Celine Dion’s son making deep run in WSOP Main Event
Rene-Charles Angelil was still reveling in the fact he made the money in the World Series of Poker Main Event when he looked at the Day 4 chip counts.
That’s when Angelil saw his name near the top of the leaderboard.
“When I figured that out, it became pretty real and I was like, ‘What is going on?’” Angelil said.
Angelil, the oldest son of singer Celine Dion and music producer Rene Angelil, was in 29th place at the start of play Thursday on Day 5 of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship. He had 1.8 million chips and was in solid position at the 9 p.m. break.
Austria’s Sebastian Schulze had the unofficial lead at 9.2 million chips with 241 players still standing from the starting field of 9,735.
The Main Event continues Friday at Horseshoe Las Vegas with Day 6. All the remaining players are guaranteed at least $52,500, with the winner taking home $10 million.
“This is my third time playing the Main, first time cashing,” Angelil said. “I think the first two times I played, I didn’t make it to dinner on Day 1. So I’m pretty happy to be here on Day 5.”
Angelil, 24, said he learned poker from his father and played heads-up against him starting at age 5. Rene Angelil, who died in 2016, was an avid poker player and sat in high-stakes cash games. He had more than $750,000 in career live tournament earnings, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.
“My mom, not so much,” Rene-Charles Angelil said. “For her, she appreciates the strategic part of the game. But she won’t be sitting down in any $2-$5 games across the city any time soon.”
Angelil, who had less than $3,000 in career live tournament earnings entering the Main Event, took a hit to his chip stack during afternoon play when he was caught bluffing. He was able to bounce back after a table change and had more than 90 big blinds in chips at the dinner break but took another hit to his stack in the evening.
“I’d like to think that I don’t typically get out of line too much preflop. I do like to apply the pressure post(flop), especially when I had a big stack,” Angelil said. “I’ve been really trying to be patient picking my spots and not just firing every chance that I get.”
Angelil, who released an EP titled “Casino.5” in January 2021, remains passionate about music but said he is not working on any projects currently. Instead, his focus is on the Main Event.
Angelil said if he continues his deep Main Event run, his mom might make an appearance at the WSOP.
“If I final table, for sure,” he said.
While Angelil was in unfamiliar territory deep in a tournament, several experienced pros remained in the field.
Greg Merson, the 2012 Main Event champion, made a move during the afternoon action and climbed the chip counts before dinner.
Seven-time WSOP winner Michael Mizrachi and top pro Isaac Haxton were in the top 40 at dinner. Other notable names still in the hunt include six-time WSOP winner Brian Hastings and polarizing British pro William Kassouf.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.