Ivey wins eighth WSOP gold bracelet
After winning his eighth bracelet early Tuesday morning at the Rio by capturing the $3,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event, Ivey said he can collect 30 gold bracelets before he's done. Ivey topped a field of 478 entries in the H.O.R.S.E. event and won $329,840.
"I think I can reach that if I keep playing and stay healthy," Ivey told World Series of Poker spokesman Nolan Dalla shortly after he moved into a tie for fifth place with Erik Seidel for all-time tournament bracelets.
"I'm going to keep playing tournaments and hopefully I will win another one before the end," Ivey said. "I want to do well in the Main Event, of course. It would be nice to win that one of these years."
According to official records, Ivey has eight wins, 22 final-table appearances, and 40 in-the-money finishes at the World Series of Poker. He was won more than $5.2 million at the World Series of Poker.
According to various sources, his tournament winnings worldwide are now approaching $13 million, which is the highest amount won by anyone in poker history.
The victory moved Ivey, 33, who lives in Las Vegas, ahead of Billy Baxter and Men "the Master" Nguyen, who each have seven World Series of Poker titles.
Phil Hellmuth Jr. has a record 11 World Series of Poker championship bracelets, followed by Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan with 10 each. The late Johnny Moss earned nine championship bracelets.
The win was Ivey's first victory this year and came in the 37th event of the 57-event tournament.
In last year's World Series of Poker, Ivey captured two gold bracelets. He finished seventh in the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em Main Event World Championship, collecting $1.4 million.
"Obviously, I was disappointed I did not win," Ivey said. "I mean, life goes on. There will be more November Nines for me in my future, I think."
The money Ivey earned for his victory Tuesday morning, however, seemed secondary to winning the bracelets.
"How much did first place pay?" Ivey asked nonchalantly to a bystander immediately after the victory. He defeated two-time gold bracelet winner Bill Chen in heads-up play, despite Chen holding a more than 3-to-1 chip advantage over Ivey at one point.
H.O.R.S.E. is an event that rotates between five different poker games: hold'em, Omaha, razz, seven-card stud and seven-card stud high-low split (eight or better).
Copyright GamingWire. All rights reserved.