The 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event is in full swing at Caesars properties Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Poker history was made in the World Championship as the WSOP shattered the all-time attendance record for its Main Event making the 2023 edition the richest tournament in live poker history. With a record 10,043 entrants, all eyes are on the 2023 Main Event Final Table to see who will cement themselves as the undisputed World Champion of Poker – beating out the most players in a Main Event field, ever.
Maryland was well represented in this year’s field. PlayMaryland will be updating the gambling and WSOP news here through host properties at Caesars and Caesars Sportsbook.
How Maryland players fared in World Series of Poker Main Event
Day 6 is when Maryland poker players said goodbye to the Main Event. All five remaining players had their runs end, as the field whittled down from 149 to 49.
All five went out at nearly the same time, finishing between 106th and 114th, and cashing $67,700.
Here’s where all the Maryland players who cashed wound up:
- 106. Kunal Shah – Baltimore ($67,700)
- 107. Christian Harder – Annapolis ($67,700)
- 108. Chris Lee – Clarksville ($67,700)
- 110. Timothy Faro – Glen Burnie ($67,700)
- 114. Ryan Brown – Ellicott City ($67,700)
- 245. Raymond Krouse – Rockville ($50,900)
- 255. Timothy Holt – Solomons ($50,900)
- 277. Sung Lee – Ellicott City ($50,900)
- 442. Ryan Dougherty – Chevy Chase ($37,500)
- 869. Jeffery Esterling – Arnold ($22,500)
- 886. James Pixton – Saint Leonard ($22,500)
- 895. Jesse Chini – Ellicott City ($22,500)
- 1179. Christian Risco Alegria – Silver Spring ($17,500)
- 1268. Ryan Belz – Elkridge ($15,000)
- 1272. Aaron Pinson – Baltimore ($15,000)
- 1422. Divyam Satyarthi – Perry Hall ($15,000)
- 1459. Yuan Ting – Silver Spring ($15,000)
The WSOP Main Event is moving closer to the finish line, with Day 10 and the final table starting on Sunday, July 16, and a winner crowned on July 17.
With more than 10,000 entries into this year’s Main Event, the prize pool is a staggering $93.4 million.
The top eight players will all score more than $1 million, with $12.1 million going to the winner.
Top Maryland poker pros have had success in other major events
Chris Lee has had quite a tournament poker run in 2023 including cashing in three WSOP events. Here are his results in some of the biggest poker events.
- March, Las Vegas – fourth place for $207,500 in the $25,000 entry Pot Limit Omaha PokerGo Tour Championship
- May, Los Angeles – third place for $169,000 in the $5,250 World Poker Tour, WPT Gardens Poker Championship
- June, Las Vegas – 29th place for $82,474 in the $50,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller 8-handed WSOP Event #71
Lee has four other six-figure scores since 2011 including first place for $254,955 and a gold bracelet in the WSOP $2,500 10 Game/6 Handed event in 2011. In 2017, Lee came in second place for $580,177 in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha/8 Handed Championship.
Not to be outdone, Tony Gregg came in second place in a $50,000 No-Limit Hold ’em Super High Roller event at Aria in Las Vegas. He cashed for $671,394 in that 2016 event. Gregg has three other six figure scores since 2016 including the WSOP No Limit Hold ’em Main Event Championship in 2016 for $142,447 (50th place). He also cashed in this year’s WSOP for $14,729 in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold ’em Millionaire Maker Event #53 (82nd place).
Marcia Kuntz from Takoma Park was among the early Maryland chip leaders in the Main Event, and was coming off a strong run. She took first place and cashed for $18,345 in March at the Live! Casino and Hotel, Hanover Poker Classic $1,100 No-Limit Hold ’em Stacks Turbo event. In May, before heading to Las Vegas for the WSOP, Kuntz cashed for another $13,000 with a 2nd place finish in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold ’em Bounty event at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill.
Recall in March, the Old Line State hosted the Live! Poker Classic from Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland.
