Daniel Negreanu Shown Mercy from Rules But Denied Bracelet

It was so close but ultimately no cigar for Daniel Negreanu as his hunt for bracelet number eight fell just short last night. His runner-up run did, however, see the rules loosened for “Kid Poker”…

All eyes were on Negreanu as he reached the late stages of Event #9: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, but how would his hugely-popular vlog fare with the much-vaunted new strict rules on mobile phones?

The ‘Problem’

The run-up to this year’s fun and games in Vegas was peppered by talk of how to deal with last year’s Main Event final table farce and other incidents involving various forms of RTA (Real Time Assistance).

“As such, the WSOP has written a new policy, which states: “Once Participants have reached the final three tables in any Tournament, all approved electronic devices must be removed. An announcement will be made to Participants once they have reached the final three tables to remove all such electronic devices.”

Usually it is “Poker Brat” Phil Hellmuth who is accused of getting preferential treatment at the WSOP, but this time it was “Kid Poker” in the firing line …

I wonder what may have prompted this sudden relaxing of the rules? https://t.co/9FYB7XlEv6 pic.twitter.com/BoiLW2wUQz

— Barry Carter (@Barry_Carter) June 3, 2025

“Regarding the use of phones and electronic devices at the table: The WSOP reserves the right to ask players to put away their phones and electronic devices at our discretion at the final three tables of a tournament. Phones and electronic devices are NOT allowed at ANY final table or streaming table.”

As Carter pointed out, the WSOP’s tweet has changed “MUST” to a “reserves the right to ask.” A huge deal? Well, yes, if you like rules to be rules, but a fairly resounding no, according to poker fans.

• “You guys aren’t seriously suggesting that Daniel, a notorious straight shooter, should not be allowed to record for his vlog, which is an amazing advertising tool for poker.” – @PotockiPoker

• “It’s bad for the game to ban DNEGS from vlogging.” -@fletcherjack23

• “As long as it’s not abused, an exception here obviously makes sense. Do you disagree?” -@edward_kain

The Poker

The ‘problem’ was solved when Daniel made it all the way to the final table, looking to add to last year’s seventh gold bracelet victory. When the last five men standing appeared for day 5, there was another legend in the mix…

Viktor Blom, one time enfant terrible of the poker scene, scooped DNegs early on, as did Ofir Mor. Meanwhile, Ryan Bambrick was running the show but Negreanu was far from done, or unhappy…

.@RealKidPoker must be feeling good when he's singing as he raises.

Tune in now to https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG to watch Negreanu go for @WSOP bracelet No. 8. pic.twitter.com/QcP2B8vmCQ

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) June 3, 2025

Blom had to settle for 4^th place when Bambrick flushed his hopes away on the river, and when Negreanu KO’d Mor in 3^rd spot, it was heads-up for WSOP gold.

Try as he might, the 7-time winner couldn’t close the gap on the 1-time winner and Bambrick eventually closed it out for an historic victory…

Daniel Negreanu: K♥ J♦ 3♠ 2♠
Ryan Bambrick: J♣ 9♠ 8♥ 2♦

Flop: J♠ 5♥ 9♦

The limped pot pre- saw Bambrick check-raise the flop…

Turn: J♥

…and when Negreanu’s fumes went in on the turn there were only three outs that could save him…

River: A♠

That wasn’t one of them and Ryan Bambrick had just felled a giant to pick up his own second gold bracelet.

Final table results

Andrew Burnett

Professional Poker Journalist

An avid poker player, he dreams of one day playing the WSOP Main Event and has promised himself he will fold aces and kings if he gets them on the first hand to avoid front-page headlines. [more]