Dan Stepanian Cashes in WSOP Gladiators Event After a Wild Ride

Misfits Poker League member, Dan Stepanian, took his seat on June 26 for Day 1B of Event #67: the $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold'em tournament at the 2025 World Series of Poker, ready for battle in one of the largest fields of the summer. What followed was a rollercoaster journey that had everything: heartbreak, massive climbs, gut-check moments, and a dramatic bubble sweat.

Level 1 dealt Dan a painful first blow. He looked down at pocket aces—every poker player’s dream—only to see them cracked when his opponent turned a straight. Just like that, he lost 10,000 chips in the opening hands. But resilience is part of Dan's game. He bounced back quickly, climbing up to 47.6k after turning a straight of his own.

With just three minutes to go before the first break, Dan played a massive hand. Holding ace-king, he shoved all-in for 24k and got two callers—one holding tens. A king flopped, and by the river, Dan had trips and a 61k stack heading into break.

After the break, blinds escalated to 1000/1500/1500. Dan stayed aggressive. As Level 9 wound down, he was moved to a new table at Black 150, Seat 7 with 60k. Level 10 brought some heat: pocket aces and pocket kings both held up, and his stack soared to 92k.

By the end of Level 11—when late registration closed—the field had swelled to 4,601 players, with 1,585 still alive. Dan sat on 81k, grinding through rising blinds of 2k/3k/3k.

A table break in Level 12 moved him to the Horseshoe side at Blue Table 441, Seat 6. His first hand at the new table? Aces again—but no callers this time, even with 20 big blinds in play. In Level 13, he picked up pocket jacks and won a pot that boosted his stack to 113k.

But poker’s momentum is fickle. In Level 14, with blinds at 3k/6k/6k, his pocket nines lost to A/J offsuit. He dipped to just 10 big blinds. A few hands later, he was down to 46k, frustrated by the fact that he was "completely card dead."

By Level 15, the blinds climbed again to 4k/8k/8k. “Five big blinds left! Shit!” Dan remarked. With 740 players left and 689 making the money, it was sweat time. Then the clock ticked down to 693 remaining as Dan entered dinner break with just 6k in chips.

Coming back from what seemed to be the LONGEST DINNER BREAK EVER,

it was hand-for-hand play.

Dan watched anxiously as players dropped—692... 691... and then 690. Just one more elimination. Then it happened: he was in the money, and didn’t have to play a hand to get there. The Misfits Poker League’s rail exploded with excitement.

With blinds now at 5k/10k/10k and his stack still at 6k, Dan shoved with A/J. He was called by A/Q. A queen hit the board, ending Dan's run, but not before locking up a gritty, hard-earned min-cash in 679th place—good for $600.

In one of the most dramatic bubbles of the WSOP so far, Dan proved that short-stack poker doesn’t always mean shoving—it can mean survival. The entire Misfits family is proud of the fight he showed. Congratulations, Dan, on a deep run that had heart, heat, and hustle.