World Series of Poker Paradise Closes Out Bracelet Chasing for Year
The World Series of Poker Paradise was launched in December 2023, bringing players together from around the world to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas for a winter series with plenty of sunshine and high-stakes tournaments.
This year’s series recently concluded in December and featured 15 championship gold bracelets up for grabs as well as millions of dollars in prize money.
The $25,000 WSOP Super Main Event highlighted the action with the largest guarantee in poker history at $50 million.
In the end, China’s Yinan Zhou came out on top for $6 million and his first bracelet. The 24-year-old is based in Switzerland and is mostly an online player.
He also finished 28th last year in the $5,000 main event in the Bahamas for $72,000. Some added preparation for the year’s series appeared to have paid some nice dividends.
“I have no plan [for the money]… it is big money,” he said after the win. “Now I feel good. I decided to play more, practice more, study more to become better and better, to fight against the best and become the best.”
A Look at Other Winners
Some other big names also stood out in the Bahamas. High-stakes regular Alex Foxen grabbed his third bracelet by taking down the $100,000 Triton Main Event for $3.9 million and now has $42.8 million in live tournament winnings.
It’s been quite a run for the high-stakes regular, who also won a $50,000 Triton Poker super high roller in November for $1.5 million and won an online bracelet event in October at WSOP.com in October.
In January, Foxen captured a title in a $25,000 event at the Lucky Hearts Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida for $426,075.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Kitreel
In the $26,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship in the Bahamas, Pennsylvania’s Eric Wasserson grabbed the win for $353,340 and his first bracelet. Jeffery Hakim, also of Pennsylvania, took the win in the $2,750 Mini Main Event for $575,050 for the biggest cash of his career.
Mike Gorodinsky, of California, scooped up the $10,400 pot limit Omaha title for $393,250 and his fourth bracelet.
Poker commentator and PokerGO commentator Nick Schulman also recorded his sixth WSOP win, taking down the $5,000 turbo bounty event for $145,000 and now has almost $22 million in live tournament winnings.
Argentinian rapper Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo continued to show that he is more than just a man with a microphone. The PokerStars ambassador brings plenty of card-playing skills as well and took down the $525,000 Triton Million event for more than $12 million and his first bracelet.
Lococo now has several wins on his record, including a $5,150 event in Cyprus in October 2023 for $102,292. The massive win in the Bahamas moved his lifetime poker tournament earnings to almost $15 million.
In other action, Stephen Chidwick collected his second bracelet in the $50,000 pot limit Omaha championship for $1.4 million. The Englishman sits third on poker’s all-time money winnings list with $63.4 million.
First Major Series Since GGPoker Purchase of WSOP
The Bahamas series was one of the first run by GGPoker since the online operator purchased the WSOP from Caesars Entertainment earlier this year.
The company plans on building the brand and expanding more WSOP online and live tournament opportunities for players around the world. That included ramping up the number of online qualifiers heading to the Bahamas.
One of poker’s biggest names and a GGPoker ambassador made a nice run in the series. Seven-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu took eighth in the $10,000 pot limit Omaha event for $45,710. He produced his popular vlogs throughout the series.
Image Credit: Pokerstars.Net
Negreanu scored that seventh bracelet in the summer of 2024 at the Las Vegas WSOP, winning the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $1.2 million.
The title is highly coveted among many high-stakes pros and Negreanu’s win came after several close calls.
“Obviously this one is special, but I wouldn’t want to relive all the second-place finishes that I had,” he told PokerGO. “It felt like it was like 10 in a row. And the anxiety and stress, just to be over it – and to get all the chips in the end, win the all-ins, it’s just a massive relief.”
As the series at the Atlantic wrapped, Negreanu already had his eye on more action after the WSOP officially released dates for the summer series in Sin City.
“Man time flies,” he noted on Twitter. “Finishing up WSOP Paradise and already have WSOP Vegas to look forward to.”
