Las Vegas action warming up with the return of top players to the scene

The WSOP 2017 may still be a day away but the heated action in Las Vegas has already begun. Since last week, the Aria Super High Roller festival at the Aria Casino and Resort has been the talk of the town with nothing but big stories to boot. One of the top headlines was Tony G back at the felt and already causing a ruckus by claiming one of the early events.

The biggest hype however is the sold out US$300K Super High Roller Bowl where only a select number of players were able to secure a lucky seat. Cards are now in the air for that exclusive event.

Then of course with the WSOP just about to take flight, excitement is building up with Gus Hansen already in the vicinity and Doyle Brunson staging a return. Read more about all these stories below.

Tony G takes and Justin Bonomo early winners at the Aria Super High Roller

For several years, Antanas Guoga aka Tony G the Lithuanian poker pro turned political figure has been absent from the live tournament circuit. Notorious for belittling players at the felt, his presence has surely been missed however last week, Tony G was spotted in Las Vegas where he attended the Aria High Rollers US$25,000 event. His long absence was clearly not a disadvantage as he stormed past the 32 player field to claim the victory and end his four year live tournament cash drought. Tony G earned US$353,280 which was quite a sweet reward for his return to the scene.  He plans to donate all his winnings to charity.

Justin Bonomo has also shaken things up at Aria after winning two of the early events. Bonomo won the opening Aria 10K event besting a field of 30 players for a US$138,000 payout. Two days after, he shipped in the Aria Super High Roller US$50K entry event, topping a field of 56 players for a US$779,520 payout – a split down the middle deal made with the 2^nd place finisher.  His combined winnings bring him well over US$900K. Bonomo is definitely on fire, averaging two cashes a month and has already earned nearly US$2.6 million this year alone.

The fourth event of the series, the Aria Super High Roller US$100K saw a seven digit payout go to the top three players with Germany’s Christian Christner getting the largest take of US$1,454,720. At this event, David Peters picked up his third cash of the festival and Daniel Negreanu banked the first payout of his summer goal with an 8^th place finish.

Cards in the air at the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl US$300K

The 2017 Super High Roller Bowl had cards flying today at Aria Casino and Resort with the crème de la crème of the poker world in attendance. This highly anticipated event has been sold out since February with 35 randomly picked players securing a coveted seat. With the addition of reserved seats for Aria, the field expanded to a maximum of 56 players, each one putting up the US$300,000 entry fee. The prize pool is now at an astounding US$16,800,000.

Within the next days, all eyes will definitely be glued to this event with everyone waiting to see how it all unfolds. Just to give you a brief overview of the seat draw, German sensation Fedor Holz is flanked by Isaac Haxton and John Juanda on each side; the highly expressive Daniel Negreanu has the tough talking Tony G at his table; defending champion Brian Rast is tabled with Antonio Esfandiari who is looking to ship in his first score this year; and scattered around the rest of the floor are other pros such as poker legend Erik Seidel, poker brat Phil Hellmuth, hot-handed Justin Bonomo, GPI 2016 winner David Peters, Doug Polk, and Daniel Colman among many others.

We will have a full recap for you as soon as this event concludes.

Gus Hansen ready for the WSOP; Doyle Brunson to play most of the WSOP 10k events

1 Day to Vegas – WSOP here I come!

— Gus Hansen (@GusHansen) May 22, 2017

The great Dane has landed! Gus Hansen arrived in Las Vegas last week and is charged up for the upcoming WSOP 2017. According to his facebook and twitter accounts, he had a bit of a run-in with the immigration authorities but has been cleared and is at the Bellagio enjoying his hotel room before hitting the tables. Although he hasn’t declared what events he will play at the WSOP, he confirmed his attendance on a tweet “1 Day to Vegas – WSOP here I come!”

Hansen has not been seen at the live circuit arena since 2014 so his early presence in Las Vegas has everyone buzzing with excitement.

I actually am thinking about playing all the 10k events. Depends on my wife’s health issues. https://t.co/7XybolsXOT

— Doyle Brunson (@TexDolly) May 16, 2017

Alike Hansen, poker legend Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson also announced via twitter that he will be attending the WSOP 2017. Brunson is one of the most famous and greatest poker players in the world but has been sorely missed at the WSOP scene for the past few years. Brunson is a two-time WSOP Main Event champion with 10 WSOP bracelets to boast of. At the upcoming festival, Brunson has his sights set on the cash games but will possibly attend all of the 10K events including the Main Event and the Player Championships. With all his poker guns and tools intact, those masterful skills that have continuously defined him, we may just see the Texas Dolly clasp an 11^th gold upon his wrist.

Article by Triccia David