PokerNews live coverage of this event will begin on Day 2 (July 5). 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.
As per the WSOP LIVE app.
ESPN is ramping up its WSOP Main Event coverage this year, the first year the Bristol, CT-based sports network has aired poker's premier tournament since COVID.
The $10,000 buy-in World Championship event is underway at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, and runs through Aug. 5, with a three-week break when the final table is reached. Poker fans who watched the WSOP on ESPN before it moved to CBS Sports Network from 2021-2025 will notice some similarities to the broadcasts of old, and a new, enhanced Main Event television and livestream schedule.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
Brian 'Smitty' Smith would stand out in the $1,000 WSOP Mystery Millions anyway. A tall guy with a broad smile, fully decked out in purple, he jokes that he's a "walking billboard" for the pancreatic cancer charity Purple Pansies.
But he stood out even more on Sunday, as the grinder from Atlanta, Georgia, pulled a gold chest for $100,000 and immediately announced it was all going to the charity so close to his heart.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
It took almost no time, but as per usual, a player has been eliminated early in Level 1 at the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Anthony Marini picked up A♦K♦ just after the World Championship event began and decided to gamble for his entire stack, while Ryan Sands didn't want his opponent to earn an early double-up.
According to the WSOP LIVE app.
The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicked off back on May 26, and now it is in the home stretch as June has come to an end and the $10,000 Main Event is underway. More than 70 tournaments have awarded bracelets thus far, and the PokerNews Live Reporting team has been on-site all summer long, capturing the action.
During that time, they've reported on some entertaining hands, bad beats, and more, which we're happy to feature in the latest edition of "Hands of the Week" presented by GTOWizard.
The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas is gearing up for Event #85: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
This two-day event starts at 10 a.m. local time in Las Vegas on the Fourth of July before crowning its champion and awarding its bracelet on July 5.
No-limit hold’em is the Cadillac of Poker because it is one of the most strategically deep variants of poker, not to mention the most popular. The $1,000 buy-in attracts large fields because it is affordable to most tournament grinders and recreational players.
The $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event starts at 10 a.m. local time on July 4, with entrants receiving a 20,000 starting stack. Late registration remains open for 10 levels, which should be right around 4 p.m. The Day 1 plan is to complete 22 levels with a 20-minute break every four levels or as needed for color-ups. There is a scheduled dinner break on Day 1 after Level 14, at approximately 6 p.m.
The Day 2 restart is set for 11 a.m. local time on Sunday, July 5. Levels remain at 30 minutes, and the day won't conclude until a bracelet champion has been crowned. Breaks of 15 minutes will occur every four levels, and there isn’t a dinner break scheduled for Day 2, although that could change.
At the 2025 WSOP, Zdenek Zizka, a chess star from Chechia, outlasted a field of 1,873 entrants to win $232,498 out of the $1,648,240 prize pool, along with his first WSOP bracelet.
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Event #85: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Started
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