Erik Seidel denied chance for historic 10th WSOP bracelet

Professional poker player Ben Lamb prevented Erik Seidel from making history at the World Series of Poker on Tuesday.

Seidel, a Henderson resident, finished fourth in the $10,000 buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship at Horseshoe Las Vegas, as Lamb won the event for his second career WSOP tournament victory and bracelet.

Seidel was seeking his 10th career WSOP bracelet, which would have tied him with the late Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey for second all time. Phil Hellmuth holds the WSOP record with 16 wins.

Lamb, a Las Vegas resident, bullied the final table and was responsible for all six eliminations. He outlasted a field of 212 entrants and earned $492,795, defeating James Chen heads-up.

“I ran hotter than the (expletive) sun, which was nice,” he told WSOP.com.

Seidel cashed in his second event of the summer and took home $150,445.

Lamb’s last bracelet came in 2011, and since then he’s compiled two third-place finishes and a runner-up in last year’s $10,000 buy-in Short Deck No-limit Hold’em event. He also reached the final table of the Main Event in 2011 and 2017, and has more than $9 million in lifetime earnings at the WSOP.

Entering heads-up play, Lamb held a massive chip lead and Chen was down to two big bets at one point. Chen survived three consecutive all-ins thanks to split pots before he was eliminated. He earned $304,571.

“The last couple of years I got some close shots, like damn, I wanted to win another bracelet,” Lamb told WSOP.com. “Now to get that monkey off my back, of course, but no one is ever happy with two … or 16.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.