Criss Angel Unveils 2025 WSOP Main Event Bracelet, Still Can’t Make Phil Hellmuth Disappear

^{Caesars-backed entertainer Criss Angel, now playing at Planet Hollywood, showed off the $500,000 bracelet that will go along with a $10 million guaranteed for the winner of the 2025 WSOP Main Event. (Photo: courtesy of WSOP)}

The World Series of Poker is always a magical time of year. For poker players, it’s the dream event — the one tournament that might wave a wand and change their lives. The WSOP Main Event is that type of tournament, and on Saturday, its 2025 championship bracelet made its debut in fittingly mind-freaking fashion.

Criss Angel Reveals the Bracelet

Unlike the other tournaments at the WSOP, the Main Event bracelet had remained hidden from public view -- until Saturday. That changed with a ceremony featuring one of Las Vegas’ most famous magicians, Criss Angel, who unveiled it for players, fans, and the press during the final Day 1 flight of the WSOP Main Event.

Angel, known for his globe-trotting brand of high-energy illusions, kicked off the day by delivering the traditional “shuffle up and deal” call for Day 1D at noon. He stuck around for the bracelet reveal, which WSOP officials had teased as a “magical” debut -- and Angel delivered. Using his signature showmanship, Angel presented the bracelet in front of a packed audience at the Horseshoe.

The man known as “Mindfreak” was a fitting choice for the role. One of the most successful illusionists in history, Angel has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism revenue for Las Vegas over the past 15 years. From his early days at the Luxor to his current home at Planet Hollywood, Angel has performed for millions who flock to his shows. His latest production, Criss Angel Mindfreak at Planet Hollywood, brings to life the bold, street-style illusions that made his A&E series of the same name a hit -- and a sharp departure from the classic Vegas magic of performers like David Copperfield.

Criss Angel shows off the 2025 WSOP Main Event bracelet during Saturday's reveal. (Photo: WSOP)

The 2025 WSOP Main Event Bracelet

2,256 round diamonds
42.0 carats
SI 2/3 G+
367.1 grams

The bracelet, valued at $500,000, is quite the overlay. This coveted showpiece is paid for by the WSOP, not from the prize pool.

Angel Can't Make Hellmuth Disappear from Main Event

For all of Angel’s talents, there’s one trick he still hasn’t mastered: making Phil Hellmuth disappear from the WSOP Main Event.

Hellmuth nearly did it himself. Back in February, the 17-time bracelet winner said he would sit out the 2025 Main Event, saying poker’s biggest tournament had become “too tough” for players his age (61).

“It’s turned into an endurance test … not one that measures skill,” Hellmuth declared at the time. “I just can’t play the Main Event anymore.”

But true to form, the 1989 World Champion changed his mind. And, as always, he made a grand entrance. For Day 1B, poker champ Hellmuth arrived dressed as an ‘80s rocker, adding to a long history of theatrical WSOP arrivals. Over the years, Hellmuth has entered as General George Patton, Alexander the Great, and PT Barnum. In 2024, he showed up in a karate gi to the tune of "Kung Fu Fighting."

This year, AC/DC’s "Highway to Hell" blasted through the Horseshoe as Hellmuth lip-synched along, leading a 17-person entourage (one model for each of his WSOP bracelets), fellow pro Daniel “Jungleman” Cates, and his son Phil Hellmuth III -- all wielding electric guitars and dressed for the part. Leather-clad and bewigged, Highway-to-Hellmuth took his seat at the feature table Thursday afternoon.

Unlike last year, the theatrics seemed to work in his favor. Hellmuth bagged 85,000 chips by night’s end, advancing to Sunday’s Day 2A action.

So can Hellmuth work his “white magic” at the WSOP one more time? With a week-and-a-half of 10-hour workdays left before the final table concludes on July 16, there are still plenty of stories -- and maybe a few illusions -- waiting to unfold.