PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 3 (June 22). Until then, we will be keeping readers informed with updates on chip counts and core event statistics, including entries and prize pool. Scroll down to see more.
Event #50: $1,500 Millionaire Maker
Day 1d Completed
Day 1d was the biggest field yet for Event #50: $1,500 Millionaire Maker. At the close of play, the number of entries was up to 4,526 for the day. This put another $6,008,265 in the pot, bringing it up to $15,623,348, according to the counts on the WSOP LIVE App.
This leaves plenty to go around after the $1,000,000 guaranteed first prize has been carved out of the pile.
Day 1d is the final Day 1 flight of the event, and the day's action left Chris Conrad at the top of the counts on the WSOP LIVE App, with 1,165,000 in his stack.
Behind him are Erik Eisen (744,500) and Yossi Eluz (740,500), in second and third, respectively.
Some notables who found a bag include Day 1b chip leader Casey Sandretto (715,000), back for another round after being eliminated in his previous flight, and Main Event Champions Stoyan Madanzhiev (174,000) and Simone Andrian (32,500). There were also many 25k Fantasy players like Martin Zamani (250,000), Christian Roberts (214,500), David Peters (179,000), Joshua Mccully (163,000), Joey Weissman (144,000), Jim Collopy (116,000), Kristen Foxen (104,500), and Anthony Zinno (17,000).
They were joined by big names like Shiina Okamoto (132,000), Tom Middleton (130,500), Brek Schutten (126,000), Maria Konnikova (118,500), and Cherish Andrews (94,500).
These survivors will all return at 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, June 20. Blinds will be 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 ante. PokerNews' traditional live coverage will begin on Day 3, which starts on Monday, June 21.
Stay tuned for PokerNews for all the latest from the Millionaire and the rest of the 2026 WSOP.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Conrad | United States | 1,165,000 | 583 |
| 2 | Erik Eisen | Germany | 744,500 | 372 |
| 3 | Yossi Eluz | Israel | 740,500 | 370 |
| 4 | Casey Sandretto | United States | 715,000 | 358 |
| 5 | Marcdavid Delimal | France | 565,000 | 283 |
| 6 | Daniel Dinh | United States | 495,000 | 248 |
| 7 | Tanner Pray | United States | 393,500 | 197 |
| 8 | Thanh Bui | United States | 331,000 | 166 |
| 9 | Cesar Del Pino | Spain | 291,000 | 146 |
| 10 | Johann Tiemann | United States | 286,500 | 143 |
Chip counts according to WSOP LIVE App.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
In the 977th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway and Mike Holtz are joined at Level 9 Studio in Las Vegas by a pair from the UK in Grosvenor Poker's Katie Swift and Philip "The Tower" Heald.
The quartet discusses the recent high-profile bet between Phil Hellmuth and Shaun Deeb, one involving the former's son, Phillip "P3" Hellmuth III, and the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Deeb stands to win $14,000 max, while Hellmuth could potentially win $10,000,000! It's an extremely long shot, but what do you think?
From there, the crew looks at a pair of game-changing hands. In the first, Dario Sammartino shared on social media that an automatic shuffler has apparently sorted the cards, which resulted in two very similar hands, and in the other, a dealer error resulted in the final two players in the COLOSSUS being dealt the wrong cards in the first hand of heads-up play. No one noticed in real time, and the tournament ended as a result.
Other topics include changes to the Poker Hall of Fame, The Tower advocating for Barny Boatman and John Duthie to be inducted, and a look ahead to Grosvenor Poker's famed GOLIATH, which will run July 23-August 2. Finally, don't forget to order your Think Jerky here!
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.
As per the WSOP LIVE app.
The poker community asked, and the WSOP listened.
In a major shake-up to the Poker Hall of Fame, the induction process is shifting away from its traditional "winner-takes-all" format. A brand-new voting system has been introduced, paving the way for up to six of the eight nominees to be inducted in a single year.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 Poker Hall of Fame. Once the public determines the top eight nominees, the final decision will rest with the 33 living Hall of Fame members.
As per the WSOP LIVE app.
In the 975th episode of the PokerNews Podcast, which is sponsored by FanDuel Poker, Chad Holloway is on vacation so Mike Holtz and Ben Ludlow take over by inviting their friends Justin Young and Art Parmann, hosts of the popular Table 1 Podcast.
What is the Table 1 Podcast? According to them, it’s “a podcast where we talk poker, gambling, and all manner of life experiences on and off the felt. Sometimes we have famous guests who do it with us. Join us for a laugh or three!”
It is a poker podcast collaboration and a great opportunity for the PokerNews Podcast audience to learn about another great show in the space. Justin & Art discuss the genesis of the show, their high-stakes cash game hosted at ARIA's Table 1, and some of their favorite memories and guests on the show.
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.
Shaun Deeb came up one spot short yet again for a 2026 World Series of Poker bracelet, falling to Joey Couden in Event #52: $3,000 Nine Game Mix after a grueling three-and-a-half-hour heads-up battle. The defeat was Deeb's ninth in a bracelet match and dropped his all-time heads-up record to 8-9.
The latest near miss added to a frustrating run of runner-up finishes for the eight-time bracelet winner. Deeb had already finished second twice at WSOP Europe earlier this year to take an early lead in the Player of the Year race, but after arriving in Las Vegas with just one cash through the opening weeks of the series, another silver medal may prove crucial as he chases back-to-back POY titles.
As painful as Deeb's 8-9 record may be, it doesn't rank among the unluckiest in WSOP history. Several poker crushers have reached heads-up for a bracelet time and again, only to walk away empty-handed. Here are the players with the most WSOP runner-up finishes without ever sealing the deal.
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