The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as 'bracelets'. Practice your poker face. Learn from our best tips to win the world's most popular card game. Here is a complete list of all World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners by country. Click on the country to see the winners. You can read more about the players by clicking on their name. Have a look at the other poker ranking lists as well. United States - 1169. Mainbead Men's Multilayer Poker Leather Rope Cuff Bangle Wristband Friendship Vintage Biker Playing Card Poker Leather Bracelet Jewelry 4.4 out of 5 stars 14 $8.96 $ 8.
It's the event that everyone wants to win in their professional poker career – the World Series of Poker bracelet event.
But which big names haven't won a WSOP bracelet? There are some big names yet to grab gold, and you might be surprised at who has missed out over the years.
Dan Smith
Having won $36.7 million in live tournament earnings over his career, Dan Smith is by far the biggest winner never to put that famous gold bracelet on his wrist. Gambling topics. He's been runner-up before, earning just over $3 million for his 2nd-place finish in the 2016 $111,111-entry High Roller for One Drop, beaten to the bracelet by German Fedor Holz in his standout year. Smith has also finished third in bracelet events on no less than six occasions, with the best – or worst depending on your point of view – result being his $4 million score in last year's 2018 Big One for One Drop, topped only by – you've guessed it – Fedor Holz again and Justin Bonomo, who won the event.
Jason Koon
One of the most respected tournament poker players in the world, Jason Koon hasn't actually played as many bracelet events in recent years as others, but is that because he's come so close? Koon was runner-up in the 2012 $3,000-entry Heads-Up event, but couldn't see it out, trumped in the decider by Leif Force. The closest Koon has come to a bracelet in the past couple of years is his 5th-place finish in the 2018 $25,000-entry PLO event that was won by Shaun Deeb, though Koon also came 7th in the $100,000 High Roller that was won by Nick Petrangelo.
Steve O'Dwyer
He's cashed 14 times in the World Series of Poker in America, and four times in WSOP Europe events, but incredibly, Seve O'Dwyer has never won a WSOP bracelet. In fact, the closest he has come to grabbing that gold that his prowess at the poker table surely deserves is a 5th-place finish in the 2015 WSOPE $500 event entitled ‘Oktoberfest', which was won by German player Dietrich Fast. O'Dwyer has never been one to play events for the sake of it, but how good would it be to see him run deep in Rozvadov this October and November?
Isaac Haxton
While he's known as much for his cash gameplay as he is tournament poker, ‘Ike' Haxton has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, although he got close more recently than some of his peers in this poker rundown. Haxton came 4th in the 2018 $50,000-entry Event #77, which was conquered by Ben Yu. Haxton's runner-up finish came 10 years ago in 2009, when Russian player Vitaly Lunkin beat Haxton to a high-profile victory – the 40th-anniversary WSOP event where the buy-in was $40,000 and the top prize that Lunkin scooped was $1,891,012. Antelope slot canyon tours by chief tsosie. Haxton took home $1.1 million for his troubles, but he has never got as close to a WSOP bracelet in the 10 years since.
Mikita Badziakouski
The Belarussian Beast, on his rampage up the all-time money list has stalled when it comes to sealing the deal and winning that gold WSOP bracelet. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, however, Badziakouski is a lot younger than most on this list at just 27 years old, and, to be fair to him, his five cashes in WSOP events have yielded two runner-up finishes, a third-place and two fourth-place finishes. With all four of his cashes coming in WSOPE events, perhaps Badziakouski is the favorite to prove this list historically inaccurate when Rozvadov action returns later this month.
Jake Schindler
Quite how Jake Schindler hasn't won a WSOP bracelet, no-one knows, least of all him in all probability. With 39 cashes and over $1.1 million in earnings from WSOP events, Schindler can hardly be distraught with his performance in World Series of Poker over the years. Schindler has won a WSOP circuit ring, at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in a $345-entry event worth $24,736 for the win, but the bracelet still eludes him. Schindler did come 67th in this year's WSOP Main Event, but he's still waiting for that bracelet moment.
Rainer Kempe
German crusher Rainer Kempe may have cashed for over a million dollars at the World Series of Poker, but he's never got his hands on that bracelet. He came oh-so-close in 2019 when he finished 4th in the $600-entry Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack 8-Max event which was won by Aristeidis Moschonas. Kempe is sure to put himself in contention to win a WSOP bracelet over and over again in years to come, so we expect this anomaly to be corrected very soon, and he'll certainly be hoping so.
Sam Trickett
Could the second most successful poker player from Great Britain be the biggest player never to have won a WSOP bracelet? There was a time when everything Sam Trickett touched turned to gold, but those days haven't been in the World Series for many a year. The closest Trickett ever got was in 2012 when he came 2dn in the $1 million-entry Big One for One Drop event which was won by ‘The Magician', Antonio Esfandiari. ‘Tricky' will need to travel to Rozvadov to give himself a chance of winning one this year.
