Ben Lamb Scoops WSOP $10,000 Omaha Eight-or-Better Championship For Second BraceletThe Las Vegas Resident Outlasted 212 Entries To Earn $492,795 |
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Ben Lamb added to his already impressive World Series of Poker resume in a major way at the 54th annual running of the storied poker festival. The 38-year-old Las Vegas resident took down the 2023 WSOP $10,000 Omaha eight-or-better championship, topping a field of 212 entries to earn $492,795 and his second gold bracelet. The two-time WSOP main event final tablist now has nearly $16 million in career tournament earnings, with more than $9 million of that coming from WSOP cashes.
This was only Lamb’s 31st in-the-money finish in a bracelet event, which means his average cash at the series has been for over $291,000. Lamb has two seven-figure scores at the series, having finished third in the 2011 WSOP main event for $4,019,635 and ninth in 2017 for another $1,000,000. His first bracelet win, in the 2011 $10,000 pot-limit Omaha championship, was also for a hefty payday of $814,436.
This was Lamb’s fifth final table and first title of 2023. He was awarded 900 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win, growing his point total to 1,796. As a result, he surged up the rankings and into 78th place in the overall POY standings, which are presented by Global Poker.
Lamb also secured 493 PokerGO Tour points as the victor in this championship event. With 1,028 points and over a million in qualified earnings, he is now the second-ranked player on the PGT leaderboard.
This event played out over the course of four days inside the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas properties. The final day began with just seven contenders remaining from the 212 that entered, with Lamb in the lead and nine-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel essentially tied with two-time bracelet winner Luis Velador for second place in the chip counts.
Lamb scored the first few knockouts of the day, hitting top set against the top two pair of bracelet winner Johannes Becker (7th – $61,919) and turning the wheel against four-time bracelet winner Bradley Ruben (6th – $81,317) to further extend his lead. Robert Yass was the next to fall (5th – $109,340), with his last chips being scooped by Lamb and his nine-high straight.
Seidel was left on fumes when he folded the river in a big pot against Velador. His last few chips went to Lamb, with Seidel A752 unable to best AKJ7. The board ran out 10967K to give Lamb kings up and yet another knockout. Seidel earned $150,445 as the fourth-place finisher, growing his lifetime earnings to nearly $44.2 million. The 63-year-old Poker Hall of Fame member now sits in eighth place on the all-time money list after this latest strong showing at the series.
Lamb had more than 80 percent of the total chips in play heading into three-handed action. He picked up pocket aces and scooped with aces and nines on a high-only board to eliminate Velador, who took home $211,715 as the third-place finisher.
James Chen’s final chips were soon in the middle after a Q109 flop. Chen had committed the majority of his short stack preflop with AJ62. Lamb held K1085. The 5 improved Lamb to tens and fives, which remained best after the 2 completed the board. Chen secured a career-best payday of $304,571 as the runner-up finisher.
Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:
Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points | PGT Points |
1 | Ben Lamb | $492,795 | 900 | 493 |
2 | James Chen | $304,571 | 750 | 305 |
3 | Luis Velador | $211,715 | 600 | 212 |
4 | Erik Seidel | $150,445 | 450 | 150 |
5 | Robert Yass | $109,340 | 375 | 109 |
6 | Bradley Ruben | $81,317 | 300 | 81 |
7 | Johannes Becker | $61,919 | 225 | 62 |
8 | James Obst | $48,300 | 150 | 48 |
9 | Jason Daly | $38,620 | 75 | 39 |
Visit the Card Player 2023 World Series of Poker page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest event results.
Winner photo credit: WSOP / Hayley Hockstetler.