Vegas in July means one thing for the Barstool poker degenerates: the WSOP is running, and Stool Mintzy has been living at the tables. Day 2 of his side event kicked off on the 4th of July, and he was hyping it up beforehand like a guy who felt something in the air.
Mintzy hyping himself up 75 minutes before Day 2 got underway.
That confidence didn't translate into a deep run. Mintzy busted in 287th place for $2,850, describing a shove that ran into a flip he lost. Not exactly the WSOP bracelet dream, but a min-cash is a min-cash, and he wasn't shy about spinning it as a positive.
Busted 287th for $2850. Shoved 305k at 40k w/ 108 on button & lost flip to 6s. Ain’t mad about it got momentum for main tomorrow. Def positive
The framing afterward was all about the bigger picture: this was just a tune-up. With the WSOP Main Event on deck, Mintzy's takeaway wasn't the bust, it was the feel he built up over two days of play heading into the tournament that actually matters.
Mintzy reframing the side-event bust as momentum for the Main.
Meanwhile, one notable Barstool name won't be at the Main Event felt this summer at all. BarstoolNate, who's reportedly played the last 9 or 10 straight Mains, announced he's taking this year off, FOMO and all, while hinting at a bigger schedule down the road.
BarstoolNate explaining why he's skipping this year's Main after a decade-long streak.
So the WSOP storyline splits in two directions right now: Mintzy grinding his way into the Main off the back of a bust he's choosing to see as a springboard, and Nate watching from the sidelines for the first time in almost a decade. Vegas doesn't stop for anybody, and this July it's rolling on without one of its regulars.