Event #78: $1,500 BOUNTY Pot-Limit Omaha

Event #76: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha came to an end after a rollercoaster of action here at the 2023 World Series of Poker hosted at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Only one person was left holding their hands high, gripping the elusive gold bracelet. Thomas Skaggs was that person, having conquered the 1,214 entry field.

The gold meant more to Skaggs than the $171,742 grand prize; it was his first WSOP bracelet. He did, however, recently win a circuit ring in a pot-limit Omaha event at Horseshoe Indiana earlier this year ($28,181). Skaggs went on to say that he had made it his goal to win either a circuit ring or bracelet, so he's beyond thrilled to have gotten both. A deserving runner-up, David Hu held the chip lead multiple times at the final table, and Skaggs commented about the skill and precision that Hu played with.

Final Table Results

Winner's Reaction

PokerNews got the opportunity to chat with Skaggs just following his victory, and he was ecstatic, despite him being just two hours away from having to catch a plane home to Glendale, Kentucky. He mentioned that he's mostly an Omaha player, and this was his third year in a row playing this particular event. He and a few of his buddies usually make the trip out around this time in the series, but he's always foregone the Main Event to play the PLO Bounty instead. Skaggs contributed his experience in cash games, which gave him the strong mindset needed to deal with the swings throughout the tournament.

Day 1 and Day 2 Action

Day 1 saw plenty of notables enter the field, most of which hopped in after busting the Main Event. Martin Kabrhel caused a few headaches throughout the day but ultimately fell well outside the money despite snagging multiple bounties. The bubble burst towards the end of the day in the 14th and final level of the day. Hall of Famer, Erik Seidel, made it deep into the day to cash but fell short of bag and tag; the same was true of Felipe Ramos.

Some of those who did battle through to Day 2 included bracelet winners Nacho Barbero, Daniel Negreanu and Dash Dudley; all falling one by one. Negreanu busted in a three-way pot deep on Day 2, and Dudley went on to bust the final hand of the evening just moments before players bagged and tagged.

Day 3 Action

Of the 140 entrants who made it to Day 2 only 15 made it through to Day 3. Of those that remained, only one repeat bracelet winner remained in the field in the form of Jeff Madsen, who was well in contention until his luck ran out in 12th place.

Action slowed after the elimination of Giuseppe Maggisano, who bubbled the unofficial final table when Skaggs made a full house against him. From there, the remaining nine played for nearly two full levels before the were moved to one of the feature tables in the Horseshoe Main Event Center.

Final Table Action

Sergio Martinez fell in ninth place shortly after the move when he got short in chips and was bested by the better rundown of Yusuke Tanaka.

Noah Schwartz was the only bracelet winner left in the field and had maintained a medium-sized stack the entire day of play. At one point, Schwartz misread his hand, thinking he lost, then told his opponents he was getting too old for this game when his tablemates informed him he won the pot. Eventually, Schwartz reached a moment where he inquired if it was his time to die and ultimately fell in eighth place.

Paul Spitzberg quietly ground his way through the field, maintaining his stack throughout the day by stealing the blinds with late-positioned, pot-sized raised. Finally, the blinds got too high for him to keep the momentum, and he was eliminated in seventh place in a blind versus blind confrontation.

Vincent Moscati made a tremendous fold after committing half his stack in a pot that saw Paul DeGiulio triple up but if Hu had won that pot Moscati would have laddered for about $25,000. Despite doubling up shortly after that, Moscati met his demise in sixth place when Hu caught a king on the river.

Japanese player Tanaka had a dynamic day that saw him above starting stack often but struggling to be amongst the chip leaders. In the end, it took his kings being cracked to send him on his way in fifth place.

DeGiulio was well in contention when he won the hand previously mentioned, but after Satar Al-Sadoun pulled off a big bluff on him, his stack curtailed and he was never able to build traction again. In the end, Al-Sadoun caught a flush on the river against DeGiulio to bring the field down to only three.

Al-Sadoun bagged amongst the chip leaders on Day 1 and on Day 2 he managed to bag the biggest stack by far. Once three-handed play got under way, though, Hu began to run away with the lead. The momentum shifted dramatically when Skaggs doubled through Al-Sadoun. Only just a few hands after, Skaggs doubled through Hu to become massive chip leader. Now nursing a short stack, Al-Sadoun's jacks were dominated by the kings of Skaggs to send Al-Sadoun out in third place.

Heads Up Play

Hu didn't make things easy for the champion, and he found an ideal spot to double right at the start of heads up play. Hu continued to tip the scales in his favor by chipping away with a series of small pots going his way. Things may have turned out differently if Hu had been able to find a double with his aces in the final hand but it wasn't his day. Hu did let PokerNews know that he was very happy; this is his 2nd highest tournament cash.