Christoph Vogelsang
Having starred in the recent British Poker Open, German player Christoph Vogelsang has $6.3 million to his name in WSOP winnings… but no bracelet on his wrist. The highest-profile near-miss for the high roller crusher was the Big One for One Drop that was won by a not-very-talkative Daniel Colman back in 2014. In that event, Vogelsang just missed out on the heads-up battle between Colman and Negreanu, exiting in 3rd place.
Tom Marchese
The Big Cheese himself…has never taken that most prized piece of cheddar. Marchese has come second in a WSOP event before, finishing as runner-up in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event won by Paul Michaelis. Marchese has cashed an awesome 26 times in the World Series of Poker since he started playing the game in 2009, but despite racking up $18,988,194 in lifetime tournament earnings, is yet to wear that golden WSOP bracelet.
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17:0207 Jul
(Photo: Stevesoffa.com)
There are 69 of them up for grabs this summer, and it has been said that poker pros come in two types – those with a gold bracelet and those without! But what are they actually worth? Let's take a detailed look at the most coveted prizes in the poker world…
Diamonds and Rubies and Sapphires and…
Jostens of Minneapolis have created the bracelets for the last two years and the Main Event jewellery features 40 uniquely-cast parts crafted with 427 grams of white and yellow gold.
The entire bracelet features 356 white diamonds totaling 25.5 carats, 626 black diamonds totaling 14.8 carats, and 194 rubies at an outstanding 3.8 carats and the basic value is considered to be around $500,000. But of course, such historical items can be worth so much more (or so much less as we'll encounter later!) on the open market.
As Jostens describe their unique design - one which has changed from the early days of the bracelets as we will see:
Each link of the bracelet mimics a playing card, perfectly doubled down on both sides of the bracelet. This one-of-a kind design ups the ante by linking a diamond and ruby encrusted band to a show-stopping centerpiece featuring the acronym 'WSOP' written in rubies that are set against a backdrop of rows of perfectly placed white diamonds.'
Isaac Haxton
While he's known as much for his cash gameplay as he is tournament poker, ‘Ike' Haxton has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, although he got close more recently than some of his peers in this poker rundown. Haxton came 4th in the 2018 $50,000-entry Event #77, which was conquered by Ben Yu. Haxton's runner-up finish came 10 years ago in 2009, when Russian player Vitaly Lunkin beat Haxton to a high-profile victory – the 40th-anniversary WSOP event where the buy-in was $40,000 and the top prize that Lunkin scooped was $1,891,012. Antelope slot canyon tours by chief tsosie. Haxton took home $1.1 million for his troubles, but he has never got as close to a WSOP bracelet in the 10 years since.
Mikita Badziakouski
The Belarussian Beast, on his rampage up the all-time money list has stalled when it comes to sealing the deal and winning that gold WSOP bracelet. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, however, Badziakouski is a lot younger than most on this list at just 27 years old, and, to be fair to him, his five cashes in WSOP events have yielded two runner-up finishes, a third-place and two fourth-place finishes. With all four of his cashes coming in WSOPE events, perhaps Badziakouski is the favorite to prove this list historically inaccurate when Rozvadov action returns later this month.
Jake Schindler
Quite how Jake Schindler hasn't won a WSOP bracelet, no-one knows, least of all him in all probability. With 39 cashes and over $1.1 million in earnings from WSOP events, Schindler can hardly be distraught with his performance in World Series of Poker over the years. Schindler has won a WSOP circuit ring, at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in a $345-entry event worth $24,736 for the win, but the bracelet still eludes him. Schindler did come 67th in this year's WSOP Main Event, but he's still waiting for that bracelet moment.
Rainer Kempe
German crusher Rainer Kempe may have cashed for over a million dollars at the World Series of Poker, but he's never got his hands on that bracelet. He came oh-so-close in 2019 when he finished 4th in the $600-entry Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack 8-Max event which was won by Aristeidis Moschonas. Kempe is sure to put himself in contention to win a WSOP bracelet over and over again in years to come, so we expect this anomaly to be corrected very soon, and he'll certainly be hoping so.
Sam Trickett
Could the second most successful poker player from Great Britain be the biggest player never to have won a WSOP bracelet? There was a time when everything Sam Trickett touched turned to gold, but those days haven't been in the World Series for many a year. The closest Trickett ever got was in 2012 when he came 2dn in the $1 million-entry Big One for One Drop event which was won by ‘The Magician', Antonio Esfandiari. ‘Tricky' will need to travel to Rozvadov to give himself a chance of winning one this year.
