Kathy Liebert Wins Wynn Summer Classic Seniors Opener

The 2026 Wynn Summer Classic is underway at Wynn Las Vegas, kicking off nearly two months of summer action with more than $40 million in guaranteed prize pools spread across dozens of events.

Running through July 13 alongside the World Series of Poker, the festival has become one of the staples of the Las Vegas summer schedule. The series is headlined by the $10,400 Wynn Summer Championship with its $10 million guarantee, while several other tournaments carry seven-figure prize pools, including a $5 million guaranteed $3,500 No-Limit Hold’em event and multiple mystery bounty and Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments.

And the opening event of the series produced a winner who needs little introduction.

Liebert Kicks Off Wynn Summer Classic with Seniors Triumph

Poker legend Kathy Liebert took down the $600 Seniors NLH event after beating a 179-entry field to win $22,564 from the $92,185 prize pool. While it is far from the biggest score of her career, the result continued an excellent run for the 58-year-old ahead of the summer grind in Las Vegas.

The victory marked Liebert’s fifth recorded tournament win of 2026 and pushed her live earnings for the year beyond $145,000. Earlier this year she won another WSOP Circuit ring, while just three weeks ago the Woman in Poker Hall of Famer (WiPHoF) finished runner-up in another $600 event at Wynn for $59,238.

With the summer now ramping up in Las Vegas, Liebert suddenly looks like one of the form players heading into WSOP season.

Liebert has long been one of the most respected figures in poker. She famously won the inaugural PartyPoker Million in 2002, the first limit poker tournament to award a $1 million first-place prize, before capturing her lone WSOP bracelet in the 2004 $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout. She was inducted into the WiPHoF in 2010 and later received a Poker Hall of Fame nomination in 2022.

The seniors event also featured several decorated names among the cashers. Denis Ethier, winner of the 2005 WSOP $2,000 Seven Card Stud Championship, finished 10th for $1,922. Loyal Sprague, an NAPT Seniors champion and WSOP Circuit ring winner, finished 11th for the same payout. Seven-time WSOP bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Billy Baxter added another cash with a 12th-place finish, while former Wynn Summer Classic Seniors champion Chiori Gannon placed 14th.

$600 Seniors NLH Results

Michl Gets Second Poker Title of the Year

Elsewhere, Joris Michl captured the title in the $600 Mixed Triple Draw after topping a 73-entry field.

The tournament comfortably cleared its $30,000 guarantee, generating a $37,230 prize pool with the top ten players paid. Michl earned $11,034 for the victory, marking his second recorded tournament win of 2026.

Earlier this year, Michl won the A$1,500 Platinum Players Championship in Sydney for A$227,800 ($157,252), while the Dutch reg also owns a Korea Poker Cup Main Event title after winning that event in 2024 for $135,890.

Runner-up Zachery Senser collected $7,046, while Clyde Gaskins rounded out the podium with a third-place finish worth $5,015.

Several familiar names from the mixed-game circuit were among the cashers. Andrew Kelsall finished fourth for $3,710, while Joseph Weinberger added another score to his résumé with a fifth-place finish worth $2,774.

Ted Jackson-Spivack, who was crowned Player of the Series at Allen Kessler’s 2025 Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker at Planet Hollywood, finished sixth for $2,141. And speaking of Kessler, a belated congratulations are also in order after “Chainsaw” captured the $1,100 H.O.R.S.E. Championship at last week’s CMSOP stop at Caesars Palace.

Jonathan Breneman, Kristan Lord, Jeffrey Mitseff, and Jill Lopez also reached the money.

$600 Mixed Triple Draw Results

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.

Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).