This summer, tens of thousands of players will descend upon Las Vegas as they bid to win a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. One man who will be as desperate as anyone to land gold is Allen Kessler. Known as ‘Chainsaw’, Kessler has become a Las Vegas legend in recent years, winning $2.3m at the poker table in WSOP events and over a million dollars on a slot machine in 2024 to save his summer.

With the 56^th annual WSOP just weeks away, we caught up with Allen on the back of his latest ranking title. Coming back from having just 8,000 of the 700,000 chips in play at the final table at the Graton Resort & Casino, Allen won the RunGood Series ring and is building serious momentum on the eve of the WSOP grind.

Can Allen Kessler end his long wait for a bracelet this summer?

A Man in Form

One of the most in-form players in 2025, Allen has won two live events and made 10 final tables since the turn of the year. Every player hopes to build form before heading to the WSOP and Allen is no different.

“I’ve been concentrating a lot on mixed events,” he says. “They are mostly in the $500-$1,500 range but against some really high caliber players like Ari Engel, Ryan Hoenig and Jon Brenneman. I’ve been consistently running very deep and feel very comfortable.”

Anyone who arrives in Las Vegas for the annual WSOP has a plan to win big, from playing early, late, or picking and choosing events leading up to the WSOP Main Event. To paraphrase the old boxing adage, though, everyone has a plan until they bust their first bracelet event. So has has Allen altered his WSOP routine over the years in the run-up to the summer?

“I haven’t really changed much,” Allen admits. “I’ve spent a little time creating and promoting my own mixed poker series at Planet Hollywood, but other than that I’ve been staying busy playing mostly mixed events during 2025.”

Selling Action and Banking Big

Allen is once again selling to many of his events on PokerStake, where he has won huge amounts for investors as one of the most consistently successful players on the site. It turns out that selling action has helped Allen both on and off the felt.

“Players stop me all the time at various venues and say that they enjoy taking pieces of my events and that I post updates and pictures of key hands on social media,” Allen smiles. “It gives them a rooting interest, especially when you meet them in person at an event they bought a piece in. PokerStake is a great way to engage the public and allows people to back players they enjoy following.”

Everything is set for Kessler’s summer to be a success, with mixed packages available on his staking page. These make it easy for backers to invest in one package and be part of many WSOP events.

A year ago, Allen’s WSOP didn’t go to plan. No bracelet arrived and he admitted at the time that it was a grind. That was until he won an incredible million-dollar jackpot on a slots machine that made history – and the PokerStake front page. Looking back on the win now, he’s pleased that he took the lump sum as opposed to staggered payments, despite it meaning a slightly smaller win.

“I took the lump sum [because] at my age $60,000 a year wouldn’t change my life. Even after a huge tax hit, the lump sum was the way to go. Plus, the funds are earning interest over those 20 years so that offsets some of the difference.”

Breaking the Duck

Winning a WSOP bracelet would obviously mean a huge amount to Allen and with 100 bracelet events on this year’s WSOP schedule, he has no shortage of opportunities to finally win the trophy that has eluded him all these years. Will 2025 be the year it happens and if so, in which event could the barren run end?

⁠”I’ve been doing really well in mixed events this year, and I’m concentrating on those,” says Allen. “My best shot at a WSOP bracelet would probably be the $1,500 2-7 event. I’ve fared really well in that format the past two years and feel very confident in my game. I’m also excited about the first ever T.O.R.S.E. bracelet event. Jack Effel said to me ‘OK, I’ll let you add one event.’ The choice was a slam dunk – I immediately said T.O.R.S.E!”

With the chance of gold tantalising close as seven weeks of poker begin, there could be added pressure on Allen’s shoulders as he shoots for glory in Sin City. Despite having won over $2.3m and four WSOPC rings in World Series tournaments alone, it’s clear that the bracelet is the Holy Grail.

“⁠I have been snake-bitten heads up for bracelets four different times,” Allen tells us. “It’s not a curse, it’s just the way the events played out. Several players broke through last year who’d never won a bracelet over their entire career. Maybe my third [tournament] win this year will be my first bracelet!”

With the World Series of Poker returning soon, no-one will be more desperate to finally claim gold after all these years than Allen Kessler.

The Chainsaw is warmed up and ready to cut through the field all over again.