Event #82: $3,000 6-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha

The final day of 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #82: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas crowned a new first-time bracelet winner in Matthew Parry. On top of the prestigious achievement of winning the most coveted trophy in all of poker, Parry will also take home first-place prize money totaling $480,122.

Parry was already an accomplished player in his own right, having over $1,200,000 in live tournament earnings before this score according to The Hendon Mob, but this accomplishment is made extra sweet by his having just missed out on a bracelet a few short weeks ago after a third-place finish in an earlier $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. That, and the tough nature of the final table he had to navigate to claim victory, makes this an achievement anyone would be proud to call their own.

Parry now stands atop a start-studded field of 1,013 entrants who came together to create a prize pool worth a staggering $2,704,710. This year's field crushed last year's attendance by 294 entries, continuing the theme of massive field growth through the 2023 WSOP.

2023 WSOP Event #82 Final Table Results

The final day saw some serious talent return to chase the gold as Dustin Goldklang came into the final table second in chips with none other than Player of the Year leader Ian Matakis coming back to the third biggest stack.

Matakis was making his fourth final table appearance of the series, his 19th cash, and going for his second bracelet of the summer and even though he held the chip lead off and on for a good portion of the day, he ultimately fell in third to make way for a newly-minted champion.

Final Table Action

Lawrence Wayne was the life of the party late on Day 3 but came into the final table as the short stack by a wide margin and although he did manage to find not one double but two, he still ended up being the first man to make his exit from the final table. Cuba Levenberry followed about a half an hour behind after getting a flush draw in versus Matakis' flopped straight and failing to improve.

From there, Matakis, Parry, and Goldklang would trade blows back and forth for a bit and at times, be relatively even in chips until Parry made the nuts in a massive confrontation that left Matakis short going into a break. Matakis came back from the short breather ready to battle back but ultimately fell at the hands of Parry who made two pair to send him to the exit just short of winning his second bracelet of the summer.

Parry entered heads-up play with almost a 7:1 chip lead over Goldklang and while Goldklang did manage to make quads against Parry's boat to find a double, he ended up falling in second place shortly thereafter when Parry made a straight to put a lock on the tournament once and for all.

Winner's Reaction

Parry, who bills himself as "mostly a cash game player," described bringing home the bracelet as "surreal," adding that he, "came into the World Series with an intention to really put a lot of effort into the tournaments and after having a couple of deep runs, it just feels amazing finally close one out."

Parry says he plays mainly Pot-Limit Omaha and No-Limit Hold'em and when asked what he thinks contributes to his success this summer in the PLO events specifically with four of his five cashes coming in this game variant, he said, "One thing that I like about the tournament versus cash play is it feels like there's less variance. You see a lot less re-raising and it allows you to navigate through a field like this a lot better".

After notching his biggest score ever by a multiple of two, Parry was quick to point out the massive blessing it is to be able to play this great game for a living and be successful at something that he truly loves to do.

His parting words to PokerNews was a call to action for anyone with similar dreams, simply saying, "You know what? If you have a dream of coming out to the World Series of Poker, you can do it and you should it."

Matthew Parry bet pot for 1,200,000 from the button, and Dustin Goldklang jammed all in from the big blind. Parry called and both players revealed their hands.

Dustin Goldklang:     
Matthew Parry:     

The board ran out       for Parry to take the pot and tournament with the three to seven straight.

Matthew Parry	32,000,000	1,950,000
Dustin Goldklang	0	-10,470,000

Matthew Parry bet 1,200,000 from the button, and Dustin Goldklang made the call to the flop.

The flop came    , and Goldklang checked to Parry. He fired for 1,200,000 and received a call.

While the   peeled off on the turn, Goldklang checked again. Parry announced "pot" and before the dealer could give the number Goldklang's hand was in the muck.

Matthew Parry	27,100,000	1,000,000
Dustin Goldklang	4,200,000	-9,220,000

Players are now on a 15 minute break.

Matthew Parry called from the small blind, and Dustin Goldklang bet for 800,000. Parry called to the flop.

The flop came    , and Perry quickly checked. Goldklang fired for 1,000,000 and received a call from Goldklang.

While the turn came the  , both players checked around.

The river was the  , and Parry led out for 1,400,000. Goldklang raised to 5,000,000, putting Parry in a tough spot. After taking his time to consider, Parry made the fold for Goldklang to scoop the pot uncontested.

Goldklang started playing poker online in his early 20s. He has become a Pot-Limit Omaha specialist in more recent years as his game of choice.

Dustin Goldklang	14,500,000	1,800,000
Ian Matakis	13,900,000	2,700,000
Matthew Parry	11,800,000	-1,575,000

Dustin Goldklang bet 700,000 from the button. Matthew Parry, in the big blind, bet pot for 2,275,000 and was quickly repotted. Parry called for his tournament life as both players revealed their hands.

Dustin Goldklang:     
Matthew Parry:     

The board ran out       for Parry's Kings to find Kings Full of Fours.

Perry is no stranger to Pot-Limit Omaha tourneys, as four out of five cashes within the series have stemmed from Pot-Limit Omaha or Mixed Game variants.

Dustin Goldklang	14,400,000	-7,800,000
Matthew Parry	11,450,000	8,400,000
Ian Matakis	11,200,000	100,000

Ian Matakis raised to 550,000 from the button and Cuba Levenberry called from the big blind to see the    .

Levenberry checked to Matakis who continued with a bet of 500,000. Levenberry check-jammed for his remaining chips and Matakis quickly called to set up a runout with Levenberry at risk.

Cuba Levenberry:     
Ian Matakis:     

Matakis had flopped the nuts while Levenberry had hung his hope on a flush draw but when the   turn and   river produced no such flush, Levenberry was sent to the exit in fourth place for $144,890.

Ian Matakis	11,100,000	3,100,000
Cuba Levenberry	0	-4,700,000

Dustin Goldklang raised to 700,000 from the cutoff and got called by Ian Matakis on the button. Lawrence Wayne jammed from the big blind for a little over 1,000,000 with both Goldklang and Matakis calling to put Wayne at risk heading to a flop.

The flop came down    . Goldklang and Matakis both checked to see the   hit the turn.

Goldklang tossed out a bet of 300,000 and Matakis wasted little time in making the call to bring the   out on the river.

Goldklang bet out again, this time for 700,000 and getting a fold from Matakis, leading to a showdown with Wayne, who turned up the     , which was second best to the      of Goldklang. Wayne headed to the rail in fifth place for $103,738.

Dustin Goldklang	24,750,000	4,700,000
Ian Matakis	8,275,000	-2,550,000
Lawrence Wayne	0	-1,120,000