Lawrence Brandt Wins World Series of Poker $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better Bracelet

The final scoop of the 2022 World Series of Poker $1,500 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event wasn’t secured until after 3:00 AM local time in Las Vegas, roughly 13 hours after play began for the day. The low draw bricked out in the end, but Texas native Lawrence Brandt’s flopped wrap draw improved to an ace-high straight on the river to see him lock up the whole pot and the title. Brandt outlasted a 1,303-entry field in this event to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and a career-best payday of $289,610.

“It honestly was the best tournament I’ve ever played,” Brandt told WSOP reporters after coming out on top. “I haven’t played too many PLO8 tournaments, and obviously luck plays a factor, but I was really happy with my performance.”

This was Brandt’s first recorded live tournament victory and just his 24th cash. His biggest score prior to this six-figure windfall was the $43,935 he earned as the 240th -place finisher in the 2019 WSOP main event.

The strong turnout for the event resulted in a $1,739,505 prize pool which was paid out among the top 196 finishers. Plenty of notables made deep runs to the final few tables, including recent bracelet winner Alex Foxen (33rd – $7,161), bracelet winner Gregory Kolo (26th – $8,499), two-time bracelet winner Rami Boukai (23rd – $10,222), two-time bracelet winner Nathan Gamble (20th – $10,222), bracelet winner Justin Liberto (17th – $10,222), and bracelet winner Joey Couden (11th – $19,233).

At the time the unofficial final table of nine was set, Brandt sat in fourth chip position. Bracelet winner and World Poker Tour main event winner Jared Jaffee scored the first knockout after the field had combined onto a single table, making the wheel on the river to scoop Alexander Orlov (9th – $24,357).

Jerry Odeen’s quest for a second bracelet ended in eighth place in this event. After getting his chips in preflop, he hit top pair and the second-but low draw, but his opponent Corey Wade’s flopped two pair improved to a full house on the turn and the river failed to bring a low. Odeen took home $31,234 for his strong showing in this event.

Reigning WPT player of the year award winner Jacob Ferro scored the next knockout, busting longtime tournament pro Peter Neff (7th – $53,288) before losing a big chunk of his stack as a result of doubling up Jaffee. Ferro was soon the one who was all-in and at risk. Brandt picked up pocket aces with some suited and connected middling cards and made the call. Brandt’s hand ended up being best both ways and Ferro was sent home in sixth place ($53,288).

Jaffee followed Ferro to the sidelines. After the dinner break, he got all-in with AQ62 facing the A1092 of Robert Tanita. No low materialized and Tanita made Broadway on the river to best Jaffeee’s aces and queens for the high. Jaffee secured $70,877 for his fifth-place showing, increasing his career earnings to more than $5.5 million in the process.

Richard Crooks’ run in this event concluded when his flopped wrap draw to Broadway failed to improve against the small pair and low draw of Tanita. Crooks cashed for $95,400 as the fourth-place finisher.

The next key confrontation saw Tanita all-in and at risk preflop with KJ53 facing the A982 of Wade. The QQ784 runout saw Wade make the nut low and queens and eights with an ace kicker for the scoop. Tanita earned $129,924 for his third-place showing.

Wade took nearly a 3:1 chip lead into heads-up play with Brandt. An early double-up closed the gap slightly, but it was the nut low and an emergency high for a scoop after being all-in on the flop that saw Brandt overtake the lead in another hand. In the final deal, Brandt raised from the button with AKQ2. Wade raised from the big blind with A985 and Brandt moved all-in. Wade thought it over for a while before making the call. The board ran out J1062Q to give Brandt an ace-high straight for the scoop. Wade took home $179,010 as the runner-up.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Winenr photo credit: WSOP / Rachel Kay Miller.

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