CardsChat Presents … Big Winners of the WSOP (Oct. 22-28)


Tournaments & Cash Games

While eight new players put their names on the WSOP bracelet winner list, several players from the past added hardware to their own personal collections. That includes Farzad “Freddy” Bonyadi, Josh Arieh, and Brian Rast, who brings his bracelet count to five. Five, in case you’re wondering, is a lot. That puts him in rarefied air alongside Scotty Nguyen, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Stu Ungar, Jason Mercier, Barry Johnson, Daniel Alaei, David Chui, Gary Bertland and Michael Mizrachi. 

Brian Rast won his fifth WSOP bracelet (Image: WSOP)

Josh Arieh

Josh Arieh

$1,500 PLO Eight-handed
$204,766

Winning his third WSOP bracelet, Arieh is approaching $6 million in WSOP cashes. Not bad for a former law firm courier. His first bracelet came in 1999.

Kevin Gerhart

Kevin Gerhart

$10,000 H.O.R.S.E
$361,124

With 48th WSOP cash — most of them of the min-cash variety — Gerhart won his third bracelet for his biggest score to push his lifetime WSOP cashes over a quarter-million dollars.

Carlos Chang

Carlos Chang

$2,500 NLH Freezeout
$364,589

The Taiwanese poker player took down his first career bracelet by being the last of 896 standing. He’s won just shy of a million since his first cash in 2015.

Bradley Ruben

Brad Ruben

$1,500 Razz
$99,188

With his fifth cash of the 2021 Series, Ruben secured his third bracelet in an event that attracted 311.

Anthony Denove WSOP

Anthony Denove

$1,000 Doublestack NLH
$446,983

Playing in a massive field of 3,991, the Californian won his first career bracelet. His next largest cash, $6,330, also came at this year’s Series.

Ryan Hansen

Ryan Hansen

$3,000 Six-handed Limit Hold’em
$109,692

Hansen completed the rare feat of having his first WSOP cash be for a bracelet. He outlasted 161.

Tommy Le

Tommy Le

$10K PLO Eight-handed
$746,477

The man known as “Tommy Legend” won his second bracelet, pushing his WSOP winnings over $3.4 million.

Chad Norton

Chad Norton

$800 No-limit Deepstack
$214,830

Making his second cash count, Norton was part of a field of 2,053 that helped generate a prize pool of more than $1.4 million. It’s his first bracelet.

Alexandre Reard

Alexandre Reard

$5,000 No-limit Hold’em Freezeout Eight-handed
$428,694

The Frenchman and Unibet sponsored pro made history by becoming the first person from France to win a WSOP bracelet. He added the bracelet to his two WSOP Circuit rings won in Europe.

Kazuki Ikeuchi

$1,000 Online No-limit Hold’em
$152,798

The Japanese professional won his first bracelet online, beating 554, giving him more than $1.2 million through 43 WSOP cashes since 2007.

Gershon Distenfeld

Gershon Distenfeld

$1,500 No-limit Hold’em Shootout
$204,063

Since making the final table of last year’s unique WSOP Main Event (he finished 8th), the Jersey player cashed six times and won his first bracelet.

Farzad Bonyadi

Farzad Bonyadi

$10K No-limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
$297,051

It’s been 16 years since his last bracelet, but the former shift manager at Hollywood Park Casino won his fourth career bracelet, pushing his winnings over $2.2 million.

Darrin Wright

Darrin Wright

$600 Mixed No-limit Hold’em/PLO Eight-handed
$127,219

His first WSOP cash, at a Circuit event, was barely worth $500. His second came with a pile of money and a bracelet. Congrats to the man from Chicago.

Brian Rast

Brian Rast

$3,000 Six-handed No-limit Hold’em
$474,102

That makes five bracelets for the Las Vegas-based poker pro. He’s cashed 48 times for more than $6.5 million.

Photos by Danny Maxwell and Hayley Hochstetler, courtesy of WSOP.com.

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