Peter Thai wins the first bracelet awarded at the 2023 World Series of Poker
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The first gold bracelet of 2023 World Series of Poker he was awarded. Peter Thai topped the third-largest field ever in the $500 casino employee event, topping 1,015 entries to secure gold and the $75,535 grand prize.
That was the highest tournament score yet for the table game croupier at the Parkwest Casino 580 in Livermore, California, sweeping the $21,602 he earned as champion of a $350 buy-in event as of 2018 Legends of poker series at the Bicycle Casino near Los Angeles.
“I am an avid poker player. I don’t play that often, but I still know how to play. I play more cash games than tournaments. I have a lot of tournament experience, mostly playing a lot of online sit’n’gos since my college days,” Thai said WSOP reporters after coming out on top. “Overall, the experience is amazing and I can’t wait to share it with everyone back home.”
This event took place over the course of two days inside the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas. The huge turnout translated into a prize pool of $426,300. The top 153 finishers cashed, with past champions Jimmy Barnett and Chad Holloway among those who cashed in the event.
Day 2 started with 89 contenders left, with Thai in the top 20 when the cards hit the air. When the field was packed into a single table, he sat in second place behind only James Urbanic.
Thai took a decisive all-in with pocket eights from behind against Urbanic’s pocket jacks in seven-handed play. Not long after, he double-knockout with pocket kings which he held against Benson Tam’s J-9 suited (5th) and Bruce Jiang’s pocket queens (4th) to take a sizable lead in the game to three.
He then moved all-in with K-2 against Paul Blanchette’s 9-8 suited, flopped a king, and held from there to go into heads-up play against Urbanic with a massive chip lead. In the final hand, Thai called Urbanic’s all-in with K
10
. It was against Q
7. The board ran out of 1010
4Q4, giving full Thai scores and the title. Urbanic earned $46,690 as the runner-up.
Here is a look at the winnings awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings |
| 1 | Peter Thai | $75,535 |
| 2 | James Urbanicus | $46,690 |
| 3 | Paul Blanchette | $33,051 |
| 4 | Bruce Jiang | $23,738 |
| 5 | Benson Tam | $17,303 |
| 6 | Sean Balfour | $12,802 |
| 7 | Keith McCormack | $9,617 |
| 8 | Joseph Pavano | $7,337 |
| 9 | Lisa Eckstein | $5,686 |
Visit the Card Player 2023 World Series of Poker page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest results from the event.
Photo copyright: WSOP / Danny Maxwell.
