The second edition of Hustler Casino Live’s $1 Million has ended and the action did not disappoint, even in the shadow of the WSOP 2024.
Tom Dwan gave his usual aggressive display, but after losing a pair of seven-figure pots he ended up down $721,500 for the four days.
And not only that, but we saw blatant player politics dictating the line-up with Dwan initially being told that he would not be welcome on the final day, even after he was advertised as playing the full four days.
There was also a shocking moment where a player concealing his identity mistakenly mucked the winning hand, burning more than half a million dollars in the process.
And finally, where was Nik Airball? Are the social media rumours about him being banned true? Nobody seems willing to give a believable explanation.
High-stakes poker rarely disappoints and with the lineup we had at Hustler Casino Live, there will always be plenty to talk about.
Tom Dwan Loses a Pair of $1 Million Pots
Tom Dwan is no stranger to seven-figure pots, but to lose a pair of them in a matter of hours must hurt, no matter who’s money it really is.
Even after all of the controversy surrounding the most enigmatic character in poker, there is never any doubt who the viewers are really watching.
Tom Dwan means fireworks no matter what you think of him he is an entertainer.
The first disaster hand went as follows:
Peter raises it up to $4,000 with 10♠ 10♣ and Steve calls with A♦ J♦
Dwan now decides that 9♥ 4♥ is more than enough to join the fray.
The flop comes down 4♦ 4♠ 6♦
Peter leads out for $8,000, Steve calls with his nut flush draw and Dwan raises it up to $36,000.
The turn is 10♣ giving Peter a full house, leaving Dwan in a world of pain.
Dwan doesn’t seem to care about the danger and bets $76,000. Peter calls and Steve folds.
The 2♥ river didn’t change anything and Dwan continues betting, moving $167,000 into the middle. Peter now makes the mandatory raise, moving $425,000 in front of him.
Dwan now clearly knows he is beaten, but as we see almost weekly in these high-stakes games, he says he just cannot find a fold and he makes the call to lose a pot worth $1,129,000.
Incredibly, Dwan managed to repair the damage quite quickly but then disaster struck once again.
Dwan raises to $3,000 with J♠ 10♥ and Hook three-bets to $20,000 with A♥ K♦ Peter also comes along with Q♣ 10♣.
The flop came down A♠ 10♦ 6♣
Hook bet and both Dwan and Peter called.
The turn was the 10♠, setting the scene for the second disaster of the night.
Hook bets $20,000 and Dwan raises up to $73,000. Now, Peter feels he has the best hand and he comes over the top with a bet of $223,000.
Incredibly, after Hook folds, Dwan still insists he has the best hand and he jams all-in. Peter makes the call to win a pot of $1,059,000.
Not a great night for Tom Dwan.
$1,059,000 POT!!
Our third $1M pot of the day@TomDwan gets stacked by Peter 😢😢
Peter is now up $1.5M today — Tom is down $1M
Tune in NOW for the MILLION DOLLAR GAME: https://t.co/vVmv3cPi8y pic.twitter.com/GgiNaAOqsd
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) May 29, 2024
Mystery Player Throws Away the Best Hand in $540,000 Pot
The Hustler Casino Live $1 Million Game threw up many surprises over the week but none as much as a player arriving with his identity concealed.
Known only as Thomas, the player turned up to battle on the third day of action. And boy did he battle hard, showcasing a style that would rival Tom Dwan for pure aggression. A European entrepreneur by some accounts.
WTF JUST HAPPENED?!?
Thomas rivers a straight, bets river, gets called, then mucks?!? In a $543,000 pot!!
Tune in NOW for the MILLION DOLLAR GAME: https://t.co/4fMgOvhkOn pic.twitter.com/xF4VG7NrNy
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) May 31, 2024
Thomas was holding 8♣ 7♦ on a board of 4♣ 9♣ 10♥ 2♠ with Steve playing his K♦K♣ cautiously.
When the J♠ river dropped Thomas replied to the two checks in front of him with a $130,000 bet which Steve called before flipping over his kings.
Thomas then incredulously pitched his hand into the muck, forfeiting a $543,000 pot in the process.
There were plenty of comments in the stream chat that the card graphics were wrong but Ryan Feldman claimed that was highly unlikely.
TRIPS vs TRIPS!!@DougPolkVids is in a brutal spot vs Peter
Tune in NOW for the MILLION DOLLAR GAME: https://t.co/EbqKaRJfOM pic.twitter.com/mBKFojtr6b
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) May 30, 2024
We also saw the second largest ever pot on Hustler Casino Live after Alan Keating scooped $2,437,000 against Rahul.
Tom Dwan still holds the record of $3.1 million from his hand against Wesley Fei played last year.
Check out the full hand replay in the tweet below.
ALAN KEATING JUST WON THE 2nd-BIGGEST POT IN HCL HISTORY!! 🔥🔥🔥
$2,437,000 POT!! 💰💰💰@Mister_Keating finds the magical river to send Rahul packing
Tune in NOW for the MILLION DOLLAR GAME w/ over $10 MILLION on the table: https://t.co/yafZtVwHKP pic.twitter.com/yOmCZWdO4E
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) June 1, 2024
Is Nik Airball Secretly Banned from Hustler Casino?
The one thing missing from this year’s Hustler Casino Live $1 Million Game has to have been Nik Airball.
The show’s producers claim that he’ll be back and he’s just doing other stuff didn’t really resonate with the fans.
Social media has been awash with rumours that he is banned from the Hustler Casino property for passing on and selling chips against their rules.
We cannot confirm if this is true but one poster alleged that he has received multiple warning about such conduct in the past.
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