It was a busy week in the poker world.
The biggest news came outside the poker tables, where former Supreme Court lawyer, poker pro, and high-stakes player Tom Goldstein was sentenced to six years in prison for tax- and financial-related offenses.
Away from the court, Bryn Kenney captured another massive title, adding to his already impressive poker resume and proving he is one of the best players in the game.
The WSOP also made an unexpected announcement about using shot clocks in the main event final table.
Finally, Ethan "Rampage" Yau and Allen Kessler attracted attention with a fierce “war” on social media.
Tom Goldstein Receives Six-Year Prison Sentence in Poker-Linked Tax Case
Tom Goldstein (Image Courtesy of Google)
One of the major poker stories this week was a sentencing that happened in a federal courtroom in Maryland.
Attorney Tom Goldstein, who is regarded as a high-profile lawyer and a poker player, has now received a six-year prison term for his involvement in a scheme that is reported to have cost the government millions.
Goldstein was convicted of 12 out of 16 charges, including tax evasion, failure to pay taxes, filing false tax returns, and mortgage fraud.
US District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby handed down the sentence after a full day of hearing evidence in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Judge Griggsby’s sentence included five years of supervised release and payment of over $3.1 million in restitution.
The judge refused to allow Goldstein to report to prison at a later date but ordered him to report to jail immediately.
Defense lawyers for Goldstein claimed that Goldstein suffered from an addiction that led to his downfall.
They argued that Goldstein had a gambling addiction and lost a huge sum of money over the years, although he recovered almost all of it before other people suffered losses.
Federal authorities did not agree. They claimed that Goldstein had concealed income from gambling, stashed funds in offshore accounts, claimed gambling expenses as business deductions, lied to lenders, and concealed over $25 million in income from 2016 to 2023.
Prosecutors said that all of Goldstein's actions led to over $9.5 million in lost tax revenue.
Before the sentence was handed down, Goldstein apologized in front of the judge, saying that he had disappointed people and ruined both his career and family.
Judge Griggsby handed the case over to the prosecution and said that every American knows they have to pay their taxes.
Goldstein announced his intention to appeal the verdict and the sentence.
Bryn Kenney Extends All-Time Money Lead With $1.95 Million Victory
Bryn Kenney Wins $100,000 King's Charity Super High Roller Event (Image Courtesy of Kings Poker Cup)
The high-stakes tournament action resumed shortly after the World Series of Poker, and this time Bryn Kenney proved once again why he's the leader on the all-time money list.
The American poker pro won the $100,000 King's Charity Super High Roller in Jeju, South Korea, and collected a whopping $1,954,000.
The tournament managed to draw in 71 entries and created a total prize pool of $6,674,000.
Only eleven players reached the money.
Some of the biggest names in poker managed to have deep runs at this tournament, including Tom Dwan, who had his first recorded cash in live tournaments in over two years as he finished sixth for $350,000.
David Miscikowski was eliminated in seventh place while Elton Tsang finished third when his 
held up against Tsang's 
.
Kenney and Lonis had reportedly agreed to split the remaining prize money before playing for the trophy.
Kenney's 
beat Lonis' 
when a ten hit the flop.
This victory increased Kenney's lifetime earnings to over $92 million, widening the margin on second-placed Stephen Chidwick by over $12 million.
In addition, the victory improved Kenney's standing in the 2026 Player of the Year competition.
WSOP Removes Shot Clocks for the 2026 Main Event Final Table
WSOP Main Event (Image courtesy of WSOP)
The World Series of Poker has softened its stance about using shot clocks in the final table of the 2026 Main Event.
Earlier in the tournament, the officials introduced mandatory shot clocks starting on Day 7 after Loren Klein took a long time to make a decision on Day 6.
The purpose of introducing shot clocks was to put a halt to excessive tanking in the tournament.
However, the tournament officials added that the final nine players won’t be subject to any time limitations unless there are still too many delays in making decisions.
As stated by the WSOP, this move aims to make the playing environment as natural as possible and give players time to make decisions.
Many players believe their incentive to delay decisions has decreased because once there is only one table remaining, no one gets eliminated until the action resumes.
The decision also leaves us thinking about how this change will affect ESPN's television coverage.
In 2026, the WSOP is coming back on ESPN and letting players think more may create a lot more drama in hands worth millions of dollars.
With $10 million waiting for the winner and making the next tournament exciting, it will allow players to stall and make the game even more thrilling.
Ethan "Rampage" Yau and Allen Kessler Exchange Heated Words
Ethan Yau and Allen Kessler (Image courtesy of Editor's Choice)
The poker social media scene was lit this past week after Ethan "Rampage" Yau made statements against long-time tournament player Allen Kessler.
The whole saga started when Rampage spoke out against some comments on YouTube declaring that many players would find it easy to beat him.
If you’re trying to take shots online, be a man and back them up yourself. Or stay in your lane and be quiet please
— Rampage (@rampagepoker) July 27, 2026
Rampage, having won his second WSOP bracelet and posting impressive results in high-stakes cash games, was confident that he could do well against elite players after beating Adrian Mateos in a heads-up match for the bracelet in the summertime.
In response, Kessler said that while Rampage was good, there were still players who were better than him.
Rampage did not take that statement lightly and challenged Kessler to a heads-up match at $100/$200 stakes over 100,000 hands.
Kessler rejected the challenge, as he specializes in mixed games instead of no-limit hold'em.
Instead, he offered to introduce Rampage to players who might accept the challenge.
The absurdity of the whole conversation was evident as Rampage launched false emotional statements while saying harsh words for Kessler and dubbing him “a cancer in this field.”
Kessler stated that he is willing to accept a challenge in mixed games, which renders the possibility of an actual match highly unlikely.
Nonetheless, Rampage and Kessler were both successful in their summers, with Rampage winning the second bracelet and continuing to show strong results in cash games.
Kessler, on the other hand, managed to get two top-four finishes in bracelet tournaments.
