The poker world was full of action in the past week.
Matthew Blagg has won his first live tournament title in the World Series of Poker Circuit at the Horseshoe Las Vegas Main Event.
New statistics released prove that the World Series of Poker in 2026 is among the biggest festivals.
Away from the poker tables, poker players and legislators continued to fight against the troublesome gambling tax legislation at the recent IRS hearing.
Matthew Blagg Wins First WSOP Circuit Ring in Las Vegas
Matthew Blagg wins WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Las Vegas $1,700 Main Event (Image courtesy of WSOP)
Matthew Blagg marked the pinnacle of his professional poker debut by winning the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Horseshoe Las Vegas $1,700 Main Event.
He walked away with a cash prize of $238,470 along with the first-ever title of a live poker tournament.
The tournament attracted a total of 936 entries and generated a total prize pool of $1,418,040.
Blagg’s best career achievement was a third-place finish in the WSOP Online series event, where he earned $47,039.
The event attracted several prominent players.
Matthew Wantman finished 36th, while other names like Jason Wheeler in 30th and David "ODB" Baker in 44th also recorded good scores.
Those who made it to the final table include Shawn Daniels, who finished in seventh position after his 
lost to Eric Yanovsky's 
.
Jack Duong busted in fifth position after he ran into Jia Chi Li 
and could not improve.
Yanovsky eliminated Li in the fourth position, while Blagg sent Daniel Lei home in third place when he beat out all potential draws with pocket aces.
The heads-up play ended when Yanovsky pushed all-in with 
, and Blagg called with 
for the set on a board of 
.
Yanovsky earned $159,040 for second place and moved close to $2 million in career tournament earnings.
Maurice Hawkins Wins 26th WSOP Circuit Ring
Maurice Hawkins Wins 2026 WSOP Circuit Choctaw $1,100 Mini Main Event (Image Courtesy of WSOP)
Maurice Hawkins continues to dominate the WSOP Circuit.
Hawkins emerged victorious in the 2026 WSOP Circuit Choctaw $1,100 mini main event, topping a field of 400 entries and earning a $76,380 cash prize.
He has already won five WSOP Circuit rings in 2026.
He started 2026 strong by winning three WSOP rings at the beginning of the year.
Despite having a strong performance at the WSOP Circuit, Hawkins has dealt with a lot of issues off the tables.
He filed for bankruptcy in April but came back strong and with more wins.
In the 2026 WSOP series, Hawkins was close to capturing a WSOP bracelet but finished second in a $600 mixed pot-limit Omaha and no-limit hold'em tournament.
Moreover, he had the biggest score of his career in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship, where he finished fourth and took home $432,875.
This influenced his total winnings that reached around $7.7 million.
His most recent win also contributed to his results in the Card Player Player of the Year standings.
Hawkins has already featured 15 final tables in the year so far and currently sits in 12th spot in the ranking.
2026 WSOP Breaks Attendance Records Despite Slight Prize Pool Drop
WSOP Logo (Image Courtesy of WSOP)
With the conclusion of the 2026 World Series of Poker, this year's event in Las Vegas is already being touted as a record-setting success.
The series had a total of 251,899 entrants in 100 live bracelet events, which makes it one of the highest numbers of participants ever in a WSOP.
The competition for prize money saw the players winning $469,975,059 in 35,157 payouts.
Even though the number is not as high as last year’s record amount, it still represents the second-biggest in the WSOP.
The Main Event saw a decent number of entries, with a total of 9,208 players.
The final table action will resume on August 3 to determine the main event winner.
The $1,000 Mystery Millions event broke the multiple entrants' record, with 22,811 entries.
The winner, Matthew Higgins, received $1 million, as did Jonathan Schiller, who received the biggest mystery bounty draw.
Eight events generated over $10 million in pools, while 57 events surpassed $2 million.
The biggest prize pool was in the main event at $85,634,400.
Also, the series has generated more than $47 million in fees and rake.
Women Set Multiple Records at the 2026 World Series of Poker
Women in 2026 WSOP (Image Courtesy of Editors' Choice)
2026 was also one of the best years for women in poker.
The Ladies Championship saw a record 1,475 participants.
Skye Chen won her first bracelet worth $194,630, defeating Aubrey Williams.
Women equalled the record of the maximum number of victories in open tournaments with five female winners.
Kristen Foxen, Michelle Chin, and Yanting Jiang won live tournaments, while Sasha Mahabi and Krista Gifford got victories in online events.
Foxen made one of the biggest names of the summer, winning the $25,000 no-limit Hold'em Championship.
She earned her sixth bracelet and made her best-ever earnings of $1,773,083, becoming the first woman to reach lifetime winnings of over $20 million.
Also, the main event established a new record for participation involving 431 women.
The final woman was Congya Zhang, finishing 61st in the tournament and receiving $150,000.
Poker Players Push Back Against New Gambling Tax Rules
Internal Revenue Service Headquarters (Image Courtesy of Google)
One of the most vital behind-the-scenes headlines happened during IRS hearings on controversial taxation changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill.
In this regard, the new legislation establishes that only 90% of losses can be deducted for tax purposes, raising concerns about the possibility of taxes being deducted from players’ money that they have not actually made.
Poker player Todd Witteles suggested creating categories for the different types of gambling, which would help improve tax reporting.
I'm presently on the telephone-based IRS panel regarding implementation the 2026 "90% gambling loss limitation" law.
— Todd Witteles (@ToddWitteles) July 17, 2026
My testimony will be last, and will be exclusively focused upon implementation suggestions to make this easier on us.
So far Dina Titus and Sara O'Connor have…
In addition, Witteles remarked that the IRS should accept various forms of documentation beyond the conventional written record-keeping of gambling results.
Tournament player Sara O'Connor indicated that the new rule will affect players of all levels, even recreationals, since often they play many tournaments and end the year without a gain or a loss.
Former professional poker player Katie Stone added that large volume of playing poker is needed before the skills can overcome the element of chance and warned that some players may need to pay taxes on money not really gained.
Dina Titus, a Nevada representative, once again called for better gambling tax rules.
She claimed that taxpayers should only be taxed on income they have received.
She insisted that the Treasury Department and IRS cut the reporting complexity, making it easier for casinos and gamblers.
The story of the gambling tax act is believed to be one of the most discussed topics in the poker market for months to come.
