The cards are in the air at the 2025 World Series of Poker, and one event is already the talk of the Strip.
The $1,000 buy-in Mystery Millions, a fan-favorite among bounty hunters, just dealt the biggest hand in its young history. A jaw-dropping 19,654 entries made this year's fourth installment the largest field in the event's history. With Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas packed to the rafters, players have been chasing bracelet glory and life-altering scores from Day 1.
One week into the series, champions have already been crowned, and names etched into poker lore, but all eyes are on the Mystery Millions final table, where only a few remain standing, each dreaming of the title.
The first event of the 2025 WSOP series has just concluded, and a couple of players have already walked away with payouts that rival first place, all thanks to poker's most exciting feature: the $1,000,000 mystery bounties.
Tyler Montoya Pulls the First $1,000,000 Bounty
It took just one hour into Day 2 for the drama to explode. Las Vegas pro Tyler Montoya, age 23, peeled back a slip of paper that sent shockwaves through the Paris Ballroom.
"Oh my f- God!" Montoya shouted, stunned, as he revealed the $1,000,000 bounty.
A moment later, he was on stage with Jeff Platt, soaking it in and hyping up the venue that made it happen.
"The rich get richer," Montoya said, smiling wide. "But besides that, the WSOP is the best venue on the planet of f- Earth, let's go baby!"
But Montoya wasn't done. In a rare move that reminded everyone what the poker community can be about, he stunned his tablemates by announcing he'd gift each of them $10,000 from his bounty.
Talk about class.
Thomas Zanot Joins the Millionaire Club
Not long after Montoya's electric moment, the last $1,000,000 bounty was drawn - and once again, Vegas struck gold.
Enter Thomas Zanot, a familiar face to anyone who remembers his $6.4 million Pai Gow jackpot at Flamingo back in 2023. His "run good" returned in full force as he secured the day's final seven-figure bounty.
"I've envisioned this moment of pulling the $1,000,000 bounty and everyone booing me, just reveling in the glory," Zanot told the WSOP Media Team. "It finally manifested here today."
Though neither Montoya nor Zanot would make the final table, walking away with a million-dollar bounty means neither of them left empty-handed, far from it.
So far, here are the chip stacks for players currently battling it out at the Mystery Millions final table.
WSOP $1,000 Mystery Millions Final Table
Michael Acevedo - 396,000,000
Michael Wilklow - 210,000,000
Daniel Strelitz - 139,500,000
Yu Hsiang Huang - 91,000,000
Week One Bracelet Winners at the 2025 WSOP
While the Mystery Millions continues to captivate, plenty of players have already sealed their own place in WSOP history. Here's a full list of bracelet winners from Week One of the 2025 WSOP series:
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Event #2:
$300 NLHE Industry Employees
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Phovieng Keokham - $64,369 - 1st career WSOP Bracelet
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Event #3:
$5,000 NLHE 8-Handed
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Antonio Galiana - $582,008 - 2nd career WSOP Bracelet
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Event #4: $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better 8-Handed
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David Shmuel - $205,333 - 1st career WSOP Bracelet
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Event #5: $5,000 PLO 8-Handed
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Caleb “Bruno” Furth - $620,696 - 2nd career WSOP Bracelet
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Event #6:
$1,500 Limit Seven Card Stud
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Daniel Heimiller - $106,840 - 3rd career WSOP Bracelet
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Event #7: $25,000 NLHE Heads-Up Championship
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Artur Martirosyan - $500,000 - 3rd career WSOP Bracelet
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Event #8: $1,500 Mixed Games – Dealers Choice 6-Handed
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Benny Glaser - $150,246 - 6th career WSOP Bracelet
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Stay tuned as the cards keep flying and dreams turn into cold, hard cash in poker's most electric summer stage!
Source: https://www.wsop.com/news/2025-wsop-mystery-millions-draws-biggest-field-in-event-history/
