Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed)

After three full days of action and a bit of overtime extended to a Day 4 at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the winner of Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed) is Gary Bolden.

Bolden claimed the top prize worth $206,321 and his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet after outlasting a field of 357 entrants. Two-time bracelet winner John Racener will have to wait for his second gold bracelet of the summer, finishing runner-up to Bolden and will take home $135,877 for his efforts.

Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E (8-Handed) Final Table Results

Winner's Reaction

When asked about how he felt after winning his first gold bracelet, Bolden responded with "business as usual" and "I was playing against one of my good friends John (Racener), I knew it would be this way" when referring to the back and forth heads up battle.

It was clear Bolden had no lack of confidence in his chances of winning the bracelet despite the more than 2-1 one-chip lead Racener had coming into heads-up play. Bolden said " He (Racener) needed to lead because I wanted to make the story look good". Bolden, who showed up late for the start of Day 3, also mentioned that Racener texted him that cards were in the air, and Bolden responded with, "Good because you're going to need a head start today".

After a grueling back-and-forth heads-up battle, Bolden was asked if his confidence or belief he would win ever wavered. He responded with, "Oh no, I'm never going to lose my confidence," and then said, "Like I told John, I learned this game on the rooftop where the losers jump, but I'm still here, so I'm winning."

When asked about his plans for the last few days of the series, Bolden said, "I already had it planned to go back-to-back in H.O.R.S.E., so I'm going to hop in this 25K later today and see what happens".

Day 4 Action

After playing over three hours of heads-up play on Day 3, Bolden and Racener needed an extra day to decide the winner. Coming back on Day 4 Racener held a more than 2-1 chip lead starting the day with 10,050,000 chips, and Bolden came into the day with 4,275,000.

Bolden wasted no time to chip away at Racer's lead, winning a big pot in Omaha Hi-Lo when play began after making a wheel to get himself within a million chips of Racener.

After that, Bolden saw himself take the chip lead once the game switched to Stud, after forcing Racener to fold on seventh street in a large pot.

The Winning Hand

Unlike on the seesaw battle we saw on Day 3, Bolden looked to finish off Racener right away, which he did when the game switched to Stud Hi-Lo.

John Racener:   /    / 
Gary Bolden:   /    / 

Gary Bolden was the bring-in, and John Racener limped in.

Racener bet on fourth street and Bolden raised. Racener called, and Bolden bet again on fifth. Racener called.

Bolden put out another bet on sixth. "This might be it," he said as Racener considered the decision.

"You never catch a bad card," Racener replied.

"I came here early just for you. I'm going to get you to where you want to go. Straight into the six-max. I'm happy it was 10-to-4. I would've been mad if I was chip leader," Bolden added.

Racener eventually called as they went to seventh. "Only if I get something better than I already have. The only way I can bet," Bolden said as he peeled his last card. He then bet.

"Don't stop now, baby," Bolden told Racener, who called off his last chips. "Two pair and a low," Bolden said, turning over     for fives and sixes. Racener quickly mucked and got up to shake Bolden's hand as he was denied his second bracelet of the summer.

Final Recap

Bolden can now put himself in the World Series of Poker history books by winning his first gold bracelet, but he was not the only one to make a bit of history in this tournament. Jeremy Ausmus, who finished seventh ($23,952), tied Phil Hellmuth for the most final tables in a single summer. Ausmus reached his seventh final table in 2024, has a few more days to break the record and get bracelet number seven as well.

The final table also featured legend David "ODB" Baker who finished sixth ($32,274), and two-time bracelet winner Luis Velador who finished fifth ($44,591).

Our fourth and third place finishers were taken out by our final two players, first when Racener won a massive pot to eliminate David Tarbet in fourth place ($63,134). Then Bolden finished off Travis Trail in third ($91,547) when he made trip sevens in a Stud Hi-Lo hand.

This concludes our coverage of Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (8-Handed) as Gary Bolden claims the title.

Be sure to follow PokerNews for live coverage and updates on the Main Event, as well as all bracelet events at the 2024 World Series of Poker.

Stud

Gary Bolden:   /     / 
John Racener:   /     /  folded on seventh street

Gary Bolden completed the bet, and John Racener called.

On fourth street Bolden bet and Racener called.

Bolden check-called a bet from Racener on fifth street.

Both the players checked on sixth street.

On seventh street Bolden bet, and after spending a minute in the tank, Racener folded to give the pot to Bolden.

Gary Bolden	9,800,000	3,020,000
John Racener	5,400,000	-2,100,000

John Racener and Gary Bolden have arrived in their seats, and the heads-up match is back underway.

John Racener has more than the title and $206,321 top prize at stake when he resumes his heads-up battle with Gary Bolden on an unscheduled Day 4 of Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. at 1 p.m. local time.

Racener was already having a sensational summer even before this tournament, with 16 cashes, three final tables, and his second career World Series of Poker bracelet in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship. A win here today would put him alongside Scott Seiver and David Prociak as multiple-time bracelet winners this year, and would also move him up within 100 points of Seiver in the Player of the Year race with just a few events to go.

Bolden is also looking for a career-defining victory. The two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner has WSOP cashes dating back to 2009 and more than $1.5 million in live earnings, but he's never been this close to a bracelet before.

Day 4 Chip Counts

Racener and Bolden played for three hours last night but were unable to settle a winner by the time play was halted past 2 a.m. Racener holds the chip lead with 10,050,000 to Bolden's 4,275,000. The action picks up on Level 34 with 250,000-500,000 blinds and 500,000-1,000,000 limits. Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better will be the game when they begin.
Bolden starts the day with four big bets, while there are just over 14 big bets in play between them, so the pace of play should be fast right from the beginning.

Final Table payouts

They've already outlasted a star-studded fileld of 357 entries to get here, with players such as David "ODB" Baker and Jeremy Ausmus making it to the final table; Ausmus tied Phil Hellmuth's record with his seventh final table this year with his run in this event. Now they renew their battle for the bracelet, and PokerNews will be following the action and providing live updates until a winner is crowned.