then, it will host a Cambodia event in August, go to Spain in September, and then wrap the year in Taiwan in November.