World Series of Poker Update: Soccer Superstar Neymar Among Entrants

Posted on: June 14, 2022, 05:15h. 

Last updated on: June 16, 2022, 04:04h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Neymar Jr. may be more accustomed to World Cups than a World Series. But the soccer superstar found his way to Las Vegas over the weekend.

Neymar_World Series of Poker
On Sunday, soccer superstar Neymar competes in a $10,000 Limit Hold’Em World Series of Poker event. While he did not survive the first day of the event, WSOP officials expect the Paris Saint-Germain forward to enter another event later this week. (Image: WSOP/Twitter)

The Brazilian national team standout and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward took part in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, which started on Sunday.

While Neymar attracted a lot of fans at the WSOP, he did not get a lot of luck or good cards. He wound up being eliminated in the sixth round of action.

The Hold’em Championship, which started with 74 players, continued through Tuesday afternoon, as eight remained at the final table.

On Monday, Neymar hosted “Neymar & Friends,” a poker tournament at Bally’s – soon to become Horseshoe Las Vegas – with 16 top Brazilian poker players.

Neymar’s time at the WSOP apparently isn’t done. A Caesars spokesperson indicated Tuesday that the soccer star plans to play another event later this week.

Not Neymar’s First Poker Foray

The World Series isn’t Neymar’s first foray into poker. According to The Hendon Mob database, the 30-year-old has played in six tournaments, including two European Poker Tour events earlier this year in Monte Carlo.

His best career finish was a sixth-place showing at a 2018 Brazilian Series of Poker High Rollers event in Sao Paulo that netted him $21,072.

While poker may be a passion for Neymar, don’t expect him to be quitting his day job any time soon. According to Forbes, Neymar was the fourth-highest paid athlete in the world this year. He earned $70 million on the pitch and $25 million off it.

Only his PSG teammate, Lionel Messi ($130 million), NBA superstar and aspiring Las Vegas team owner LeBron James ($121.2 million), and Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo ($115 million) made more than Neymar.

Ausmus Joins WSOP Four Timers Club

Neymar may be still seeking his first gold bracelet, but on Monday night, poker-pro Jeremy Ausmus earned his fourth when he won the $3,000 Limit Hold’em.

After finishing 24th and earning $17,481 in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed event last week, Ausmus entered the third day of the Limit Hold’em event as the second stack. However, according to PokerNews/WSOP.com, the final table featured some tumultuous play, and at times Ausmus found himself as the short stack.

It’s just kind of the nature of limit, well poker in general but limit especially is very aggressive with a lot of three-betting and raising flops and raising turns- it’s very volatile and frustrating at times,” Ausmus told PokerNews/WSOP.com. “But then I just ran good against (Michael) Rocco who plays heads-up lots and the win feels good.”

Ausmus beat out 212 others to claim the event, taking $142,147 out of the total prize pool of $568,710.

He becomes just the 64th four-time bracelet winner in WSOP and is now eligible for WSOP Poker Hall of Fame consideration. Ausmus also joins David Peters and Scott Seiver, who also won their fourth bracelets earlier this month.