Poker star Jason Mercier claims second bracelet of this year’s WSOP, fifth overall
Poker star Jason Mercier continued his remarkable week at the World Series of Poker, winning the $10,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. Championship early Saturday at the Rio Convention Center.
Mercier, a 29-year-old from Davie, Florida, defeated James Obst of Australia in a grueling heads-up battle that ended after 3:30 a.m. to claim his second WSOP bracelet in a five-day span and fifth overall.
Mercier earned $422,874 for the victory and even more thanks to several highly publicized side bets.
Mercier won the $10,000 buy-in 2-7 No-limit Draw Lowball Championship on Monday night and finished as the runner-up in the $10,000 buy-in Razz Championship on Wednesday.
He late registered to the H.O.R.S.E. tournament immediately after falling short in the Razz tournament and remarkably went on to make the final table of his third consecutive $10,000 buy-in tournament.
Mercier joins poker hall of famers Berry Johnston, John Juanda, Scotty Nguyen, Stu Ungar and five other players with five career bracelets. Only 14 players in history have won more.
Mercier has $868,549 in earnings from four cashes at this summer’s WSOP, bringing his career live tournament earnings to more than $17 million, which is No. 11 all time according to Global Poker Index’s Hendon Mob Poker Database.
Mercier is expected to collect a mid-six-figures payout for the side action he booked on himself at close to 20-1 odds to win two bracelets at this summer’s WSOP.He also has approximately three weeks to sweat his high-profile prop bet with fellow poker pro Vanessa Selbst.
Mercier stands to win $1.8 million should he win three bracelets this summer after betting Selbst $10,000 at 180-1 odds. Selbst claimed this week on Twitter she was intoxicated when she made the bet and tried to buy out, but Mercier declined the offer of $100,000.
Selbst later posted a blog on Twitter expressing her disappointment at Mercier for refusing to allow her to cancel, and the situation has become a hot topic in the poker community recently.
Only five players in the 47-year history of the WSOP have won three bracelets in a single summer, the most recent being Jeff Lisandro in 2009.
