WSOP History in the Making: Mike Sexton Could Become First Player to Win Bracelet 30 Years Apart

One of the events slated for its final day today is the $2,500 Big Bet Mix featuring Mike Sexton. At this final table, Sexton chases a unique record, as he’s on the verge of becoming the first player in poker history to win a World Series of Poker bracelet 30 years after winning his first. Back in 1989, Sexton won his first bracelet in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event for $104,400 and he’s not been able to repeat a similar feat since.

To date, Sexton has $6.6 million in career tournaments earnings including a World Poker Tour victory in 2016 when he took down the Montreal stop. The Poker Hall of Fame member won the 2006 Tournament of Champions for $1,000,000 and in 2012 he finished ninth in the first ever Big One for One Drop for $1.1 million. At the WSOP, however, Sexton looks back on 30 years filled with close calls preventing him from becoming a two-time champ.

Sexton has two runner-up finishes at the WSOP, in 2002 and 2011, as well as four fourth-place finishes in 1992, 1995, 1996, and 2008. The latter score, $248,160 in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship, is Sexton’s biggest open event result at the WSOP.

At the final table today, Sexton goes up against the likes of Ryan Hughes, Arthur Morris, Phillip Hui, Joseph Couden, Jonathan Depa, and Loren Klein with $127,808 up top. PokerNews will provide reporting of this event.

Watch the full life story of Mike Sexton on Pokerography on PokerGO.

The WSOP Record Books

Scouring the WSOP record books this morning has taught me that Sexton could grab two records at once with a win today. Sexton could become the player with the largest gap between two bracelet wins as well as the largest gap between their first and last win. Up until just a few days ago, the largest gap between wins was held by David ‘Chip’ Reese with 24 years between wins (1982-2006) before Jim Bechtel took down the $10,000 2-7 No Limit Single Draw Championship a staggering 26 years after his Main Event win in 1993.

Currently, there are 23 players that have won a bracelet at least 15 years after their first including Daniel Negreanu (1998-2013), Erik Seidel (1992-2007), and John Hennigan (2002-2019). The record, as it stands, is held by both Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth who managed to win bracelets as far as 29 years apart. Today, Sexton can become the first player ever to do it 30 years apart.

The full list of players with at least 15 years between their first and most last bracelet win is as follows.

Name	First	Last	Difference in Years	Total Bracelets
Doyle Brunson	1976	2005	29	10
Phil Hellmuth	1989	2018	29	15
Chip Reese	1978	2006	28	3
Billy Baxter	1975	2002	27	7
Jim Bechtel	1993	2019	26	2
Jay Heimowitz	1975	2001	26	6
Mickey Appleman	1980	2003	23	4
Ted Forrest	1993	2014	21	6
Johnny Chan	1985	2005	20	10
Hans Tuna Lund	1978	1996	18	2
Amarillo Slim	1972	1990	18	4
Johnny Moss	1970	1988	18	9
Berry Johnston	1983	2001	18	5
Chris Ferguson	2000	2017	17	6
Stu Ungar	1980	1997	17	5
Peter Vilandos	1995	2012	17	3
John Hennigan	2002	2019	17	6
Frankie O’Dell	2003	2019	16	3
Starla Brodie	1979	1995	16	2
Hoyt Corkins	1992	2007	15	2
Dody Roach	1981	1996	15	2
Erik Seidel	1992	2007	15	8
Daniel Negreanu	1998	2013	15	6

As players such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest, Chris Ferguson, John Hennigan, and Erik Seidel look to stay active at the World Series of Poker, it is highly likely that this record will extend to 40 years or more but for now, it’s Sexton’s crown for the taking.

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