The Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic High Roller Series, which ran from December 2-14, wrapped up late Monday night with Andrew Lichtenberger shipping the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em finale for $432,000. He beat out Ray Qartomy heads-up to take down the last tournament in the 13-event series.
Although “Lucky Chewy” finished things off with a huge victory, Justin Bonomo was the biggest star of the series and the only multiple-event winner. The future Poker Hall of Famer not only won two events but also overtook Bryn Kenney for the all-time winningest live tournament player in the process.
Series at a Glance
Bonomo now has just over $57 million in live tournament cashes for his career, barely $200,000 more than Kenney. He took down the largest buy-in tournament of the series — $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em — on December 3, good for $928,200. Three days later, the 36-year-old high roller shipped the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for another $128,000. He didn’t cash again during the series, although he skipped quite a few of the tournaments, including both non-NLH days.
The full Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic High Roller Series results were as follows:
| Event # | Tournament | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Giuseppe Iadisernia | $146,200 | Brian Rast | 43 |
| 2 | $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Justin Bonomo | $928,200 | Jason Koon | 19 |
| 3 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Sung Joo Hyun | $140,000 | Rok Gostisa | 35 |
| 4 | $10,000 8-Game Mix | Henrik Hecklen | $102,600 | Benny Glaser | 19 |
| 5 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Justin Bonomo | $128,000 | Dan Shak | 32 |
| 6 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Leonard Maue | $146,200 | Sung Joo Hyun | 43 |
| 7 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Anij Agarwal | $156,400 | Nick Schulman | 46 |
| 8 | $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | Felipe Ramos* | $115,500 | Hank Yang* | 35 |
| 9 | $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Rok Gostisa | $283,000 | Alex Foxen | 21 |
| 10 | $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Arthur Conan | $227,500 | Alex Foxen | 13 |
| 11 | $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Nick Petrangelo | $151,200 | David Mock | 42 |
| 12 | $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Selahaddin Bedir | $287,500 | Vikenty Shegal | 25 |
| 13 | $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | Andrew Lichtenberger | $432,000 | Ray Qartomy | 54 |
Giuseppe Iadisernia won the series opener, a $10,000 buy-in NLH event, for $146,200, beating out Brian Rast for the title. He didn’t cash again until the series final Monday night when he busted in sixth place for $81,000.
Alex Foxen, who wasn’t present during the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP), has appeared in numerous high roller events this fall including at the Bellagio. During the recently completed series, the former college football athlete racked up consecutive runner-up finishes in Events #9 and #10, but was unable to capture a victory.
Foxen is the two-time defending Global Poker Index Player of the Year. His streak is in jeopardy as Ali Imsirovic appears to be in line to win the award.
The series concluded with Lichtenberger scoring a huge win in a 54-entry field at the Bellagio. In doing so, he bumped his all-time live tournament cashes up over $11.5 million.
With the high roller series out of the way, the Bellagio is now prepared to host the World Poker Tour’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic, one of the crown jewels on the annual WPT schedule. The $10,000 buy-in event kicks off at the Las Vegas casino on Tuesday.
*Lead photo from PokerGO.