LFG POKER
T I M E S
WEEK OF JULY 13–19, 2026 · LFGPOKER.APP
MAIN EVENT PLAYING DOWN TO ITS FINAL NINE · PBKC MONSTER CROWNS UEHARA · THE NUMBER: $10 MILLION
"The Main Event is roaring toward its final table, the summer's big series are paying out, and right in our backyard the PBKC Monster crushed its guarantee. We also planted a flag in Atlantic City. Let's get into it."
Big Stories
Main Event Down to the Final Stretch, $10 Million in Sight
From 9,208 entries, poker's world championship is into its final days. Just 21 players remain, and this week they play down to the final nine. Malcolm Trayner, the 2024 Mystery Millions champ, bagged the chip lead. Reigning Player of the Year Shaun Deeb is on the deepest Main Event run of his career, and 2019 champion Hossein Ensan is chasing history, since no one has won the Main Event twice since Johnny Chan in 1987 and 1988. Defending champ Michael Mizrachi already hit the rail in 241st. The last nine lock up at least $1 million apiece, then return to Las Vegas on August 3 to play for the bracelet and the $10 million top prize.
Full Fields, Crushed Guarantees
This summer's marquee tournaments are not just meeting their guarantees, they are crushing them. The PBKC July Monster promised $100,000 and paid out $142,750 off 571 entries. At the Wynn Summer Classic, a single $2,200 event drew 1,747 players for a $3.47 million pool against a $2 million guarantee. When fields run this deep the overlay hunters go hungry, but everyone else gets bigger prize pools and deeper runs. It is a good time to be sitting down.
Results of Note
PBKC $300 July $100K Monster, Eddie Uehara, $28,269
Uehara topped a 571-entry field and a $142,750 prize pool to take the trophy, beating the $100,000 guarantee by more than 40 percent. Isaac Gilbert ($19,792) and Jerome Weinberg ($12,719) rounded out the podium.
Eddie Uehara, champion of the PBKC July $100K Monster Multi-Flight. Photo: PBKC.
The Number
$10M
The first-place prize waiting for the last player standing when the Main Event's final nine return to Las Vegas on August 3. They played down from 9,208 entries, the fourth-largest field in WSOP history.
Worth Knowing
- The Vegas Strip is down to eight poker rooms. Resorts World closed its room on March 30. Poker now accounts for under 2 percent of the average Strip casino's revenue, and the closure follows a broader dip in Las Vegas tourism.
- The Wynn Summer Classic wrapped July 13 after more than $40 million in guarantees across the series, one of the richest non-WSOP festivals of the summer.
- The rest of the 57th World Series wraps July 15, but the Main Event saves its ending for later. The final nine pause and return for the ESPN final table, August 3 through 5.
This Week's Top Tournaments · Nationwide Highlights
WSOP $10,000 Main EventWSOP BRACELET
Horseshoe/Paris, Las Vegas, NV | July 2–13 | $10,000 | 60,000 chips | Single Entry
Borgata $600 Deep Stack Kick Off$1,000,000 GTD
Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ | July 16–19 | $600 | Unlimited Re-Entry
Borgata $2,700 Summer Poker Open Championship$1,000,000 GTD
Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ | July 26–31 | $2,700 | Multiple Flights
Seminole Hard Rock Tampa $2,500 Signature Championship$500,000 GTD
Seminole Hard Rock, Tampa, FL | July 24–27 | $2,500 | Unlimited Re-Entry
Venetian $1,600 MSPT Heart Championship$1,000,000 GTD
Venetian, Las Vegas, NV | July 15–19 | $1,600 | 40,000 chips | Unlimited Re-Entry
New to LFG Poker
Big week for the map. We planted a flag in Atlantic City. Borgata is now on the board with its full Summer Poker Open (July 15 through 31, over $4 million guaranteed and a $1 million Championship), and we added Harrah's Atlantic City for next month's WSOP Circuit. We also brought Bellagio back for its August return and refreshed Derby Lane in St. Petersburg. That is 27 rooms and counting. Filter and explore it all at lfgpoker.app.
Find Your Next Tournament →
Ask Ace ✦ Powered by Intus 4.5
Q: How much should a tournament's structure actually change the way I play?
More than most players act like it does. Before you post a blind, look at two numbers: your starting stack in big blinds, and how long the levels run. Thirty thousand chips at twenty minute levels is a completely different tournament than thirty thousand at forty, even though the flyer looks the same. Deep stacks and slow levels reward patience and playing pots in position. Short stacks and fast levels mean you should be hunting spots to apply pressure by the middle levels, not waiting on a dream hand that never comes. Re-entry matters too. Unlimited re-entry means the field plays looser early and you can lean on that, while a freezeout puts a real premium on not busting. Every tournament on the board here lists its starting stack, level length, and re-entry rules. Read them before you sit down, build your plan around those numbers, and you are already a step ahead of the players who just show up and run it back.
Ace is live at lfgpoker.app.