Before the WSOP began Jason Mercier booked the biggest bracelet bets of his career and tonight he delivered big time.
Mercier won the $10k 2-7 Draw event and the official first-place prize of $273,335, telling media afterwards that including the side action it was one of the biggest scores of his life.
And it doesn't stop there.
“One down, two to go,” chanted Mercier as he came off the stage.
“I have some bets on winning two bracelets where I got laid like 18, 19 to one for the summer so that one's pretty live,” said Mercier.
“I also have a huge bet against Vanessa Selbst to win three so if I can go ahead and win another one quick, it'll be a really sick sweat.”
Mercier wagered $10,000 at 180 to 1 against fellow Team PokerStars Pro Selbst and with one bracelet in the bag, a total of three this summer just got a lot closer.
To hammer that point home Mercier went directly from the interview and registered in the $10,000 Razz event that began this evening.
Mercier said winning one early in the Series is a huge first step.
“Now I'm kind of freerolling the next year or so,” he said. "I'm just looking forward to playing as many events as I can and giving myself a chance to win two.”
Mike “SirWatts” Watson Denied Again
Canadian poker pro Mike Watson has earned over $9 million playing live poker tournaments but so far he's done it without winning a WSOP bracelet.
Watson is one of the best players in the world without a bracelet.
Including tonight Watson has finished runner-up four times in WSOP bracelet events.
“Mike's such an experienced player,” Mercier said of his heads-up opponent.
“He's a very, very good player and tournament player altogether.”
Mercier said he doesn't think it was his experience as a bracelet winner that gave him an edge over the Canadian, but rather his experience playing No-Limit 2-7 Draw.
“This game plays so well as a tournament,” said Mercier.
“It's just such a pure form of tournament poker and I'd like to see more people get into it and learn it.”
No-Limit 2-7 Draw is known as an action game and Mercier said he hopes the WSOP considers offering a mixed No-Limit Hold'em and No-Limit Deuce event next year.
With tonight's win Mercier takes his total career earnings to roughly $16.7 million.
Keep an eye on our WSOP Page for more news updates from the 2016 World Series of Poker.
Jason Mercier wins WSOP bracelet #4.
