Which Poker Giants are Already Selling to WSOP Paradise?

A trip to WSOP Paradise awaits thousands of poker players next month as the World Series of Poker travels back to The Bahamas. From sun-kissed beaches to gold bracelet, WSOP Paradise has something for everyone and has become the must-not-miss event series of the winter. This year, WSOP Player of the Year points count in Paradise and with players selling action already on PokerStake, anticipation is growing of what could be a defining schedule for several of poker’s biggest names.

Who Could Win WSOP Player of the Year?

Plenty of PokerStake’s finest have more than a vested interest in the action in The Bahamas, as they could well have their name on a banner in the Horseshoe Las Vegas or Paris cardroom in 2027. Leading the field with only the 15 events in The Bahamas to come is Shaun Deeb (below). The reigning 2025 WSOP Player of the Year, currently on 3,410 points, is selling action to both Event #8 and Event #11, each of which cost $100,000 to play.

Shaun Deeb is the reigning WSOP Player of the Year and leads the field.

Shaun has put two bullets in each of the WSOP PLO Super High Roller (Event #8) and NLHE Super High Roller (Event #11) on sale at no markup whatsoever, meaning you might not see a better value slice of the action all winter. Alex Foxen has every chance of catching Shaun, sitting third on the leaderboard with 3,381 points. Alex is only currently selling action to a single event, the $250,000 buy-in Event #5, the NLHE WSOP Pro-Am, but at markup of just 1.03, he’s still incredible value at a buy-in level he regularly dominates.

With Josh Arieh (5^th / 1,750 points) is selling to Events #3, #7, #8 and #11, at no markup for all events aside from the PLO High Roller, where the former WSOP PLO bracelet winner is selling at 1.08. Daniel Negreanu (6^th/1,698) and Jesse Lonis (7^th/2,674) are bound to be chasing immortality and that magical banner too, with Kid Poker selling to the Pro-Am without markup and Lonis selling to both high rollers at 1.10.

Here are the current Player of the Year standings.

WSOP Player of the Year Standings (PokerStake Player in Bold)
Place	Player	Country	POY Points
1^st	Shaun Deeb	United States	3,410
2^nd	Naoya Kihara	Japan	3,388
3^rd	Alex Foxen	United States	3,381
4^th	Justin Liberto	United States	2,828
5^th	Josh Arieh	United States	2,750
6^th	Daniel Negreanu	Canada	2,698
7^th	Jesse Lonis	United States	2,674
8^th	Eelis Pärssinen	Finland	2,638
9^th	Michael ‘Texas Mike’ Moncek	United States	2,592
10^th	Joshua Reichard	United States	2,574

Could Benny Glaser Make a Late Run?

The British poker player Benny Glaser came second in last year’s POY race only to eventually fall just short of Shaun Deeb’s total number of points despite winning three bracelets. Glaser sits just outside the top 10 positions on the current leaderboard but knows that a strong run in The Bahamas will give him a chance of overtaking his great rival.

Benny is targeting a record-breaking run to the line with a total of nine events up for sale on PokerStake. We like his chances in all the events, but the mixed game specialist will be looking to win his 11^th bracelet in The Bahamas and we would pick the PLO Plossus as his best chance, with the $10,000-entry event on sale at a markup of 1.13 and 1.09 in bullets #1 and #2 respectively.

You can follow all of Benny’s events specifically here.

Chainsaw Among Other PokerStake Sellers

Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler may not strike you as the sort of poker traveller you’d expect to find lounging on the beach near the Baha Mar resort lapping up the rays of the run between tournaments. And that still might not be the case because not only are the buffets in The Bahamas expected to be great value, but Allen is selling to multiple events as he looks to finally end his WSOP bracelet hoodoo.

Allen’s best chances looks like they might be the 8-Game Mix ($10,000) or 9-Game Mixed Championship, which comes with a $26,000 entry price point, but we like his hopes in the Big Bet Mix Event #6, where he is selling two bullets, indicating he also views that event as one where he has a great shot at claiming the gold bracelet he has wanted all these years and deserves for his contribution to the game and WSOP events in particular.

Here are all of Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler’s events for sale.

Cherish Every Moment

The Bahamas are going to be fun for everyone, but we can also see a couple of PokerStake players having a very successful trip. Cherish Andrews, fresh off another successful PokerGO series in Las Vegas, will be a bracelet threat, while Chris Hunichen is also another great pick. Both are playing multiple events, as are PokerStake legends Jonathan Little, Michael Mizrachi and Giuseppe Pantaleo, with very low markup for each player extremely appealing considering how well they adapt to tournament poker. GGPoker player and guest GGMillion$ presenter extraordinaire Kevin Martin also takes on the $26,000 Super Main Event, and we rate his chances very highly after a focused and profitable run at the online felt.

Whoever you’re backing for success at WSOP Paradise, why not share in their success by signing up to PokerStake and buying some of their action? You can access the entire WSOP Paradise series of events to stake your champion(s) in here.