Skaggs ended up attributing his win to a massive pot he scooped off of Al-Sadoun about halfway through Day 3 to push him into the chip lead. He had a hard time for the three levels after that pot, but if it weren't for that mass of chips, he wouldn't have been able to survive as long as he did. Skaggs used the cards from that hand in his winner's photos as opposed the cards he won his final hand with.

The WSOP isn't over yet, so make sure you stay tuned on PokerNews for all of the action from the live bracelet-awarding events.

Thomas Skaggs raised to 1,200,000 from the button. David Hu three-bet to 3,600,000. Skaggs put in the call to see the flop come    .

Skaggs checked, and Hu quickly said pot, which amounted to an all-in bet.

Skaggs gave it some thought and decided to muck, sending a big pot to Hu without seeing a turn card.

Thomas Skaggs	15,800,000	-5,500,000
David Hu	14,550,000	5,500,000

Hand 1:

David Hu limped preflop, and Thomas Skaggs checked his option. Together they saw the    . Both players checked.

The turn brought the   and Skaggs bet 1,200,000. Hu made the call.

The river peeled the  , completing diamonds, and Skaggs bet 2,000,000. After some thought, Hu announced himself all in. Skaggs, not looking too pleased, pushed his hand into the muck.

Hand 2:

Skaggs limped, Hu tapped the table, and the dealer spread    . Skaggs checked, Hu bet 1,200,000 and received a call.

When the river brought the  , Skaggs took the initiative and bet 3,000,000, which garnered a fold from Hu.

David Hu started heads-up at quite the chip disadvantage, so it didn't take long for Thomas Skaggs to put him at risk.

David Hu:     
Thomas Skaggs:     

Hu didn't have high hopes for his pair of sevens, but when Skaggs turned up rags sharing the queen and the nine, Hu was in about as good of shape as he could have hoped.

The board ran out       and Hu's sevens remained good.

Hu then went on to win a couple more small pots, closing the distance between him and his opponent.

Thomas Skaggs	20,350,000	-4,900,000
David Hu	10,000,000	4,600,000

Thomas Skaggs raised to 1,200,000 from the small blind and got called by Satar Al-Sadoun in the big blind; the pair saw a     flop.

Skaggs continued with a bet of 1,400,000, and Al-Sadoun tossed in a call to see the   hit the turn.

Skaggs announced pot which would essentially commit the rest of Al-Sadoun's chips.

After a minute or two in the tank, Al-Sadoun tossed his cards toward the muck, and Skaggs created more distance between himself and his two remaining opponents.

Thomas Skaggs	20,800,000	4,700,000
Satar Al-Sadoun	2,800,000	-5,200,000

Satar Al-Sadoun has gone from chip leader to short stack several times in this gauntlet of Day 3, and at the point that this hand took place, David Hu had both his opponents covered two-to-one.

Al-Sadoun checked on a flop of    , and Hu bet 600,000, which Al-Sadoun called. The turn brought the  , and they both tapped the table.

When the river came the  , Al-Sadoun bet an even 1,000,000, which Hu snap-called. Hu saved Al-Sadoun from having to show when he quickly tabled the      for the flush.

Shortly after, Al-Sadoun won a pot preflop after potting it over Thomas Skaggs' open, showing the    after Skaggs mucked.

David Hu	17,500,000	1,900,000
Satar Al-Sadoun	7,450,000	-2,100,000
Thomas Skaggs	6,000,000	350,000

Three ways to a flop of    , Thomas Skaggs checked and Satar Al-Sadoun placed a bet of 600,000. David Hu made the call and Skaggs raised for the remainder of his chips.

Al-Sadoun tossed his hand in the muck and Hu thought for a bit before sticking in the call.

Thomas Skaggs:     
David Hu:     

Skaggs had flopped a set of eights and Hu just had his open-ended straight draw working for him. The door quickly closed on Hu when the turn paired the  , making the river purely an obligatory action.

David Hu	15,600,000	-1,850,000
Thomas Skaggs	8,000,000	3,900,000
Satar Al-Sadoun	6,700,000	-3,050,000

Just before the break:

Thomas Skaggs had blinded down to a short stack and got the last of his chips in preflop against David Hu in the big blind.

Thomas Skaggs:     
David Hu:     

The flop scrolled across    , putting Skaggs in the lead with two pair. the turn was the  , quickly followed by the  , awarding Skaggs this crucial double.

Just one hand later Skaggs won a pot against Paul DeGiulio when he potted it from the small blind on a flop that read    .

This was a breath of life for Skaggs after a difficult evening of battle.

David Hu	12,500,000	-1,300,000
Thomas Skaggs	4,100,000	2,635,000
Paul DeGiulio	4,000,000	1,000,000

The remaining four players have been sent on a 15-minute break.

Play will resume at 11:25 p.m. local time.