The 52nd annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) wrapped up its second week of play at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino with thrilling wins and new champions crowned. With over 5,300 participants in just the Millionaire Maker event and over 20 gold bracelets already awarded, week two of the WSOP delivered some exciting events and game-winning hands including the debut live iteration of the Flip & Go format and a heart-racing finale in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event.

Poker fans and interested media can tune into the weekly WSOP virtual press conference on Friday, Oct. 15 at 12 p.m. PST where host Tiffany Michelle will dive deeper into this week’s milestone events with special guests, bracelet winners and more. This week’s virtual press conference can be viewed on the WSOP YouTube channel

Week 2 Highlights

Phil Hellmuth Denied 16th Bracelet as Anthony Zinno Wins His 3rd in the $10K Stud Championship
Anthony Zinno, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and former World Poker Tour Player of the Year, earned a new gold bracelet after beating out two Poker Hall of Famers and denying crowd favorite Phil Hellmuth his 16th gold bracelet.

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DJ Alexander Captures First WSOP Bracelet in Event #20: GGPoker Flip & Go ($180,665)
The popular online Flip & Go format made its live debut at WSOP on Oct. 10, offering players a chance to quickly move on to the next table in a single hand. After seven hours of play on Day 2, DJ Alexander emerged victorious, earning his first WSOP gold bracelet and $180,665 in cash.
Pete Chen Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in the Ultra-Deepstack Online Event
Pete Chen claimed his first WSOP gold bracelet after defeating “Selvastar7” in a heads-up showdown with a river paired ace-jack, earning him $82,559. Chen’s victory marks a career-high online score bringing his total tournament earnings to $661,618.

John Monnette Wins Fourth WSOP Bracelet after 11 Hours of Play in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship
John Monnette snags his fourth WSOP bracelet on Oct. 10, winning a total $245,680 and handing defeat to Nate Silver heads-up.

Jason Koon Snags His First WSOP Bracelet in $25K Heads Up Championship
American Poker Pro and new GGPoker ambassador Jason Koon wins intense face-off with Gabor Szabo, snagging his first-ever WSOP bracelet for $243,981.

What To Look Forward To

Friday, Oct. 15 – Event #30A: MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold’em (Freezeout)
Players will face-off for a chance at a WSOP gold bracelet in a $1,500 buy in, no re-entry tournament.
Tuesday, Oct. 19 – Event #37: 1,500 Super Bounty No-Limit Hold’em
Players will compete in a one-day tournament where they will receive $500 from the prize pool for every player they eliminate.
Upcoming WSOP live streaming on PokerGO: PokerGO.com is live streaming 36 days of action from the 2021 World Series of Poker, including the entire $10,000 Main Event from start to finish. Coming up are live streams of Event #25: $5,000 NL Hold’em Six-Handed on Friday, October 15, Event #29: $10,000 Short Deck on Saturday, October 16, and Event #32: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. on Monday, October 18. Watch now on PokerGO.com.
For real-time WSOP coverage, please visit PokerNews.com https://bit.ly/3uLIQdj.

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Nominations for WSOP® Poker Hall of Fame are now open at WSOP.com

The 52^nd annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) is officially underway at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Recognized as the gaming industry’s largest and most prestigious poker tournament series, competitors from around the world will be competing in one of 88 highly coveted WSOP gold bracelet events now through Tuesday, Nov. 23 for the chance to be immortalized as poker royalty.

Back and bigger than ever, the WSOP is raising the stakes this year with new and noteworthy events like this weekend’s $500 “The Reunion” featuring a $5,000,000 GTD prize pool on Saturday, Oct. 1; the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship featuring poker’s finest on Tuesday, Oct. 5; the Return of the Record Breakers with appearances from The Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, Double Stack, Colossus and The Closer beginning Friday, Oct. 8 – Friday, Nov. 19; and much more.

“We’ve spent the last 26 months dreaming of the return of the WSOP live and in-person to the Rio, and it feels incredible to say, today is that day,” said Senior Vice President of the World Series of Poker, Ty Stewart. “There is nothing like the WSOP live with each day making history– from the unforgettable wins to the overwhelming upsets—it’s an unmatched experience. We are incredibly appreciative of those who have traveled near and far to be back in Las Vegas with us, as well as our Team Members and partners considering it takes a huge village to pull this event off.”

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In addition to the in-person tournament at the Rio, the 2021 WSOP is once again bringing the action to Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania players online with gold bracelet tournaments each held Sunday on WSOP.com. Tournaments will start at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST beginning on Sunday, Oct. 3 with a special “Double Bracelet Day” through Sunday, Nov. 21 with a “Mini Main Event,” totaling 11 online gold bracelet tournaments.

Returning this year, fans can stay up to date with weekly online press conferences. Kicking off at 1 p.m. PST on Saturday, Oct. 2 and then being held every Friday at 12 p.m. PST, WSOP will hold a virtual press conference live from the Rio Convention Center, where hosts Tiffany Michele and Sarah Herring will recap the week’s hottest stories; interview some of the week’s winners and preview what is to come. Those interested can tune in here: www.youtube.com/wsop.

The 2021 WSOP opening day also marks the beginning of public online nominations to the Poker Hall of Fame. Starting today through Thursday, Oct. 14, poker enthusiasts are encouraged to nominate the sport’s greatest players at www.wsop.com/PHOF. To qualify for the Poker Hall of Fame, players must meet the following criteria:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40-years-old at time of nomination
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

On Friday, October 15, Caesars Entertainment Inc. will reveal a list of finalists that will be delivered to the Hall of Fame members to cast their votes. The 2021 inductee will be honored during a live announcement on CBS during the Hall of Fame Bounty Event on Wednesday, Nov. 17. For more information on the Poker Hall of Fame, please visit http://www.wsop.com/pokerhalloffame/.