By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · June 21, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
The 2026 World Series of Poker's marquee mass-field event, Event #50 the $1,500 Millionaire Maker, drew 11,769 entries across four starting flights and produced a prize pool of US$15,623,347, making it the largest live event of the 2026 series outside of the $500 COLOSSUS. After three days of starting-flight play that began Wednesday and concluded with a record 4,526-entry Day 1D on Saturday, 1,489 players advance to Sunday's combined Day 3, which begins at noon Las Vegas time at the Horseshoe and Paris ballrooms.
Argentina's Hugo Jimenez bagged the overall chip lead at 2,220,000, or roughly 111 big blinds at the Day 3 starting blind structure of 10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante. Reality-television personality and second-act tournament regular Trishelle Cannatella sat tied for third in chips with 1,780,000, a notable result for a player whose live-tournament resume has been quietly building since her appearance on The Real World: Las Vegas in 2002.
The Day 3 chip leaderboard
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugo Jimenez | Argentina | 2,220,000 | 111 |
| 2 | Ignacio Sole | Spain | 1,925,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Joseph McGowan | United States | 1,780,000 | 89 |
| 3 | Trishelle Cannatella | United States | 1,780,000 | 89 |
| 5 | Sebastian Mortensen | Denmark | 1,705,000 | 85 |
| 6 | Joshua Steinberg | United States | 1,700,000 | 85 |
| 7 | Christos Argyriadis | Greece | 1,540,000 | 77 |
| 8 | Aaron Johnson | United States | 1,455,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Carlos Caldas | Portugal | 1,425,000 | 71 |
| 10 | Richard Vallario Jr | United States | 1,405,000 | 70 |
Event #50 Day 3 starting chip counts. Source: PokerNews live reporting and WSOP LIVE App.
How the four-flight field grew
The Millionaire Maker has used a multi-flight Day 1 structure since 2013, with each player allowed one re-entry per flight. Entries grew through each successive starting day in 2026, in a pattern that has become typical for the format as the WSOP schedule moves further into the summer and more recreational players arrive in Las Vegas.
| Flight | Date | Entries | Players Advancing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1A | Wed, June 17 | 1,752 | 460 |
| Day 1B | Thu, June 18 | 2,370 | ~ 600 |
| Day 1C | Fri, June 19 | 3,121 | 779 |
| Day 1D | Sat, June 20 | 4,526 | 1,228 |
| Total | 11,769 | 1,489 (combined) |
Event #50 Day 1 entry pattern. Some Day 1B figures derived from total subtraction; Day 2 consolidation completed Saturday.
The combined 1,489 survivors return Sunday for ten 60-minute levels with a target of reaching the money bubble. The Millionaire Maker pays approximately 1,330 spots in 2026, so the bubble is expected to burst within the first ninety minutes of Day 3. Minimum cash, under last year's identical structure, paid US$2,250 against a US$1,500 buy-in, an effective freeroll-plus-margin for the back third of the field.
The first-place prize, projected from the WSOP-published payout structure, is approximately US$1,234,000. The event's name derives from a guaranteed minimum of US$1 million for the winner, which the 2026 prize pool comfortably exceeds. The bracelet is expected to be awarded Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
Mystery Bounty closes for Anton
One bracelet over, Event #51 the $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em concluded late Saturday with American Alex Anton winning the US$678,300 first-prize portion plus bounty pulls for an undisclosed combined total. The event drew 558 entries and produced a prize pool of US$3,515,400 from buy-ins alone, with a separate mystery bounty pool of approximately US$1,860,000 that was distributed via random-pull bounty tickets during the final two days.
France's Julien Sitbon collected US$452,200 for runner-up, and the rest of the final nine paid as listed below. There were no Canadian players at the Mystery Bounty final table, and the highest-finishing Canadian, by available cross-reference, was approximately 40th.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Anton | United States | $678,300 |
| 2 | Julien Sitbon | France | $452,200 |
| 3 | Joshua Reichard | United States | $313,400 |
| 4 | Champie Douglas | United States | $220,950 |
| 5 | Jovan Kenjic | Serbia | $158,500 |
| 6 | Jakob Miegel | Germany | $115,750 |
| 7 | Gregor Sverko | Slovenia | $86,070 |
| 8 | Vadzim Lipauka | Belarus | $65,190 |
| 9 | Kent Stephens | United States | $50,310 |
Event #51: $10,000 Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold'em, 558 entries, US$3,515,400 buy-in prize pool plus separate mystery bounty pool. Source: PokerNews and PokerGO highlight reel.
The Trishelle Cannatella subplot
Cannatella's deep run is the most-watched non-bracelet storyline of the Millionaire Maker so far. The 47-year-old, who first appeared in the public eye as a cast member of The Real World: Las Vegas in 2002 and later on The Surreal Life and various Big Brother spin-offs, has been logging WSOP cashes since 2014 and reached a Top 200 finish in last year's WSOP Main Event for approximately US$22,500. Her best WSOP result to date is a 17th-place finish at the 2022 $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for US$83,520.
A Day 3 chip stack of 89 big blinds, in a field with 1,489 returning players paying down to 1,330 cashes, puts her in playable position to make a deep run that would dwarf her previous WSOP career best. The Day 3 broadcast on PokerGO will follow her table if she remains alive into the final 200.
The Canadian summer, mid-series
Through Event #51, the 2026 World Series has produced three Canadian-flag bracelets, with combined gold of US$2,395,570. The secondary ledger has continued to fill out. Thomas Taylor of Medicine Hat, Alberta finished fourth in Friday's Event #52 Nine Game Mix for US$76,510. Elliot Smith finished seventh in Thursday's Event #49 Freezeout for US$75,390. Daniel Negreanu collected a minimum cash of US$69,531 with a 26th-place finish in the Event #47 PLO High Roller. Orlando Moretti of Bolton, Ontario added US$64,992 with a sixth-place finish in the Event #43 Deepstack. The Canadian total notable cash now sits at approximately US$2.8 million with twelve days of bracelet events remaining before the WSOP Main Event opens on July 2.
The Canadian field still alive in the Millionaire Maker Day 3 has not been published in detail, but the 1,489 survivors are expected to include between forty and sixty Canadian-flag players based on typical Millionaire Maker registration shares for the country at this WSOP. The cash payout starts at the 1,330th spot and runs sharply higher through the back third. A Canadian bracelet in the marquee mass-field event would be the country's first Millionaire Maker title since 2017 and a meaningful capstone to a strong summer.
What to watch Sunday and beyond
Three bracelet events run pivotal days on Sunday. The Millionaire Maker plays Day 3 through the bubble and ten levels. Event #54, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, plays Day 2 with a field of Canadian regulars including Daniel Negreanu, Mike Leah and Kristen Foxen reportedly still in. Event #53, the $1,500 Five Card Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed, plays Day 2 toward a Sunday-night bracelet ceremony. The next Canadian-relevant entry point on the schedule is Event #63, the $1,000 Mystery Millions, which opens Tuesday June 23 and traditionally draws thousands of recreational entries through GGPoker Ontario satellite ladders.
Ontario players watching from home can monitor the action via PokerNews live reporting and the PokerGO broadcast. Players interested in WSOP Super Circuit Canada satellites at Playground Montreal in August can review the GGPoker Ontario page; the full regulated market is covered on the best poker sites in Ontario page; the tournament schedule covers the next four weeks of regulated guarantees.