Christoph Vogelsang
Having starred in the recent British Poker Open, German player Christoph Vogelsang has $6.3 million to his name in WSOP winnings… but no bracelet on his wrist. The highest-profile near-miss for the high roller crusher was the Big One for One Drop that was won by a not-very-talkative Daniel Colman back in 2014. In that event, Vogelsang just missed out on the heads-up battle between Colman and Negreanu, exiting in 3rd place.
Tom Marchese
The Big Cheese himself…has never taken that most prized piece of cheddar. Marchese has come second in a WSOP event before, finishing as runner-up in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event won by Paul Michaelis. Marchese has cashed an awesome 26 times in the World Series of Poker since he started playing the game in 2009, but despite racking up $18,988,194 in lifetime tournament earnings, is yet to wear that golden WSOP bracelet.
Watch the best of the best compete on PokerGO as we provide more than 100 days of live poker every single year. Subscribe right now.
17:0207 Jul
(Photo: Stevesoffa.com)
There are 69 of them up for grabs this summer, and it has been said that poker pros come in two types – those with a gold bracelet and those without! But what are they actually worth? Let's take a detailed look at the most coveted prizes in the poker world…
Diamonds and Rubies and Sapphires and…
Jostens of Minneapolis have created the bracelets for the last two years and the Main Event jewellery features 40 uniquely-cast parts crafted with 427 grams of white and yellow gold.
The entire bracelet features 356 white diamonds totaling 25.5 carats, 626 black diamonds totaling 14.8 carats, and 194 rubies at an outstanding 3.8 carats and the basic value is considered to be around $500,000. But of course, such historical items can be worth so much more (or so much less as we'll encounter later!) on the open market.
As Jostens describe their unique design - one which has changed from the early days of the bracelets as we will see:
Each link of the bracelet mimics a playing card, perfectly doubled down on both sides of the bracelet. This one-of-a kind design ups the ante by linking a diamond and ruby encrusted band to a show-stopping centerpiece featuring the acronym 'WSOP' written in rubies that are set against a backdrop of rows of perfectly placed white diamonds.'
They continue:
The centerpiece is punctuated on all sides by a row of black diamonds. Opening like a locket, the stunning centerpiece bracelet top reveals a hidden compartment designed to house the two winning cards from the player's final tournament, preserving the winning hand for all time.'
Joe McKeehen's bracelet holds an Ace and a Ten, the hand with which he defeated Joshua Beckley to take down last year's title and $7,683,346.
The bracelets celebrate a 45-year old competitive tradition', said Miran Armutlu, VP of Jewelry', adding, 'Jostens is honored to be selected as the official bracelet manufacturer of the WSOP. In close collaboration with the WSOP we created a brilliant bracelet with an unparalleled custom design that's as bold and dominating as the players themselves while honoring the symbolic significance of the Main Event bracelet.'
This has not always been the case, the earliest bracelets –not by Jostens –being somewhat unattractive 'like gold nuggets kind of hammered flat' and even unwanted by many of the players!
You can keep your jewellery, just give me the money
Doyle Brunson rather famously didn't even bother picking up two of his ten bracelets, and others were awarded based on a ‘player's choice' rather than for events actually won. Naturally the WSOP see things rather differently, ten years ago the Commissioner for the WSOP Jeffrey Pollack stating:
It's impossible to overstate the value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet to anyone who takes the game seriously - it is the equivalent of winning the Stanley Cup in hockey or the Lombardi Trophy in football.'
For the Main Event bracelet, this is doubtless true, and in events such as the $10K or $50K H.O.R.S.E and many others, winning the bracelet is a massive achievement among peers. There are, of course, a lot of bracelets being handed out these days – 69 of them this year alone – so perhaps not everyone sees them as hugely merited across the board.
Some, however, value them so highly that they never see the light of day! Johnny Chan has 10 of them –placing him 3rd in the all-time bracelet list - and keeps them safely locked up in a vault, claiming that they are 'worth millions'.
Others, however, are less tied to their hard-earned jewellery and have gone on to sell them either through financial need or for charitable reasons.
Hard to come by, easy to let go of?
Peter Eastgate, who took down the Main Event in 2008 and about whom I wrote in my Lost Champions of the WSOP article back in April, decided to auction his bracelet off for charity in 2010.
He listed it on eBay with a starting bid of $16,000, interest in securing the piece of poker memorabilia sparking 116 bids, including several from Antanas ‘Tony G' Guoga who claimed, perhaps tongue in cheek, though it's always hard to know with Tony G, that:
The plan is to get it adapted into a special collar for my trusted German shepherd, Zasko. The ultimate dog bling, as my gladiator and protector, he deserves to be kitted out in such style.'
He was unlucky though, and the winning bid of $147,500 was placed by a bidder known only at the time as '7***l' –who later turned out to be Glasgow-based businessman William Haughey.
Haughey, it transpired when he went public two years later, didn't want to keep it for himself – explaining later that:
I've never had it on and I never have my picture taken with it. It has been in a safe, and what I would like to do is maybe protect the integrity and the worthiness of the bracelet. I would like to discuss with the World Series of Poker if they would take the bracelet as a gift from me and keep it in the Hall of Fame.'
