It didn’t take long for the action at the 2024 World Series of Poker to heat up, and there are always some events when there are typically more legends than others. That was the case in one of the early events as several big names were battling it out in the $1,500 dealer’s choice six-max event.
Multiple bracelet winners were making a deep run in this tournament, but everyone was left chasing a Poker Hall of Fame member. 53-year-old John Hennigan took home the title in this event, the seventh time he has won a WSOP bracelet.
A majority of the action at the WSOP is played as a no-limit hold’em-style event, but Hennigan has won all of these titles in a different format. He has now cashed out in 50 different tournaments at the WSOP and has won more than $6 million since 2002.
Another player, Shaun Deeb, was looking to earn his seventh bracelet by winning this tournament. It was a tight battle between Hennigan and Deeb, but the latter came up just two players short of reaching the final table.
Hennigan Continues to Win
Hennigan was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame based on a terrific career playing live poker. His first win at the WSOP was in 2002. It didn’t take Hennigan long before he got his second bracelet, as he took down the $5,000 limit hold ’em in 2004.
This win by Hennigan allowed him to take home $138,296, but that’s not even close to his biggest win on this circuit. Back in 2014, Hennigan was the top player at the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship, leading to a massive win.
It had been a while since Hennigan found the ultimate success at the WSOP, as his last win was back in 2019. He is currently sitting in 79th place on the Card Player Player of the Year race, but he is not going to be done at the WSOP.
There were 530 entries in this tournament, and the pot reached close to $710,000, which is a nice payout for an early event at the WSOP. However, this event is one of the more tricky ones at the WSOP, as many different forms of poker are played.
Other Big Names
When the final six players sat at the final table, most of the other big names in this tournament field had already been eliminated. Deeb was trying to win his 7th bracelet, and there were other previous winners.
Jeff Madsen was looking for his fifth bracelet but was eliminated just before reaching the top 10. Benny Glaser was looking to win number six at the WSOP but was sent home in 24th place.
Other events will attract the biggest names, but this one stood out right away.