PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (July 8). Until then, we will keep readers informed with updates on chip counts and core event statistics, including entries and the prize pool. Scroll down to see more.
For the first time in well over a decade, Brad Booth is back in the World Series of Poker Main Event.
The Canadian, affectionately known as "Yukon Brad," was one of the biggest personalities of poker's boom years. From battling in Bobby's Room to pulling off one of the most memorable bluffs in High Stakes Poker history against Phil Ivey, Booth was never far from the spotlight.
Booth believes the last time he played the Main Event was around 2012, and after years away from the WSOP and a well-documented fall from the high-stakes scene, he's back in poker's biggest tournament with a very different outlook.
In the 984th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway is joined by Kyna England, Esther "Etay" Taylor, and Caitlin Comeskey at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas for a special women in poker episode!
They talk about Skye Chen defeating Aubrey Williams to win the record-breaking WSOP Ladies Event, open bracelet wins for Kristen Foxen and Michelle Chin, and other women's events from about town at Wynn, Venetian, and more. Plus, Etay becomes an ambassador for BetMGM Poker, and Phil Hellmuth is donating $25,000 to juice a prize pool at Champions Club's upcoming Queens & Cards event.
Find out all about those stories and more in this week's episode of the PokerNews Podcast! Oh, and be sure to check out the audio version of the PokerNews Podcast that is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
For many players in the World Series of Poker Main Event, the goal isn't making the final table or winning the bracelet. It's simply making the money.
With Day 2abc now underway and Day 2d still to come, that familiar question is starting to make the rounds of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas tournament floor: When will the bubble burst?
While the final field size won't be known until registration closes at the end of Day 2d, recent history gives us a pretty good idea.
Have you heard about MyStack by PokerNews? It is a free-to-use tool built into the PokerNews website that puts you in control of your chip counts on our live reporting pages. MyStack directly connects you to PokerNews live reporting pages, making you an even bigger part of the action in the events you play.
MyStack is a free poker tool and PokerNews activates MyStack for every event it is live reporting from, regardless of that tournament's buy-in. Once you have created a free PokerNews account, you can use MyStack to update your chip counts in real time; hopefully, your stack will continue increasing throughout the event!
The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is gearing up for the second of three flights in Event #86: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em. Cards are in the air from 10 a.m. local time on July 6. Surviving players from each flight combine on July 8 for Day 2.
Ultra Stack simply means the players will all start with a lot more chips than normal for a $600 buy-in tournament, which makes this event appealing to recreational players and pros alike.
On Day 1a, the 1,366-strong field was reduced to only 98 over the course of 22 levels.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajan Patel | United States | 2,690,000 | 67 |
| 2 | Wade Gillett | Canada | 2,460,000 | 62 |
| 3 | Ming Chen | United States | 2,390,000 | 60 |
| 4 | Son Ho | United States | 2,280,000 | 57 |
| 5 | Zahor Maymon | Israel | 2,000,000 | 50 |
| 6 | James Hollman | United States | 1,810,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Michael Danley | United States | 1,780,000 | 45 |
| 8 | Sanjeev Kapoor | United States | 1,730,000 | 43 |
| 9 | Adill Kassou | United States | 1,660,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Andrew Dubuque | United States | 1,635,000 | 41 |
Day 1b of the $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em event starts at 10 a.m. local time on July 5, with entrants receiving a 60,000 starting stack. Late registration remains open for 12 levels and will close at the end of the dinner break, which should be right around 6:15 p.m. local time. There are three Day 1 starting flights, all playing the same structure, with Day 1c on Tuesday, July 7.
All Day 1's will complete 22 levels of 30 minutes each with a break after every four levels. There is a 75-minute dinner break after Level 12, at approximately 5 p.m.
Day 2 begins at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8. Levels jump to 40 minutes, and the day won't conclude until either 17 levels have been played or the field is down to five players. Breaks will occur every three levels, and a 60-minute dinner break will start at right around 7:30 p.m. PokerNews traditional live coverage will begin on Day 2.
At the 2025 WSOP, Justin Fawcett, an American poker player, outlasted a field of 7,057 entrants to win $355,110 out of the $2,992,086 prize pool, along with his first WSOP bracelet.
Carson Heidemann won this same event in 2024 for $343,010 and the bracelet, beating out 6,628 entrants.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on legends like Daniel Negreanu or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you. No subscriptions, no paywalls - just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most.
It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
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Event #86: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1b Started
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