In 2017, Morristown’s Scott Blumstein was crowned the world champion of poker, beating a field of 7,221 players to win that year’s $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Main Event and an $8.15 million payday.
What are the chances of the WSOP championship bracelet taking up residence in New Jersey twice in four years?
Quite strong, actually, now that we know the results of Monday’s action in this unusual COVID-year hybrid event.
The 2020 Main Event has been split into two sub-tournaments: one for international players that began online on GGPoker, and one for U.S.-based players that began online at WSOP.com. Play in the latter took place Sunday and Monday, available only to online poker players located in New Jersey or Nevada, and the final table of nine — which is scheduled to take place in person, in a COVID-tested “bubble” at the Rio casino in Las Vegas on Dec. 28, with ESPN televising it on a delayed feed with hole cards — includes five players from the Northeast, three of whom call Jersey home.