The Muck · WSOP Daily Brief
Day 11 - Chip and a Chair, and Now a Dealer's Choice
Day 10 closed with three bracelets and the best comeback story of the summer - Naoya Kihara, down to a single chip on Day 1, winning the $10K NL 2-7 Lowball Championship for $428,923. Day 11 opened with its own drama: Philip Wess, an amateur with four recorded live cashes (most recent: 2017), holding a massive chip lead over Dario Sammartino heading into the Dealers Choice final table. Meanwhile, the $25K High Roller fired Day 2 with 78 players and Spain's Yaman Nakdali out front, and Jalil Houssain - a Palestinian-American rookie - gave the series its most emotional interview in years. Eighteen bracelets down. Eighty-two to go.
Story 01 of 7
Only 10 players remain in Event #20: $1,500 Dealers Choice, and Philip Wess of the Boston area holds 5,370,000 chips - nearly one-third of all chips in play - heading into the final day, which starts at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 5. Dario Sammartino (2,030,000) is second. Robert Klein (1,915,000) is third. The field also includes bracelet winners Nathan Gamble (1,350,000) and Jeff Madsen (750,000), plus mixed game regulars Clayton Mozdzen (1,180,000) and John Bunch (1,155,000). According to Hendon Mob, Wess has just four recorded live tournament cashes, his most recent in 2017. Defending champion Benny Glaser and reigning Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi both busted during Day 2. Prize pool: $161,057 to the winner, bracelet, and first-time history.
Why it mattersDealers Choice is one of the hardest mixed game formats in the world - the winner picks the game each orbit, forcing opponents to play your best game against their weaknesses. The Hendon Mob profile tells one story. The chip stack tells another. Wess has played every game in this field as well as anyone. If he wins, it's one of the more striking 'who is this person' bracelet winners in years.
Story 02 of 7
Naoya Kihara won Event #17: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship for $428,923, defeating David Lin heads-up after one of the summer's best comeback stories. On Day 1, Kihara bluffed into Benny Glaser with a paired five, got called, and was left with a single 1,000-chip big blind. He tripled up, doubled up, and eventually won the tournament 50-plus hours later. The final table had Hellmuth (9th), Shaun Deeb (5th), Dan Shak (6th), and John Cynn (3rd) - a genuine who's-who of mixed game talent. The field was 198 entries, prize pool $1,841,400. Kihara's last bracelet was in 2012 - Japan's first ever - ending a 14-year drought.
Why it mattersIt is the quintessential poker story: chip and a chair, and a prayer. Kihara, 44, had been considering retirement from tournament poker. The win prompted him to extend his schedule. He was also drafted by Team Banana in the $25K Fantasy Draft for $1, making him the steal of the summer so far.
Story 03 of 7
Naseem Salem - known as Nick to his friends, nobody to Hendon Mob before this week - won Event #11: $10,000 GGMillion$ High Roller for $1,089,964 from a 627-player field, defeating Alexis Cruz Martinez heads-up in a boat-over-boat cooler. Salem beat a final table that included Stephen Chidwick, WSOP Paradise winner Bernhard Binder, and Jesse Lonis. He had just $468,774 in career earnings before today. He now has $1.5 million.
Why it mattersBeating Chidwick and Binder in a $10K high roller is a real result. Salem tripled his career earnings in one event. Runner-up Martinez banked a career-best $726,598.
Story 04 of 7
Jalil Houssain, a Palestinian-American from San Francisco who has more than 50 cousins still living in Palestine, finished runner-up in Event #1: $550 Mini Mystery Millions for $265,000 - his first-ever live WSOP event, played through chronic pain stemming from a rare medical complication in 2020. He would have been the first Palestinian-American WSOP bracelet winner. He fell short, finishing second to Philip Chun, and broke down in tears. In an interview with PokerNews, he said, 'I know my brothers and sisters in Palestine and Gaza are suffering to no end. And it would have been great to be able to take it down for them and represent.' Houssain listed his nationality as Palestinian in the WSOP LIVE app. He said he plans to keep playing the rest of the series.
