Jose Garcia Wins First Bracelet Event At 2024 World Series of PokerPoker Dealer From New Mexico Tops 1,189-Entry Field In $500 Casino Employees Event To Earn $79,134 and His First Bracelet |
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The first bracelet awarded at the 2024 World Series of Poker went to Jose Garcia of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The poker dealer at Sandia Resort & Casino outlasted a field of 1,189 entries in the $500 buy-in Casino employees no-limit hold’em event to earn his first piece of WSOP hardware and the top prize of $79,134.
This was by far the largest live tournament result yet for Garcia, who had not recorded a WSOP cash prior to this win.
The strong turnout for this event (up from 1,015 in 2023) resulted in a prize pool of $499,380. The top 179 finishers earned a share, with a min-cash being worth $1,002. Several notables ran deep, including Nikki Limo (18th), Michael Holtz (11th), and Lukas Robinson (9th).
The event was slated to run over the course of two days, but there were still four contenders remaining when play was halted at 2:30 AM local time after a lengthy day 2 session.
Garcia held the chip lead among the final four. He added to it when 10-9 suited bested the A-J of Lang Anderson in a preflop showdown. Garcia turned a king-high straight and held from there to eliminate Anderson in fourth place ($26,698).
Alexander Green was the next to fall. He got all-in with J-10 suited trailing the K-J of Richard Rothmeier. Green picked up a gutshot straight draw on the turn, but bricked out to finish third ($37,264).
Heads-up play began with Garcia out in front. Rothmeier was soon all-in and at risk with K
9
trailing the KQ of Garcia. The board ran out Q
846K
and Garcia’s kings up earned him the victory. Rothmeier was paid $52,773 as the runner-up finisher.
Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings |
| 1 | Jose Garcia | $79,134 |
| 2 | Richard Rothmeier | $52,773 |
| 3 | Alexander Green | $37,264 |
| 4 | Lang Anderson | $26,698 |
| 5 | Barry Goldberg | $19,412 |
| 6 | Bradley Wolfe | $14,328 |
| 7 | Joshua Sieverding | $10,737 |
| 8 | Christopher Keem | $8,171 |
| 9 | Lukas Robinson | $6,317 |
Visit the Card Player 2024 World Series of Poker page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest event results. WSOP coverage sponsored by Global Poker.
Photo credit: WSOP / Alicia Skillman.
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