2016 Card Player Player of the Year -- Fedor Holz, Paul Volpe, Justin Bonomo, Michael Watson and Garrett Greer Make Moves

The action is really heating up in Las Vegas, and some big results at the World Series of Poker and at other venues around town have shaken up the standing in the 2016 Card Player Player of the Year race. Here is a look at the tournaments that most impacted the rankings over the past seven days:

WSOP $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.

A total of 778 players turned out for the 2016 _World Series of Poker- $1,500 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event, building a prize pool of $1,050,300.

In the end Ian Johns came out on top, capturing his second gold bracelet and the $212,604 first-place prize. This was the third consecutive year that Johns made the money in this event and apparently the third time was the charm.

Johns also earned 912 Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first final table finish of the year, but it alone was enough to move him into 132nd place in the standings.

Runner up Justin Bonomo has now made four final tables in 2016, including a title run in an Aria $25,000 high roller and a preliminary €2,150 no-limit hold’em six-max event at the European Poker Tour Malta festival. The $131,412 and 760 POY points Bonomo scored in this event were enough to see him climb to eighth place in the overall rankings, with 2,505 points and $1,199,318 in year-to-date earnings.

WSOP $1,500 Eight Game Mix Six-Max

Paul Volpe defeated a field of 491 entries to win the 2016 WSOP $1,500 six-max eight-game mix event, earning his second gold bracelet, the $149,943 first-place prize and 720 POY points in the process.

Volpe, who finished runner-up in the POY race in 2013, now has two titles and five final table finishes in 2016. With 2,621 points and $743,111 in cashes so far this year Volpe has jumped into 6th place on the POY leader board.

Volpe’s other 2016 title came in late April when he topped a field of 590 entries in the $2,700 buy-in Borgata Spring Poker Open main event to win $356,255 and 1,260 points.

The 35-year-old Philadelphia native has once again put himself in contention for the Player of the Year title, and while surely be a player to watch for the rest of 2016.

WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker

The eighth-largest live tournament field in history came together for the 2016 World Series of Poker $1,500 buy-in Millionaire Maker event, which this year featured a guaranteed $1 million dollars to both the first and second place finishers.

This massive turnout built a $9,706,500 prize pool. In the end the Lion’s share of the was awarded to Jason DeWitt who came out on top of the huge field to win $1,065,403 and 1,320 POY points. As a result DeWitt was catapulted into 66th place in the standings.

Garrett Greer was the runner-up in this event, earning the guaranteed $1 million payout and 1,100 POY points. This was Greer’s second final table finish of the year. He also finished second in the 2016 World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 no-limit hold’em main event for $458,722 and 1,200 points.

With 2,300 POY points and year-to-date earnings of $1,458,722 Greer now occupies 13th place on the Player of the Year leader board.

WSOP $10,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball

The $10,000 no-limit deuce-to-seven lowball championship is one of the most prestigious events each year at the WSOP. This time around a total of 100 entries were made, building a prize pool of $940,000.

Jason Mercier emerged victorious in the end, topping a tough final table to win his fourth WSOP gold bracelet, the $273,335 top prize and 600 POY points. This was his second final table of the year and he now sits just outside of the top 100.

Mercier defeated Michael Watson heads-up for the title, sending the Canadian poker pro to the rail with $168,936 and 500 POY points. Watson had previously won this year’s European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $5,300 main event for $728,325 and 1,824 POY points. As a result of that win and this latest big score Watson has ascended to 12th place in the POY standings, with 2,324 points and $897,261 in year-to-date earnings.

Aria $50,000 High Rollers

The Aria Resort & Casino continued in it’s tradition of consistently hosting high stakes events throughout the year this month, with a pair of $50,000 buy-in high roller tournaments running earlier this month.

The Aria Super High Roller 8 drew 46 entries to create a total prize pool of $2,208,000. Cary Katz came out on top in the end, earning his 11th career title, the $615,621 top prize and 510 POY points. With two titles and eight final tables this year Katz has climbed into 19th place in the standings. He has $1,290,321 in year-to-date earnings.

The Aria Super High Roller 9 drew 40 entries. Fedor Holz continued his high stakes tournament domination, adding $637,392 and 510 points to his yearly totals as he captured his second title of the year at his ninth final table.

With 2,878 POY points earned so far this year Holz now sits in fourth place in the rankings. He is first, however, in another important metric: money earned. The German poker pro has cashed for $8,459,133 in 2016. With $12,313,126 in career earnings he has now joined the top twenty on the all-time money list.

Here is a look at the current top 20 in the POY standings:

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