By Dave Lukow
It was business as usual for Phil Hellmuth at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The player who’s won the most bracelets in WSOP history, Hellmuth added his 17th this summer in Las Vegas.
Along with the bracelet, the Wisconsin native earned $803,818 for winning Event 72, a $10,000 super turbo bounty no-limit hold’em tournament. There were 642 entrants in the event. Justin Zaki was second in the competition, while Tom Kunze took third. Phil Ivey collected $133,461 for finishing sixth. Playing out of Henderson, Nev., Ivey totaled three cashes at the 2023 WSOP.
Hellmuth, the “Poker Brat,” cashed 13 times at this year’s WSOP. For his career, he has more cashes (184) than any other player. Those cashes have earned Hellmuth more than $16.1 million.
A former student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hellmuth first cashed at the WSOP in 1988. That fifth-place finish paid $15,450. One year later, at 24, he became the youngest player – at the time – to win the WSOP Main Event. The victory was worth $755,000.
Hellmuth didn’t collect a bracelet at the 2022 WSOP. His last win – prior to July – came in 2021 at the 52nd Annual World Series of Poker. For that performance, he was paid $84,951.
At 59, based solely on his run this summer, Hellmuth doesn’t seem close to slowing down. A 14th-place finish in Event 43 was worth $97,209. He was 11th in Event 35, a $10,000 secret bounty no-limit hold’em tourney. That paid more than $29,000.
Hellmuth, who now resides in California, capped his showing this year by finishing 9th in Event 90, the $10,000 6-Handed hold’em Championship, adding $86,118 to his bankroll.
Doyle Brunson, Ivey and Johnny Chan, each with 10 wins at the WSOP, rank second to Hellmuth. Erik Seidel has 9 bracelets in his trophy case.
The WSOP has been awarding bracelets for more than 45 years.