Why it mattersThe 2026 WSOP has had big bracelet winners, wild hands, and a tax controversy. This is the story that hits differently. Houssain navigated a field of 20,488 players in his first-ever live WSOP event, while dealing with chronic pain and thinking about his extended family. Runner-up in that context is not a loss.
Story 05 of 7
Day 2 of Event #19: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em is underway with 78 players returning and late registration open until approximately 1:15 p.m. Yaman Nakdali of Spain leads with 1,996,000. Jon Vallinas, also of Spain, is second with 1,285,000. Ihar Soika (Belarus) is third at 1,254,000. Nakdali advanced from Day 1b after busting Martin Kabrhel - pocket nines held against ace-king on a seven-high board. The field includes Alex Foxen (737,000), Kristen Foxen (348,000), Cary Katz (150,000), Brian Rast (532,000), and Artur Martirosian (728,000). Nearly half of the 78 returning players are bracelet winners.
Why it mattersThe $25K High Roller is the first event of the week that will produce a big-money result this week. The field is compact, star-studded, and still open for late entries. Whoever survives today will be a genuine high roller credit. Nakdali's Kabrhel bustout was exactly the kind of polarizing elimination that drives high roller narratives - Kabrhel's table presence is always a story.
Story 06 of 7
Ray Kondler, CPA - the poker world's most trusted tax expert - appeared on the PokerNews Podcast with a blunt message: the 'Big Beautiful Bill' is 'not great for gamblers.' The new law imposes a 10% tax on gross gambling winnings. Kondler said high-stakes fields saw 'noticeable absences' earlier in the year as players avoided big-win tax exposure. He warned players that they need to track every expense meticulously since offset losses are no longer as effective. Lobbying efforts - including conversations with Nevada Rep. Dina Titus - are ongoing, but the law remains active. Kondler & Associates will have a booth at the WSOP registration area all summer.
Why it mattersA 10% gross tax fundamentally changes the EV calculation for every tournament poker player. 'It used to be that if you won $100,000 and lost $100,000, it would zero out,' Kondler said. That's no longer the case. Erik Seidel said it might force him into semi-retirement.
Story 07 of 7
Ricky Landais, all-in with A-K against A-9, watched the dealer spread four cards on the flop without burning. Floor ruled: reshuffle and redeal. His king became the burn card. The new flop ran 4-6-5, opponent hit a runner-runner straight on the river. Landais busted 22nd for $41,942.
Why it mattersTechnically correct ruling, catastrophically unfair outcome. The TDA is revisiting the rule. WSOP Countdown discussed it on camera.
17 of 100 bracelets awarded through June 4/5 (Day 10). Event #20 Dealers Choice is playing to a champion on Day 11 - result pending. Full confirmed list through Day 10:
Confirmed chip leaders heading into Day 11 action:
Notable eliminations from Day 10/11 action:
Extended his WSOP final table record. Bracelet #18 hunt continues.
POY contender. Cash adds points but 5th is not the bracelet Deeb needed to move up the standings.
2018 Main Event champ who hadn't cashed a live tournament since 2022. Eliminated more than half the final table before falling to Kihara.
Defending Dealers Choice champion. Eliminated during Day 2 before the final 10 were set.
Defending POY and Main Event champion. Busted before the final 10.
Ace-king ran into Nakdali's pocket nines on a seven-high board. Eliminations involving Kabrhel are newsworthy for obvious reasons.
Leads the 2026 global POY standings per wsop.com/2026-poy/ as of early June, following results from both WSOP Europe (Prague) and Las Vegas opening week.
Two-time POY winner. His 5th-place finish in Event #17 ($10K NL 2-7) adds points. Best-15-results format means volume is still his edge.
Busted from Dealers Choice on Day 2 before making the final 10. Schedule and point position are not confirmed in available sources today.
Another final table, no bracelet. 9th place in the $10K 2-7 Championship extends his all-time WSOP final table record. Still stuck at 17 bracelets.