Bracelet Hunting - A WSOP 2026 Trip Report

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Bracelet Hunting - A WSOP 2026 Trip Report

OP
1006 posts · member since Apr 2006
2mo ago

Time for a new thread!

Credit to rppoker (who made the suggestion in my previous thread) for the title of this years’ tri

22 May 2026 at 03:00 PM
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212 posts · member since Nov 2009
15h ago

Let's end the discussion here.

I felt safe and didn't see any crazies or craziness during my rides.

Even the late night trips I took, I was riding with casino staff or employees on the strip that were riding back home.

Can you name one place where you are totally safe You might say home, but don't we have security systems at home to feel safe.

If bad things happen they can happen anywhere.

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TonySoprano9
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TonySoprano9
2mo ago

Time for a new thread!

Credit to rppoker (who made the suggestion in my previous thread) for the title of this years’ trip report. I was trying to think of song titles with a summer theme again, but it isn’t the Summer of 69, there’s only one of me so I can’t be the Boys of Summer and Cruel Summer would set completely the wrong tone so I’m going to call a spade a spade. I’m going bracelet hunting, no two ways about it.

I’m planning to play twice the number of bracelet events as I did last year and will be foregoing other venues around town and playing tournaments exclusively in the frozen tundra of the Paris ballroom.

It will truly be a summer camp this year as I’ll be here from day one until day forty-something, and with the high gas prices having a knock-on effect on the price of flights there won’t be any trip back home to break it up this time.

I’ll be hotel hopping around the strip as usual and what a difference having diamond and gold status this year makes. My average per night last year was $89, this year with no resort fees to pay that’s down to only $40 for a considerable saving. My lineup of hotels is Aria, Horseshoe, Excalibur and NYNY, hitting them all twice except NYNY.

Even with the expanded tournament schedule I’ll probably still have time to log some cash game hours and seeing as it’s a World Cup year I’m sure I’ll have some action there as well. I will try to squeeze in the odd day off here and there and take the time for a nice meal or to see a show and looking forward to seeing some familiar 2+2 faces and meeting some new ones.

Scene set. Wheels up in 3 days. Vamos!...

TonySoprano9
11d ago

Post Game - Part 1

After 7 weeks in the desert it was good to get back home and see some greenery.

Let’s look at how we did on the trip.

Tournaments

TLDR = buried

I played 31 total tournaments consisting of 25 bracelet events, (including 1 x $10k) 4 landmark satellites and 1 tournament each at Wynn and Aria.

To show for it we only had 4 cashes:

261st out of 2,150 for $3,020 in the $1,500 Big O
39th out of 780 for $4,975 in the $1,500 HORSE
Cashed flight B of the $1,000 PLO for $2,234 but did not make day two.
193rd out of 1,673 for $3,027 in the $1,500 PLO Double Board Bomb Pot

The final 100% numbers were:

Tournaments Played: 31
Bullets Fired: 37
Hours Played: 184
Total Buy-Ins: $58,650
Cashes: 4
Total Prize Money: $13,256
Net Result: -$45,395

After deducting the action that I sold my personal result was -$23,860

Packages Sold

Just a quick note to thank everyone who bought a piece, either through a package on here or on Pokerstake. Obviously the results weren’t what any of us wanted.

Mixed Games Package
No cashes. $3,300 (including markup) in unused re-entries to be returned.

NLH / Mystery Bounty Package
No cashes. $440 (including markup) in unused re-entries to be returned.

Big Bet Package
2 cashes for $6,047 total and $6,600 (including markup) in unused re-entries to be returned.

Final Tournament Thoughts

So that’s what a full summer looks like when you run bad. The only positive I can take away was that I was disciplined with the re-entries.

I thought the overall level of play was pretty bad in the big field lower buy-in PLO and NLH tournaments that I played but could not take advantage.

There was less dead money in the mixed events although there was still some, but again I could not win any pots against those guys.

The WSOP experience was as expected. Bad dealers,(unless you made a day 2) and poor food options. The overall temperature was improved from last year though as they built the mothership in what was the coldest area of the Paris ballroom. The app is unbelievably good and a true game changer.
Payouts and depositing money into my tournament account was never a problem as I always went late at night when it was quiet.

Cash Games

I played most of my cash sessions at Bellagio with a handful at Paris thrown in.
I started off strong and pretty much maintained it throughout the summer, although did have a dip at the end.

Action was very good throughout but there was a noticeable drop-off when we got into July and especially the last week.

