New Mexico Poker Dealer Wins First Vegas WSOP Bracelet Of 2026

All the way back in 1983, the World Series of Poker held its first ever casino employees gold bracelet event. It was a tournament to recognize those who helped the WSOP, and Las Vegas at large, while the pros battled it out for glory. Starting in 2000, in every year the WSOP has run a full series in Vegas except for one (when the event closed out the series), this $500 buy-in event has almost exclusively garnered the honor of awarding the very first gold bracelet of the summer.

That tradition continued at the start of the 2026 WSOP, as Jerome Neppl won the $500 industry employees no-limit hold’em event. Along with his first career bracelet, Neppl won $64,083, as well as lifelong bragging rights.

The New Mexico-based poker dealer, who had limited tournament poker experience on the other side of the table, enjoyed an incredible run to victory.

“This money is life-changing, and will help me get debt-free,” Neppl told PokerNews’ Roxanne Johnson. Neppl also said that he’s in the midst of a move to Florida, for which this payday will certainly help.

The final table of the 2026 WSOP industry employees event was largely an American affair, with two international players in Andre Welt (Brazil) and Antony Diep (China) also in the mix. In total, 906 players took their shot at the bracelet in this two-day tournament, and 136 players cashed.

Two Long Days To Glory

Day 1 action in the industry employees event ended when the money bubble burst. Neppl held the overnight chip lead among the 136 players returned with a chance that they’d be the last one standing in Friday’s earliest morning hours. By the time the dinner break hit around 7 p.m. local time in Las Vegas, 17 hopefuls remained.

Neppl held a narrow chip lead when the field combined to a single unofficial final table of 10, but the top five stacks were so bunched up that a single medium-sized pot could flip any of them into the top spot.

Skyler Halama took over the lead when his 8♦3♦ in the big blind improved to a flopped diamond flush. Hunter Payne’s A♥Q♣ was no match on the ace-high, all-diamond flop, and Payne exited in 10th place ($3,801). Halama extended his chip lead when he took the last of Jessica Odom’s chips. Odom shoved a little more than ten big blinds, and Halama called in the cutoff with K♥Q♥.

Odom’s pocket sixes remained ahead, if on shaky ground, on an A♥9♥7♦. A queen on the turn put Halama in a commanding position, and a four on the river sent Odom out in ninth place ($4,828). Halama continued his timely rush when his pocket queens held off Armando Viramontes Serna’s A♦K♣, eliminating Serna in eighth place ($6,247).

Sean Hamrick took out Diep in seventh place ($8,235) when both players smashed the Q♣6♠5♥ flop, but Hamrick hit it harder with a set of fives against Diep’s top pair, top kicker.

Neppl Back On Top

From casino dealer to WSOP champion!

Jerome Neppl is the first WSOP bracelet winner of the summer, taking down Event #03: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold’em for $64,083.

Coming into the event with just one recorded live cash and $613 in career earnings, Neppl turned his… pic.twitter.com/HQPILVwOuy

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) May 29, 2026

Neppl chipped away at Halama’s lead until he won the biggest pot of the tournament to that point. A flopped set of queens shrunk for Neppl on a board that had four cards to a club royal flush by the turn, but a check-check on the river saw Neppl scoop a massive pot and the chip lead.

After that pot, Neppl had 3.5 times as many chips as Halama’s second-place stack, and everyone else trailed significantly further behind. Neppl’s grip slipped after a three-way all-in pot involving Welt and Michael Schlittler. Welt’s A♠K♠ and Neppl’s A♦9♦ failed to connect with the board, keeping Schlittler’s pocket queens best. Schlittler took over clear possession of second in the chip counts, and Welt went out in sixth place ($11,052).

Neppl bounced back when his pocket aces held against a short-stacked Nicholas Baldev’s Q♥10♥, which eliminated Baldev in fifth place ($15,098). The next 30 minutes were unkind to Schlittler, and by the time he got his last two big blinds in from the button, both Neppl and Hamrick each took their shot at eliminating him. The action checked down to the river, and Hamrick, with pocket sixes, was the only player with a pair. Schlittler settled for fourth place ($20,988).

Halama’s stack never fully recovered, but he managed to squeeze his way down to three-handed play on a short stack. He got his chips in good, with A♦2♦ against a small blind shove from Neppl with 7♠2♦. A flopped seven, which eventually turned into a full house, kings full of sevens, left Halama to settle for third place ($29,678).

Back And Forth To A Finish

Deep into the night, Neppl started heads-up play with the advantage. Hamrick managed to close the gap with Neppl and even briefly took over the chip lead. Neppl’s pressure pushed him back out in front, and then considerably farther ahead. Hamrick managed a short-stacked double, turning A♠3♦ into a full house, and then an even meatier double with a wheel.

Around 2:00 AM local time, Hamrick had a chance to get his hands on almost two-thirds of the chips in play, as his K♦Q♦ took on Neppl’s J♥9♥.

Both players flopped a pair on a K♥9♠7♠ board, with Hamrick remaining well ahead. Neppl turned a flush draw with the 4♥, but it was the river 9♦ that gave him trip nines, the victory, and the bracelet.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: WSOP / Miguel Cortes.