The 2015 WSOP is scheduled to kick off on May 27. This year, the world’s most popular poker festival is to award more than 60 bracelets and almost $200 million in prize money. Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is to play host to the series of events, which are set to continue through July 14.
Apart from the well-known events, such as the $1,000 Little One for ONE DROP, the $111,111 ONE DROP High Roller, and the $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em with a guaranteed first-place prize of $1 million, the WSOP is to debut other exciting events. For instance, an all-new $565 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em with a guaranteed prize pool of $5 million is to take place on May 29-30.
As mentioned above, apart from the prize money, winners in the WSOP events will also be awarded bracelets, manufactured exclusively for the tournament. These are known to be among the most popular non-monetary prizes that a poker player could win. Bracelets have been given to winners in events of the annual WSOP since 1976. Winners in events that took place prior to 1976 are also considered to be bracelet holders.
And here are the five poker players who hold the most WSOP bracelets in the history of the prestigious series:
Phil Hellmuth Jr.
Hellmuth is an absolute record-breaker and holder of 13 bracelets. He got his first piece of WSOP jewelry in 1989, when he was only 24. Back then, the Wisconsin-born player became the youngest one in the history of the WSOP to capture a bracelet.
His name has also been recorded in the short list of poker pros who have won 3 of the coveted pieces in a single WSOP festival. This happened in 1993, when Hellmuth topped the fields of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em, and $5,000 Limit Hold’em events. He got his latest bracelet in 2012, when he won the €10,450 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.
Doyle F. Brunson
The Texas native has won as many as 10 WSOP bracelets in his more than 50-year career as a professional poker player. Brunson captured his first one in 1976, when he became the Main Event champion. A year later, he successfully defended his title. The player won his latest bracelet in 2005, when he triumphed in the $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event.
Johnny Chan
Chan has collected a total of 10 bracelets starting from 1985, when he won the $1,000 Limit Hold’em event. The player is a two-time WSOP Main Event champion. He won his first WSOP title in 1987 and defended it one year later. Chan got his latest bracelet in 2005 for emerging victorious over the field of the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold’Em event.
Phil Ivey
Ivey, who is currently among the world’s most popular and profitable poker pros, also holds 10 WSOP bracelets. He won his first one in 2000, when he was only 24. Ivey topped the field of the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event back then. His latest bracelet dates back to 2014, when the player won the $1,500 Eight Game Mix event.
Similarly to Hellmuth, Ivey is among the few players to have won 3 bracelets in one WSOP festival. This happened in 2002, when he triumphed in the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud, $2,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo, and $2,000 S.H.O.E. events.
Johnny Moss
Last in the list comes Johnny Moss, the first-ever WSOP Main Event champion. The player won a total of 9 bracelets. He got first one in 1970. Moss defended his title a year later. He won his third WSOP Main Event in 1974. The Texas-born player captured his last bracelet in 1988. In addition, Moss was one of the first Poker Hall of Fame inductees. The player passed away in 1995.