Hours Played: 233
Profit: +$30,000
Hourly: $129

Having 3 and 4 $80 Mix games running at Bellagio for most of the summer was awesome. Part of me wishes I’d have just gone and concentrated 100% on cash, but I’m sure that’s being results orientated.

Sports Betting

What a summer. NBA and NHL playoffs, US Open golf and the World Cup. I did okay, winning more bets than I lost including big bets on England to beat Mexico and Belgium to beat USA.

Sports Betting Profit: +$6,000

Fantasy

Entered two teams in the ODB league which are in mid-table obscurity.

Fantasy Result: -$1,050

Buying Pieces

I bought small pieces of various players in different events throughout the summer on Pokerstake and hit the jackpot when I had pieces of both Benny and Josh when they finished 1-2 in the PPC.

Total Invested: $5,395
Total Returns: $16,687
Net Profit: $11,292

As this post is running long I’ll split it into two parts and detail the expenses and give thoughts on the hotels, restaurants and a final summary in the next part....

TonySoprano9
10d ago

Post Game - Part 2

Okay let’s put this to bed and finish the wrap up.

Hotels

I don’t have anything bad to say about any of the hotels I stayed at, even Excalibur. They all have their own charm and fill a purpose. The shorter stays at MGM properties broke up the longer stays at Paris and Horseshoe and allowed me to get some free nights each time.

Obviously Aria is a little bit more luxurious than the other places I stayed so that takes top spot, but I developed a soft spot for Horseshoe due to their pool.

Total Hotel cost for 48 nights: $1,801
Average per night: $37.52

Flights

The round trip flights with Copa were $892. Again no complaints. I find Copa to be very good and they are my preferred option.

Restaurants

No gastro-tour. I pretty much stayed in my lane and ate at my usual spots. I ate a lot of meals while playing cash at Bellagio which is probably not healthy but it is what it is. Most of them were paid for with comps and any extra with chips off the table so I didn’t really feel it out of my pocket. Lots of Prime, Lago, Spago, Sadelle’s, Noodles, Yellowtail and Snacks. It got to the point where I didn’t even need to look at menus!

Away from Bellagio Caramella at PH is another favorite of mine and I was glad I finally tried Batistas.

Miscellaneous Expenses

Can’t really think of many. As mentioned most of the food was comps at Bellagio so maybe I only spent another $1,000 on food if that.
2 x haircuts at $70 each
2 x lots of laundry at $40 each.
Taxi to and from airport at $30 each way with tip.

Total Misc Expenses: $1,500 (I rounded up as probably I forgot a few things)

Final Accounting

The +’s

Cash Games: $30,000
Sports Betting: $6,000
Buying Pieces: $11,300

The -‘s

Tournaments: -$23,900 (my share)
Hotels: -$1,800
Flights: -$900
Misc Expenses: -$1,500

Final Net: +$19,200

It could have been better, could have been worse. I didn’t expect to run so bad in the tournaments but happy to have made it back in the cash games.

So you want to grind the whole summer? Well with tournaments and cash games combined I played 417 total hours which over 7 weeks works out to just shy of 60 hours per week and I don’t think I overdid it.

Was it worth it? Pass
Will I do it again next year? I wouldn’t bet against it!

Health

I tried to keep a normal sleep schedule and not over-do things. I also forced myself to take some days and nights off. But it catches up with you. I think I was fine for about a month but then I did notice a drop-off. Sleep became erratic and all the days started to blend into one.
I also gained a little weight. I guess even with swimming and walking a lot it can’t compensate for long hours sitting down and the rich food. I went In at 78kg and came back at 81kg (172 - 178lbs)

My defensemen for 7 weeks in Vegas:

Sleeping tablets, Airborne vitamin supplements, Ayr nasal spray and Jergens moisturizer are all things that helped me and I would recommend. Tito’s nightcaps entirely optional!

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. A full summer grind in black and white. Thankfully we finished in the black rather than in the red. The title of the thread was always the ultimate reach goal and the dream for all of us. I didn’t achieve it but thought I might at least have gotten close. A final table or a deep run, but no, nada. So that aspect was very disappointing.

On a brighter note I did well in the cash games and between that, my sports betting and buying pieces managed to come out in profit. Not as much as I would have liked but it could have been worse.

There was also brief moments when poker schedules relented and I was able to share a bit of down time with fellow 2+2 and LVL’ers. Those moments were important and definitely helped to keep me on track.

So that will do it. Thanks for reading. Until next time....