Top greatest bracelet bets in poker history

Following Vanessa Selbst and Dmitriy Urbanovich made a $2 million bet to win the bracelet this year, we decided to recall the most epic and famous bets on WSOP results.

Hastings to double his winnings

Every year there's someone who wins two WSOP bracelets at a time and Brian Hastings became such person last year. After he won #27 event and gained $239.518, rumors that he more than doubled the prize sum with the bracelet bet, began to ooze out.

It’s been alleged that he made several bets with Toni Gregg, Dean Smith and Jason Mercier so the victory brought him $480 000 in total (including the prize of the tournament itself).

Ivey against Negreanu

Back in the day two world top-famous poker players made a lifetime bet: each time one of them wins the other is obliged to pay $200 000. No multipliers, no further extra. The obligation to pay the 6-digit sum was inevitable to the goal was to win more than you have to pay.

With 10 Ivey bracelets against Negreanu 6, KidPoker seems to be in the heavy red right now, but in 2014 he decided to benefit from Ivey’s talent.

Ivey together with Negreanu

Confident of his and his friend’s skill and quite bothered with almost every summer bondage to pay $200 000, Negreanu in 2014 decided to make a public offer.

He claimed he or either Phil Ivey to win at least one bracelet this year. Negreanu was ready to even odds and bet any sum starting from $5 000 to $1 million.

The total sum bet against Ivey and Negreanu is kept in secret but it’s said to be very impressive. Negreanu himself was a step close to the bracelet. However, his friend Ivey saved their common money bank and reputation by winning his 10^th bracelet in 2014.

Justin Bonomo to bet on Panorama Towers

When making another bracelet bet, Justin Bonomo took a completely different approach and may be said to have advanced to a totally new level of betting. In both 2009 and 2010 he bet 10 against 1 for at least one guest of panorama Towers hotel would win a bracelet. This hotel teems with professional poker players and the bet implied that everybody who lived there, stayed for the time of series, even spend a night on friend’s couch were included in the list of candidates.

Yes, Justin laid a bet on the best poker players of the world, but Las Vegas holds about 60 events annually, so he had something to be worried about. Besides, his bet was very dangerous: his $10 000 against $1000.

Nevertheless, both in 2009 and 2010 he won the bet: in 2009 Gregg Muller won 2 bracelets and in 2010 David Baker added the desired trophy to his collection.

Tom Dwan one step from driving Las Vegas to bankruptcy

Tom ‘durrr’ Dwan is not very famous for his successes in tournaments. However, he was also seduced by the temptation of bracelet bets so in the end a lot of people laid bets against him. In fact, almost all high-limits players agreed to risk their money and even bet 3 against 1 on Tom failing to win a bracelet. Somebody even laid a separate bet on Dwan having no chances to win 2 bracelets within 3 years.

No one know the exact sum this bet involved, but in case of a Victory Tom was said to be getting something from $9 to $20 million. Mike Matusov bet $30 000, Eli Elezra - $750 000, Phil Ivey - $3 million. Some say it cost Howard Lederer a great deal of money as well.

All in all, when Dwan made it to the heads-up in #11 $1.500 No-Limit Hold’em event, the whole Vegas had a fright of their life. Dwan played against Simon Watt - a successful New Zealand player - previously famous for his victory in the big regional ANZPT tournament (with a $ 200 000 prize pool).

In the end Watt won the bracelet and a $614 248 prize, however, he’ll rather come to be seen as a person who stopped Dwan a step close from a multi-million prize and the one who saved Vegas poker economy from collapse.

Phil Ivey leaves Vegas wrecked

A man who won most money in bracelet bets and the one who probably in general won most money from other players is the same one person. And this person is Phil Ivey.

The biggest bet was reportedly made with Howard Ledever. It covered two years (2010 and 2011) and implied that Ivey had to win two bracelets. Both sides are said to have placed $5 million. Ivey won 2010 bracelet, however decided to refrain from WSOP-2011 because of Black Friday, so he eventually lost the bet.

2009 was the most successful for Ivey as he won 2 bracelets. As usual, nobody is aware of a certain sum but Eli Elezra admitted to have lost $400 000 alone to the benefit of Ivey (‘it similar to be betting against the God’ - confessed Eli). Negreanu is also known to have paid at least $400 000 to Ivey.

But it wasn’t quite the end of it: Ivey entered November top 9 in the main event, going on to making bets. The bet with Andy Block was probably the most haunting one: when there were 2500 players left in the tournament, Andy bet with Ivey on 99 against 1. Lucky for all the rest of the high-limits players, Ivey didn’t turn up at the final table that day - he left with the 7^th place.