The 2018 World Series of Poker has kicked off and there are a couple of notable headlines already. From a big win to a familiar face returning to the tables, here’s a look at this week’s biggest poker news:
Cada Wins Third WSOP Bracelet
Joe Cada, a well-known player on the poker circuit, has won his third WSOP bracelet at the 2018 event. Cada, who is maybe best known for winning the 2009 Main Event, had been quiet in recent years until this big win. He arrived back on the scene in a big way, winning the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’Em Shootout. The American took home $226,218 for his first six-figure payday since June 2014. Fellow Americans Samuel Phillips and Joseph McKeehen were second and third with $139,804 and $101,766, respectively. English players Jack Maskill and Harry Lodge rounded out the top five with $74,782 and $55,480, respectively.
It was the third World Series of Poker bracelet for Cada, who was the youngest-ever winner of the Main Event when he won it nine years ago. We’ll see if the 30-year-old can carry this momentum through the 2018 Main Event and produce some other strong finishes.
Ivey Makes Return To WSOP
One of the biggest names in poker has returned to the World Series. Phil Ivey, who has won over $26 million in live tournaments, is back and is participating in the 2018 event. While he’s never won the Main Event – his best finish was seventh in 2009 – he has 10 World Series of Poker bracelets to his name.
Ivey has been quiet on the scene recently for a slew of reasons and he didn’t play in the WSOP last year. However, he made his return, playing in the fifth event, which is the $100,000 High Roller event, although he couldn’t advance past Level 13. Ivey’s last bracelet at the World Series of Poker came in 2014 in the 50th event, the $1,500 8-Game Mix. He took home $166,986 at the time.
He has had some legal issues in the past few years and it caused him to withdraw from the limelight a little bit. However, Ivey has returned with a vengeance, especially at the Triton Super High Roller Series in Montenegro in May. Ivey won a Short Deck Ante Only $250,000 event, taking home $604,992. Then he finished third in a Short Deck Ante Only $1 Million event, pocketing $1,666,480. He’s a fan favorite and a lot of people are excited to see him back at the Rio Convention Center.
Global Poker Now Accepts Worldpay
Global Poker, one of the fastest-growing poker brands in the world, will now accept a new form of payment. They have revealed that they now have a partnership with Worldpay as a new method of processing transactions for players, which makes it a bit easier to get your money in and out. Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions a year. They themselves recently partnered up with Vantiv, the largest processor of debit/credit-card transactions in the United States.