A new winner has been crowned this month in one of the more oddball tournaments in the 2024 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
John Hennigan, poker Hall of Famer and Las Vegas local, was victorious over the weekend at a tournament in the Event #7: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice buy-in.
The tournament structure sees players at each table pick to play from one of 21 poker variants. Each player gets one pick, which sees a full round of play at the table.
Hennigan came out on top of the 530-strong field to win $138,296 and his seventh WSOP bracelet. That put him in strong company as only the ninth player to hit that many big tournament victories with WSOP.
“Very happy to win the tournament. I mean, to me, the best thing about winning the tournament is not losing it,” Hennigan said, speaking to WSOP.com after his win.
“Not getting second, or knowing they’re still playing and wandering around after you go broke. It’s just very satisfying to come out on top.”
The Tournament
The $1,500 buy-in tournament was the smallest of all Hennigan’s previous six victories.
His remarkable feat of tournament wins in six different variants of poker set him up nicely for this event, where adaptability was key.
Hennigan cruised through the two-day tournament, for the most part. He hit the chip lead towards the end of the first day, and didn’t let go until he had the bracelet.
Competition along the way included the much-hyped return of online poker legend Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom, who crashed out in 4th for his highest WSOP cash of $41,237.
Hennigan credited his clean win to his familiarity with various less-popular forms of poker in the modern game, such as stud variants.
“I don’t really think too much about that. I just played stud because it’s the game I’m best at,” he said.
“And frankly, you know, these guys are not young. But the younger people are, the less that they played stud. It’s undoubtedly my best game, and it’s probably low on their list. So I just picked stud, and frankly, I’ve always been lucky in that game, too, so I seem to win every pot.”
Simple Game
Saying that, he broke his own rule during play, switching to No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw in the heads up play against Robert Wells.
Wells couldn’t compete with Hennigan’s six to one chip lead, and crashed out in the final hand with a jack nine against Hennigan’s jack 10. Hennigan wasn’t exactly modest about his victory after.
“I had a similar experience at PokerGO, like two months ago, where I just had a huge chip lead, and every hand just played themselves. It was very easy,” he said.
“You know, this tournament was similar to that. When you have a monster chip lead, it’s a pretty simple game.”
The WSOP 2024 event continues throughout May at Horseshoe Las Vegas. Also over the weekend, the $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold ‘Em tournament was won by cardroom dealer Jose Garcia of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Final Standings
| Place | Name | Country | Winnings |
| 1 | John Hennigan | U.S. | $138,296 |
| 2 | Robert Wells | U.K | $90,939 |
| 3 | Peter Gelenscer | Hungary | $60,343 |
| 4 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | $41,237 |
| 5 | Brayden Gazlay | U.S. | $28,845 |
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
