Wisdom from the Wynn Millions Field

Connor Richards

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Poker players can often be sources of wisdom and insight, and PokerNews has been fortunate enough to speak with a few players in the Wynn Millions Championship field in the past.

Here are quotes from five players who are currently in the Day 1b field of the Wynn Millions Championship.

Andrew Moreno

Three years after winning the first-ever Wynn Millions for $1.5 million, Andrew Moreno is back at the Wynn and in the Day 1b field with a stack of around 55,000.

When he won the inaugural Wynn Millions event in 2021, he told PokerNews he was “grateful above all else" after accomplishing a goal he set earlier in the year to move over $1 million in career earnings.

“I think just declaring what I wanted to do was really important to me because I believed in myself and I wanted to hold myself accountable … I’m just so shocked it happened so quickly.”

Moreno called the Wynn Millions "probably the best event I’ve ever played as far as the structure and the room."

“The floors listen to the players a lot, and there was always an open-ended conversation. Everything about the tournament was pristine.”

Adam Hendrix

Another player in the Day 1b field is Adam Hendrix, Alaska's all-time money leader with over $6 million in earnings.

When he appeared on the PokerNews Podcast last spring, Hendrix discussed his poker upbringing and his dominant year in 2022, as well as specializing in Pot-Limit Omaha.

"I think the skill gap in PLO is still pretty big. There (are) a lot of people that don't bother studying at all, compared to no-limit, now everybody sort of studies in some way. But PLO is still sort of the Wild West."

Jared Griener

Another state's all-time money leader, Jared Griener, is in the Day 1b field. PokerNews caught up with the Utah all-time money leader last year at the WPT Gardens Poker Championship, where he talked about the poker scene in southern California.

“It has its ups and downs; there’s a lot of people with some attitude, but I kind of enjoy that. And there’s no doubt that I’ve had way more success in LA and it’s just because I play here so much that I know all the players. And once you play someone over and over again, I feel like that’s kind of my strongest (skill) is just adjusting based on who you are and what I know about you.”

Shannon Shorr

Shannon Shorr recently had his name scrubbed from the "Best Without a Bracelet" list, and now the veteran grinder is looking for his first Wynn trophy after a deep run last night in the $2,200 NLH 6-Max event.

PokerNews spoke with Shorr back in 2022 about a PGT US Poker Open victory that brought him $213,900.

"That was super cool. I live in Vegas, so it's nice to just be able to commute and go play poker. Playing against the highest (level) and the toughest competition is super fascinating and a lot of fun. It's like a small player pool, a lot of us guys who have been around 15 years, so there's an innate respect that we all have for each other. So it's a vibe playing, and to get there and win is just a super cool experience."

Ari Engel

Just weeks ago, all-time Circuit ring leader Ari Engel won a record-extending ring. Now, Engel is looking for a Wynn trophy to add to his suitcase.

Engel is also a two-time bracelet winner, and spoke with PokerNews back in October 2021 after winning his second bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship.

“In these kinds of situations, it’s a balance between wanting to put pressure on other players who presumably want to move up, and then at the same time kind of protecting your own chip lead. You’ve got to strike the right balance depending on how the other players are playing and how the stacks work out.”