Over the past four years, Josh Arieh has been one of the top few performers at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). This summer, however, hasn’t gone quite so smoothly.
But on Tuesday, he has a golden opportunity to right the ship and win his seventh WSOP bracelet, putting him in a tie for seventh place all time. The poker star from Atlanta, Georgia entered the final table in the $1,500 Eight Game Mixed event second in chips with seven players remaining.
At the time of publishing, the field was down to six, making it the “official” final table. PokerNews caught up with the six-time bracelet winner moments before the Day 3 session began to discuss his summer and the Poker Hall of Fame implications that are on the line at this final table.
Still Grinding Late in a Long Series
Arieh booked a runner up finish in an online bracelet event this summer for just over $90,000. But entering the Mixed Game tournament, he’d only cashed in five live poker bracelet events, all for under $10,000. That’s a stark contrast compared to his run from 2021-2023, in which he won four bracelets and earned the 2021 WSOP Player of the Year award. The rough 2024 WSOP might be a thing of the past at Tuesday’s final table.
“I mean this is what I do. I look forward to it every year,” said of his desire to continuing grinding seven weeks into the series. “So there are downtimes, but there’s no time to feel sorry for yourself. So you just gotta get up and play and hope you can get a little momentum.”
A win would pay $131,061, but he’ll need to defeat a tough final table that includes John Racener and “Miami” John Cernuto. Perhaps, he can channel his inner Phil Hellmuth at the final table and bust out the “white magic.”
“I like having fun with Phil. I mean, he’s such a goofball and it’s just good fun. I’m not trying to ‘channel any positivity.’ Phil’s a special human,” Arieh said.
Hall of Fame Implications
For the second straight year, Arieh was nominated as one of 10 finalists for the Poker Hall of Fame. At the same table is Cernuto, who has long been a candidate to join poker’s most exclusive club.
Cernuto has three bracelets, nearly 700 live tournament cashes, and $6.4 million in live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. Actor and poker player James Woods, in an interview with PokerNews earlier this summer, made a plea for his longtime friend “Miami John” to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
With both the 2024 Hall of Fame induction to be announced on July 14, there could be some implications on the line at the Mixed Game final table. Only one player or industry person is voted in each year.
“I mean it’s an honor just to be in the conversation,” Arieh said of being nominated for the Hall of Fame. “The people in the conversation are all amazing. I just take one day at a time and try to play every hand to the best of my ability and see what happens after that. It would be great [to get inducted] but I don’t have many expectations.”
At the time of publishing, Arieh left Cernuto short and moved into the chip lead. PokerNews will provide live reporting updates from the final table until it finishes.
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