It took an extra day of play to decide the winner in Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed), but in the end, the final two players, who are friends off the tables, didn’t need much of that extra day. Day 4 action convened heads up at 1 pm Vegas time, and by 1:30 pm, Bolden was sitting behind all the chips.
With 357 entries for the game, they were playing for a bit more than $950k in total, with the top two finishers set to earn more than $100k each. Bolden pocketed a bit more than $205k while runner-up John Racener ended his run $135,877 richer.
Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed) Details
- Entries: 357
- Prizes: $953,190
- Winner: Gary Bolden ($206,321)
| Place | Player | Home | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Bolden | United States | $206,321 |
| 2 | John Racener | United States | $135,877 |
| 3 | Travis Trail | United States | $91,547 |
| 4 | David Tarbet | United Kingdom | $63,134 |
| 5 | Luis Velador | Mexico | $44,591 |
| 6 | David “ODB” Baker | United States | $32,274 |
| 7 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $23,952 |
| 8 | Wooram Cho | South Korea | $18,238 |
Short Heads-Up Battle on Day 4
E91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed)
This was originally billed as a three-day game, with play expected to finish on Day 3. The final scheduled day proved to be a marathon however and there were still two players left alive at 2:30 am.
John Racener, with a circuit ring and two bracelets in $10k events, was looking for his second bracelet of 2024 when he came into the final day in the chip lead.
He had about a 2.5:1 chip lead to start the heads-up match on Day 4. After about 30 minutes of play on the impromptu final day, Bolden had come back from behind to take down the title.
Bolden called the win “business as usual” saying “I was playing against one of my good friends John (Racener), I knew it would be this way” in reference to the back-and-forth battle on the final day.
Bolden was clearly in good spirits after the win, joking that Racener “needed to lead because I wanted to make the story look good”. When Racener texted him that cards were in the air after Bolden was late to the final day, his friendly response was “Good because you’re going to need a head start today”.
While he had no lack of confidence, he was able to make good on it, chipping away at Racener when he hit a wheel in Omaha8 for a scoop and close to even stacks. Bolden then jumped into the lead shortly after when he forced a fold from Racener on seventh street for a big pot.
In the final hand, Bolden hit two pair and an eighty-six low to scoop the final pot and take down his first bracelet. For his part, Racener added a bit more than $100k to his better than $12 million in wins while Bolden pushed his total to a bit more than $1.8 million with the win.
Ausmus Chases Down Seiver for PoY
The other interesting story from the endgame of this one related to the Player of the Year race. Scott Seiver has been in the lead after his epic three-bracelet performance this summer, but he’s been in a heated battle with Jeremy Ausmus pretty much the whole way.
Ausmus was among the final table players at the end of Day 3 in this one, adding some points to his total and bringing him to less than 150 points behind Seiver. With action going into the final week, no doubt Seiver and Ausmus will be grinding it out trying to find the extra points they need to secure the win, but neither can be totally comfortable either as just over their shoulders are Chance Kornuth and John Racener, both of whom could jump into the lead with deep runs in the final week of play.
2024 WSOP Player of the Year Leaderboard Standings
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Scott Seiver | 3,793.74 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | 3,686.60 |
| 3 | Chance Kornuth | 3,374.00 |
| 4 | John Racener | 3,137.59 |
| 5 | Chris Hunichen | 3,083.57 |
