Josh Arieh Wins 2023 WSOP $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. For Sixth Career Bracelet48-Year-Old Defeats Elite 112-Entry Field To Secure The Gold and $711,313 |
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Josh Arieh has joined the elite ranks of six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winners. The 48-year-old Atlanta, Georgia resident overcame a stacked field of 112 entries in the 2023 WSOP $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. high roller to earn $711,313 and the hardware. This was his second bracelet of 2023 and his fourth in a three-year span, having also captured a pair in 2021.
Arieh became just the 22nd player in poker history to have won six or more bracelets, putting him on an elite list populated by titans of the game.
Player | Bracelets |
Phil Hellmuth | 17 |
Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey | 10 |
Erik Seidel, Johnny Moss | 9 |
Billy Baxter, Men Nguyen | 7 |
Josh Arieh, Jason Mercier, Brian Rast, Jeremy Ausmus, Shaun Deeb, Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Layne Flack, Ted Forrest, Brian Hastings, Jay Heimowitz, John Hennigan, Jeff Lisandro, T.J. Cloutier | 6 |
“It was cool catching Shaun and cool catching Daniel. I mean, those guys are insane players and just to think that I’m in the same breath as them it’s pretty cool. I mean, this is what we play for and to say that I don’t want to win every tournament that I play would be a lie. I really can’t put any words to it,” Arieh told Card Player.
Arieh was the fifth player this summer to have won a sixth bracelet, joining Deeb, Jeremy Ausmus, Brian Rast, and Jason Mercier.
This victory saw him increase his career earnings to more than $12.3 million. This was his third-largest tournament score ever, trailing only the $2.5 million he earned as the third-place finisher in the 2004 WSOP main event and the $952,290 payday he secured as the runner-up in the 2009 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic main event.
In addition to the title and the money, Arieh also scored 840 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his second title and fifth final-table finish so far, with nearly $1.3 million in POY earnings accrued across those scores. As a result, he now sits in 81st place in the overall POY standings presented by Global Poker.
This was also Arieh’s eighth cash in an event that awarded PokerGO Tour rankings points. With 1,084 to his name, Arieh now sits in 11th place on that high-stakes-centric leaderboard.
As one would expect with a mixed-game event with such a hefty buy-in, the final table was stacked with accomplished pros, including four-time bracelet winner Scott Seiver (8th – $81,337), bracelet winner and 2017 Poker Players Championship runner-up Johannes Becker (7th – $103,795), six-time bracelet winner John Hennigan (6th – $134,491), four-time bracelet winner Mike Matusow (5th – $176,904), and two-time bracelet winner Joao Vieira (4th – $236,163).
After Yingui Li departed in third place ($319,906), Arieh squared off against two-time bracelet winner Dan Heimiller with the title on the line. He scooped the final pot during a round of Omaha eight-or-better, making aces up for the high and a 6-5-4-2-A low to lock up the title. Heimiller took home $439,662 as the runner-up. This was the second-largest payday of his career, trailing only the $627,462 that he earned as the 2014 WSOP seniors event champion.
Here is a look at the payouts and ranking points awarded at the final table:
Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points | PGT Points |
1 | Josh Arieh | $711,313 | 840 | 427 |
2 | Daniel Heimiller | $439,662 | 700 | 264 |
3 | Yingui Li | $319,906 | 560 | 192 |
4 | Joao Vieira | $236,163 | 420 | 142 |
5 | Mike Matusow | $176,904 | 350 | 106 |
6 | John Hennigan | $134,491 | 280 | 81 |
7 | Johannes Becker | $103,795 | 210 | 62 |
8 | Scott Seiver | $81,337 | 140 | 49 |
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Winner photo credit: WSOP / Rachel Kay Miller.