For the second year running, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) organized a unique poker festival revolving around high roller events on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and it created quite a spectacle.
With more big buyin events in a short span of time than most other poker events, WSOP Paradise attracted many of the world’s best poker players and biggest high rollers.
Michael Addamo, Stephen Chidwick, Justin Bonomo, Chris Moneymaker, and Alex Foxen were only a few of the players who had a memorable series out in the Bahamas.
They were joined by hundreds of other high-stakes poker players, including plenty of businessmen and “VIPs” who showed up to play in the prestigious invitational Triton Million event, alongside their invitees from the world of professional poker.
The 2024 WSOP Paradise paid tens of millions of dollars to the winners and created quite a few big stories, not the least of which was Alejandro Lococo’s triumph in the Triton Million.
We will take a look back at a few of those stories, but before we do, here is a look at all the key events of this year’s WSOP Paradise, and their champions:
| Event | Entries | Champion | 1st Place Prize |
| #1 – $2,500 Mini Main Event | 2,031 | Jeffrey Hakim | $575,050 |
| #2 – $525,000 Triton Million | 96 | Alejandro Lococo | $12,070,000 |
| #3 – $100,000 PLO Super High Roller | 88 | Lautaro Guerra | $2,126,770 |
| #5 – $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship | 49 | Eric Wasserson | $353,340 |
| #6 – $50,000 Deepstack NLH | 363 | Lei Yu | $293,050 |
| #7 – $100,000 Triton Main Event | 182 | Alex Foxen | $3,850,000 |
| #8 – $50,000 PLO Championship | 122 | Stephen Chidwick | $1,357,080 |
| #9 – $25,000 WSOP Super Main Event | Yinan Zhou | $6,000,000 | |
| #10 – $10,000 Paradise PLO | 200 | Mike Gorodinsky | $393,250 |
| #12 – $10,000 GGMillion$ NLH | 532 | Johannes Straver | $807,40 |
| #13 – $50,000 NLH High Roller | 130 | Tom Fuchs | $1,292,000 |
| #14 – Super Saver $1 Million Invitational | 487 | Pablo Silva | $200,000 |
| #15 – $5,000 The Closer | 238 | Nick Schulman | $145,000 |
24 Year-Old Zhou Takes Down the Super Main Event
The highlight event of the WSOP Paradise festival was its $25k Super Main Event, which attracted nearly 2,000 players, just barely missing the $50,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
As expected, the Super Main Event drew in some of the biggest names in poker, quite a few of whom made deep runs and looked for a place at the final table.
Former WSOP Main Event champion and poker legend Chris Moneymaker busted on the stone final table bubble, leaving nine players behind to battle for the bracelet on the final day of action.
The likes of Justin Bonomo, Michael Addamo, and Liv Boeree were all involved in final table action, but all fell short of a direct battle for the most elusive title of the WSOP Paradise festival.
The final heads-up battle came down to Brazilian Marcelo Aziz and the 24 year-old Yinan Zhou of China, who was able to overcome his opponent and win the bracelet and $6 million in cash for his efforts.
The inexperienced poker player showed heart and commitment from the first moment of the final table, pulling big bluffs against tough opponents like Addamo, and putting his chips to good use in every hand he played.
With less than $100k in tournament cashes before his trip to the Bahamas, Zhou immediately shot up thousands of positions on the all-time money list and introduced himself to the poker world in a big way.
Argentinian Rapper Dominates the Triton Million
The Triton Million was by far the biggest buyin event of the festival, with pros and VIPs paying a combined million dollars to enter the event in pairs.
The tournament brought out dozens of VIP players from worlds of business and entertainment, with the likes of Rob Yong, David Einhorn, and Texas Mike filling up the recreational bracket.
They were joined by many of the world’s best poker professionals, including the likes of Adrian Mateos, Phil Ivey, and Daniel Negreanu.
When the dust settled, it was former WSOP Main Event final tablist Alejandro Lococo who walked away with both a WSOP bracelet and a Triton Poker trophy, along with $12,000,000 in cash.
Lococo defeated a final table that included the likes of Alex Foxen, Daniel Dvoress, and Benjamin Heath, which made his victory that much more impressive.
The Argentinian battle rapper proudly announced we would be seeing a lot more of him on the poker circuit in the years to come, to the great excitement of his numerous fans in the poker world.
Foxen, Chidwick, and Gorodinsky in the Winners Circle
Unlike the WSOP in Las Vegas, which hosts over 100 events with varying buyins, WSOP Paradise is mostly a high roller affair, which generally means smaller playing fields and more big names at the final tables.
The 2024 edition saw quite a few big-name pros make deep runs and bids for titles, and a several of them actually walk away with WSOP silverware.
Alex Foxen was able to take down one of the biggest events of the festival, the $100k Triton Main Event, after defeating Joao Vieira, Fedor Holz, and David Coleman on the final table.
The $3.85 million payday was massive even for Foxen, who is used to playing in big buyin events and taking down big first-place prizes.
The win also gave him his third WSOP bracelet, which still leaves him two short of his wife Kristen, who was recently inducted into the WiPHOF for her incredible achievements on the circuit.
Another well-known high roller who joined Foxen among the winners was Stephen Chidwick, who defeated a stacked field in the $50k PLO Championship event and walked away with $1.36 million in cash and his second WSOP bracelet.
WSOP Paradise was also productive for Mike Gorodinsky, who beat the likes of Daniel Zack, Roman Hrabec, and Biao Ding at the final table of the $10k Paradise PLO event to win his fourth career WSOP bracelet and $393k in cash.
Nick Schulman Adds a Sixth WSOP Bracelet to His Resume
Nick Schulman is widely considered to be one of the best tournament poker players around, as well as the best poker commentator in the world.
Despite his prowess in the commentary booth, Schulman remains primarily a poker player, and he has been having quite a year in 2024.
Earlier this year, Schulman shipped his 5th WSOP bracelet in a $25k High Roller in Las Vegas. The Paradise festival saw him win his 6th in the last event of the trip, the $5,000 The Closer.
The turbo bounty event was a relatively short affair, and it saw the likes of Shaun Deeb, Daniel Negreanu, Santhosh Suvarna, and Ren Lin make the final table.
It came down to Schulamn and Lin, who had busted the Super Main Event just ahead of the final table a day earlier.
Schulman was able to prevail in the heads-up battle to win his 6th and $145k in cash, while Ren Lin experienced another heartbreak on this trip, failing just short of a WSOP bracelet of his own.
