Daniel Negreanu starts 2024 with a bang as he captures his first
Vowing to make 2024 the year of ‘quality over quantity,’ Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu took the opening event in the PokerGO Tour’s Last Chance series, winning $218,400 and the first major poker title of 2024 after beating a final table that included his nemesis, Justin Bonomo.
Other new poker legends such as David Peters, Masashi Oya and 2023’s biggest winner in major titles, Isaac Haxton, were also at the final table, where ‘Kid Poker’ again proved his relevance in the age of modern poker.
The action started with 91 entrants paying $10,000, building a $910,000 prize pool. However, only 13 players would be in the money. Kristen Foxen would be the first player to cash in 13th place for $18,200 as her ace-king failed to hold up against the ten-nine of Negreanu after he hit a straight on the flop.
Lewis Spencer (12th for $18,200), Justin Saliba (11th for $27,300) and Ping Liu (10th for $31,850) would just miss the final table. Jonathan Little was the first of the finalists to go home (9th for $31,850), followed by Nick Schulman (8th for $36,400). Isaac Haxton (7th for $45,500) and David Peters (6th for $54,600) would be the next players to leave the final table.
Jonathan Cohen (5th for $72,800), Bonomo (4th for $91,000) and Oya (3rd for $113,750) would all fall to set up the heads-up battle between Negreanu and Smiljkovic, who was favored in the final hand after hitting trip jacks on the flop. Negreanu held Ace-King with the board showing J-J-10-4 and only one card remaining that would give him the win. The Queen on the river gave Kid Poker the straight, sending a shocked Smiljkovic home as runner-up for $150,150.
