Love him or hate his style (or just dislike pizza), Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy competing in the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) would bring even more attention to poker’s summer extravaganza.
And it appears, based on a couple tweets, the “One Bite” pizza reviewer might show up in Las Vegas to chase a bracelet.
The $10,000 buy-in Main Event, poker’s most prestigious tournament, starts July 3, and Portnoy doesn’t seem interested in playing cards over the Fourth of July. But as his employee and avid poker player Ben Mintz pointed out in response to the tweet, “El Presidente” could register prior to the start of Day 2 on July 7 or 8, or perhaps Day 1d (July 6), giving him plenty of time to recover from the 4th and still make it to Las Vegas.
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Another Option for Portnoy to Play Poker
If the Main Event schedule doesn’t work for Portnoy, one of the most polarizing celebrities in the US, he brought up a second option. And that is to instead enter Event #55: $250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em, the most expensive tournament of the summer. The three-day event kicks off June 21, long before Independence Day.
The six-figure cost of admission would only be a drop in the bucket for the head of Barstool Sports. In August 2023, he purchased the company he founded back from Penn Entertainment for $1 in one of the wildest business acquisitions in recent memory.
Portnoy hasn’t ever competed in the World Series of Poker, but numerous Barstool employees often make it to Las Vegas to play. That includes Mintz, aka “Mintzy,” who was fired from Barstool Sports in May 2023 for reciting rap lyrics on-air that offended the higher ups at Penn. Three months later, Portnoy re-hired Mintzy after taking back control of the company.
Eric “Barstool Nate” Nathan and Adam “Smitty” Smith also make near-annual appearances at the WSOP, although Nate recently tweeted that he doesn’t expect to chase any bracelets this summer.
If he plays, Portnoy will bring his confidence — some might say overconfidence — to the Super High Roller. But the inexperienced tournament player will be facing some of the best in the world. Last year’s champion, Chris Brewer, took it down for $5.2 million. In the process, he defeated a final table that included Chance Kornuth, Dan Smith, and David Peters, and every player in that field has significant tournament experience and proven results.
If things don’t go well for Portnoy in the $250k, he could always spend time reviewing some pizza joints around Las Vegas. PokerNews suggests Pizza Rock on Fremont Street and Rebellion Pizza in Henderson (hidden gem). Portnoy has already reviewed a number of slices in Las Vegas, but most haven’t received high scores. He did, however, recently give a relatively high score to one iconic Vegas spot.