The Top 10 Poker Stories of 2024 – #10 to #2

Over the course of the past 12 months, poker has gotten bigger than ever before. From Daniel Negreanu to Phil Ivey, the World Series of Poker to the European Poker Tour, we’ve been gripped throughout. What are the top 10 moments in poker from the last year? We’ve got the round-up from ten to two.

10. Nick Vertucci Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Let’s get the difficult conversation out of the way first. Nick Vertucci became embroiled in an accused sexual assault scandal at Hustler Casino Live (HCL) and it wasn’t pretty. A long-time podcast host and player on HCL, Vertucci’s name has become synonymous with the brand and the hammer blow of these accusations may well reverberate hard in 2025.

Whether or not Vertucci is convicted of anything criminal in the next year remains to be seen, but his behaviour towards women is lurid at best on the stream, and at worst criminal. There’s no place for talking down to a place on any line of prejudice and in 2025, we hope that operators put behaviour and keeping everyone on their shows and at home happy as a first priority.

9. WPT Voyage Takes to the Seas

The decision made by the World Poker Tour to put on a major cruise once again had us reaching for our passports, then remembering, we wouldn’t need them! The World Poker Tour launched many a cruise ship event in the past but with the sadly departed Mike Sexton no long with us it felt remarkably apt that the WPT Voyage set sail in the early part of the year.

For those with strong sea legs, it was a chance to visit new horizons out on deck. For 95% of the players on board, however, getting into the action at the felt was a top priority and with a ‘Pyjama Party’ event taking place where players had to come in nightwear to another massive Main Event, the WPT proved they don’t even need a cardroom to put on a poker trip players will never forget.

8. Joe Stapleton Releases Trapped! 



In early September, the PokerStars commentator and sometimes player Joe Stapleton released Trapped!, his epic poker graphic novel loosely based on his hilarious misadventures at the felt. The story, penned by the stand-up comedian Stapleton, known as ‘Stapes’ in the poker community, sees his fictional world starts to spiral where poker becomes a life and death game of risk and reward… with hilarious consequences.  Suddenly, everything is on the line and he’s playing for his life – the highest stakes of all!

We caught up with Joe to discuss how he, Neil Gibson and Kenny Diack put the project together in a special feature here.

7. Scott Seiver Dominates Las Vegas WSOP to Win POY

When Scott Seiver kicked off the 2024 WSOP in Las Vegas, he had four bracelets and a determination to win ‘one more’. Two months later, the now seven-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner was confirmed as the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year with three titles and five final tables.

Outlasting late challenges from Michael Rocco and Jeremy Ausmus among others, Seiver was an example to all. His banner will hang at either the Horseshoe or Paris casino in Las Vegas in 2025. You can read all about how he enjoyed the best summer of his poker career right here.

6. Celebrity Poker Tour Blows Up

Of the many tours that took place in 2024, the Celebrity Poker Tour really caught fire. The mix of sports legends, celebrities and poker royalty made it unmissable live poker and with stars of the stage and screen such as Sofie Dossi, Maria Ho and, wait… Q from Impractical Jokers making the final table? Yes, the latest CPT event saw Q and Maria Ho battle it out for $50,000 and the trophy surrounded by some huge names at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.

The action is red hot, some of the celebrities are learning as they play for thousands and plenty of hi-jinks hit hard throughout the battle. Heck, in a previous show, Sofie Dossi arrived in a box and extricated herself from the trap like the contortionist she is, then re-raised the action! It’s incredible to see the CPT players take each other on and there are big plans in 2025. Watch this space… and their Instagram page for cast reveals!

5. World Champion of Laptops

The 2024 WSOP Main Event was an exciting one. Jonathan Tamayo won $8 million after previously folding pocket queens pre-flop when shorter stack than most. There was a very deep run for Kristen Foxen in 13^th place. But what really grabbed the headlines was something that happened away from the poker table in the latter stages.

Deep in the mix, the eventual winner Tamayo frequently consulted his rail and they helped him. A lot. Many questions have since been posed about the 2024 world champion’s supporters and how players such as the 2015 Main Event winner Joe McKeehen and Dominik Nitsche both accessed GTO solvers mid-game. The controversy, which we wrote about here, tainted the moment for some, while others believed the play to be fair. Was it a good look? You decide, but the WSOP have changed their rulebook accordingly.

4. Daniel Negreanu Wins 7th WSOP Bracelet

If there was one player we hoped would lift a gold bracelet in Las Vegas, it was Daniel Negreanu. The Canadian, who hadn’t won a bracelet in Vegas since 2008 and not at all since 2013, finally ended his long wait by winning the best one of all to a top pro – the Poker Players Championship.

The $50,000 entry event, which earned ‘Kid Poker’ over $1.1 million saw the emotional Negreanu dedicate his win to his wife and rail upon completion of the heads-up match against Bryce Yockey. It’s a deep one, which you can read all about here.

3. Phil Ivey Wins Bracelet #11

Talking about big name winners, Phil Ivey finally ended his own decade-long wait for WSOP glory. Taking down the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Championship, Ivey won his 11^th WSOP bracelet. In doing so, he moved past Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel and the late, great Doyle Brunson who remain on 10 bracelet wins.

Ivey, who moved six behind his fellow Phil, Hellmuth, in the all-time WSOP bracelet winners list, defeated Danny Wong heads-up to claim gold and in doing so declared how ready he is to play for more.

You can read all about Phil Ivey in our exclusive guide to the ‘Tiger Woods of Poker’ here.

2. GGPoker Purchase the WSOP

If both Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey had good years, then GGPoker had a great one. Since entering the poker space, the operator has grown and grown, with the acquisition of the WSOP this year a crowning moment. Over the course a five-year purchase, GGPoker’s major investor company NSUS Group will pay $500 million for the WSOP name and have already settled up $250, with the other half deliverable via a promissory note.

It’s a huge move and over the next few years, GGPoker are sure to invest heavily in the biggest name in poker. More qualifiers will travel to Las Vegas having qualified for their ticket entries on GGPoker in satellite qualifiers. More players will have learned the game or cut their teeth in GGPoker events such as the GGMillion$, which this yar has already seen winners of the $10,000-entry weekly tournament series who bought in for just $100 on the site.

But what was the poker story of the year. Stay tuned to Tight Poker on New Year’s Eve and you’ll find out as we catch up with the headline-maker themselves.