Anthony Koutsos had the dream of every player at the World Series of Poker come true.
The San Francisco real estate agent’s largest previous cash was $6,000. He had never cashed in a WSOP event. Then, at the 2021 WSOP, he won the $500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, outlasting a massive field of 2,930 players to take home $167,272 and the prestigious gold bracelet.
A similar fate awaits one lucky player when Event #43: $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em begins today at 11 a.m. local time. Another large field will gather in the Paris Ballroom, an eclectic mix of seasoned pros and amateurs taking their shot at WSOP glory, just like Koutsos did last year
2021 $500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em Final Table
| Place | Player | Country | Winnings |
| 1 | Anthony Koutsos | United States | $167,272 |
| 2 | Charbel Kanterjian | Canada | $103,403 |
| 3 | Dongsheng Zhang | United States | $77,600 |
| 4 | Jonah Lopas | United States | $58,685 |
| 5 | Sundiata DeVore | United States | $44,725 |
| 6 | Jacob Rich | United States | $34,353 |
| 7 | Ronald Ibbetson | United States | $26,595 |
| 8 | John Moss | United States | $20,753 |
| 9 | Fausto Valdez | United States | $16,324 |
Play on Day 1 will consist of 22 half-hour levels. There will be a 75-minute dinner break after Level 12, which should come around 5:40 p.m. Late registration is open through the end of the dinner break and since this is a freezeout, no reentries are allowed.
This is a two-day event, so action should be fast and furious. A starting stack of 25,000 will be worth only 10 big blinds after just six hours of play.
It is the perfect opportunity for a player to realize their dream, and PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action until one champion is left standing.
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Anthony Koutsos
flop as Walter Pizzi had an opponent all in for his last 1,000.
, but Pizzi had out-flopped him with 
for a pair of kings.
and Pizzi knocked out his opponent 15 minutes into Level 1. 