Haughey had some ideas including a tournament which might 'raise like $400,000 or $500,000' for a charity.
His reasons? Well, as he explained in his 2012 Pokernews interview:
Unfortunately, in the last year or so, the poker reputation has been tarnished. I think the people in the poker community should step up to the plate and try and do something to rectify that so that people out there don't just think it's a big community of gamblers and that we can also do something for less fortunate people.'
Others who have parted ways with their WSOP jewellery include Jamie Gold, the 2006 Main Event winner and a controversial player ever-since.
In August 2013, Jamie Gold's WSOP bracelet was up for auction - described on the The Heritage Auctions site as having '259 stones including over seven carats of diamonds and 120 grams of white and yellow gold. Rubies are inset to create the red of the heart and diamond suits, while a sapphire represents the spade and three black diamonds the clubs.'
Not a Jostens creation as we had last year and this, but rather a Frederick Goldman, Inc. design.
The reason why Gold decided to sell has never been made explicitly clear, with most people believing it was because he was broke, while some more charitable souls were inclined to believe he was doing it for one of the charities he supports. It finally went for $65,725, likely a lot less than it was worth.
Gold himself explained to CardPlayer magazine:
Poker Bracelets List Online
It's a legal issue that I can't talk about, but what I can say is that I am not selling it,' he said. 'I would never do that. It's really unfortunate what has been happening. It is out of my hands, but it's not something I wish was happening. I'm not purposefully selling - I'm not involved in the auction and will not be making $1 if it does end up being sold. I got myself into an odd situation,' stated Gold, adding that 'The laws do not exist for cash games and taxes, but somehow they believe if you play at a high enough level, you should be taxed on your winnings and not on your losses. And not allowed to take your losses against it.'
When poker writer Chad Holloway wrote about WSOP bracelwts for Predictem.com, he stated that:
What a player chooses to do with his or her bracelet is totally up to them. As you can see, WSOP bracelets are not always shown the appreciation you might expect. All I know for sure is that if I were ever to win a WSOP bracelet, I would cherish it my entire life.'
Holloway related that:
Phil Hellmuth has given many of his eleven bracelets to various family members' and 'Robert Varkonyi, the 2002 Main Event champ, took some extra links from his bracelet (it was silver that year) and had them made into a pair of earrings for his wife. All of these decisions are demonstrative of the player's appreciation for the bracelet and are really understandable, if not touching.'
However, he added that:
On the other end of the spectrum, there are those players who don't value their bracelet in the quite the same way. Hamid Datshmalchi, winner of three WSOP bracelets and the 1992 World Champion, once had a disagreement with Binion's and claimed his bracelet wasn't worth the $5,000 he was told.'
'They say it's worth $5,000' Dastmalchi said during a poker game, 'but I'd take $1,500 for it.' Ted Forrest, who was sitting at the table, replied 'Sold' and tossed him three $500 chips. Although it's not an official bracelet win for Forrest, he still picked up a nice piece of poker memorabilia.'
Jeff Shulman, who final-tabled the 2009 Main Event. apparently claimed that if he were to win the Main Event bracelet he 'would toss it in the trash.' Shulan explained that this was a response to his 'disappointment in how the World Series is run. It used to be run by people who loved and really cared about poker, and had the players in mind, first and foremost.'
It transpired that Shulman didn't win the bracelet, finishing 5th and picking up almost $2million but no jewellery, and he has never come close again so we'll never know if he was seriously going to bin the bracelet or not.
Another famous pro to see their bracelet up for grabs on the internet is T.J. Cloutier, who, back in 2010, was the subject of several articles, one entitled: ‘What is the price of a WSOP bracelet?'
The answer, apparently, for Cloutier's 2005 bracelet from the $5K NLHE even,t was less than his buy-in for the event! $4,006 to be exact. Depreciation or desperation?
Cloutier's reasons for the sale were unknown, but according to HighStakesNews, 'people are saying that he has lost more money playing craps than he ever made from playing poker'. For example, a fellow poker pro, Terrance Chan, wrote in his blog in 2006, that:
Wsop Bracelets List
T.J. has lost more money at craps than possibly any human being alive. Obviously he's just a poor craps player and one should bet against him, not with him.'
So we have a beautiful piece of jewellery, which in the case of the Main Event version is worth about half a million dollars nowadays, and which many players would chop their right hand off just to be able to wear.
Some covet the diamond and ruby encrusted gold bands, others lock them away for posterity and safe-keeping, others still donate them to charity and the most desperate flog them off to escape the debts and despair which gambling and poker occassionally bring along with them.
Poker Bracelets List A-z
The question now is, what would YOU do with your bracelet? Answers below please!