Shaun Deeb watched two other players earn their ninth career World Series of Poker victory this summer before he could reach the milestone.
The professional poker player from Wynantskill, New York, finally joined them on Tuesday night.
Deeb won the $1,500 buy-in Eight-Game Mix event, defeating Dean Joe after a long heads-up battle at Paris Las Vegas. The victory was worth $181,625 and puts Deeb in a tie for ninth place on the all-time wins list.
Benny Glaser and Michael Mizrachi each won their ninth career WSOP bracelet, which are awarded for tournament victories, at this summer’s series.
“I’m going to pass Phil (Hellmuth). I’ve been saying that for years,” Deeb told PokerNews of the 17-time bracelet winner. “I could have been a lot closer. I could have been a lot further ahead of some other guys with nine or eight or seven, but, you know, I show up every day, play every event, play every buy-in, and sometimes you win.”
Deeb finished second in the $3,000 buy-in Nine-Game Mix event this month after holding a massive chip lead with two players left and also was runner-up in two events at the WSOP Europe in April. Early in the series, WWE star Danhausen placed a curse on Deeb after being commissioned by poker commentator Jeff Platt.
Deeb finally broke through, outlasting a field of 766 entrants.
Deeb was all-in for his tournament life with nine players remaining and survived then built his chip stack at the final table. He faced a 2-to-1 chip deficit when heads-up play started but outlasted Joe, who earned $120,570 for second place.
“I just made the nuts in a bunch of hands. I called a huge check-raise in PLO with a straight draw and a flush draw, and I made both. And then, you know, I had a few other hands where I just had it,” Deeb said. “When you make the best hand on the river heads-up, you’re gonna usually win the tournament.”
With the victory, Deeb moved to the top of the WSOP Player of the Year standings and is in position to win the award for the second straight year and third time overall.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.
