'That Helps': Troy-raised Poker Star's $6.5M Payday Eases the Sting of Second Place > 자유게시판

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Atlanta's Daniel Weinman won the 2023 Main Event and a record prize of $12.1 million, after a short heads-up battle with Birmingham Seaholm alum Steven Jones Jr.

When Steven Jones Jr. turned 21, his mother, Shawn Holowecki, https://damedemaat-tarots.com/ took him to a casino to play small-stakes poker.

Fourteen years later, Jones is a millionaire more than six times over, after finishing runner-up at the 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon.

Jones, 35, a Troy native who attended Birmingham Seaholm High School, outlasted 10,041 players, and fell to one, Atlanta's Daniel Weinman, also 35, who collected $12.1 million for winning poker's most-coveted title. Weinman made relatively short work in heads-up of Jones, who won $6.5 million.

Jones' career tournament earnings entering the Main Event earlier this month were less than $250,000. He's an amateur poker player who makes his living as a realtor in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"I mean, obviously right now, I'm a little upset," Jones said shortly after 3 p.m. Vegas time Monday, moments after busting out. "I think tomorrow I'm gonna wake up very happy.

"Kudos to him (Weinman). He played a great game. I had a lot of fun.

"It's a little tough right now."

Jones was trying to become the fourth Michigan native to win the WSOP Main Event, joining Grand Rapids' Tom McEvoy (1983), Shelby Township's Joe Cada (2009) and Clarkston's Ryan Riess (2013). And Jones entered play Monday, three-handed, with the chip lead, though it was pretty close among all three.

It didn't take long in three-handed play before Jones had slipped to third place, but then he sat back and witnessed one of the shocker's of this two-week tournament.

Seattle's Adam Walton, the most volatile player among the final three, went all-in with pocket eights pre-flop, and was snap-called by Weinman holding the pocket aces. The aces held up, Walton was out in third place for $4 million, and just like that, Jones made a massive pay jump - though that hand also left Weinman, also 35, with a massive chip lead, at about 3-to-1 over Jones.

More: Is another Michigan man about to win poker's biggest tournament?

Walton, to his credit, took his exit well.

"Gonna go buy a boat," he said on PokerGo's stream. "It's probably gonna be a pretty sick boat."

After Walton's exit, there was a brief break, as the WSOP crew set up the final table for headsup, with great pageantry. Six security guards entered the arena at the theater at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, each carrying two brief cases filled with cash. They were escorted by two more security guards, carrying shotguns, with one standing on the stage as the money was dumped into the center, between Jones and Weinman.

When play resumed, Weinman, the more-experienced player who won his first WSOP bracelet last year, was the aggressor, and took advantage of Jones' more-passive play.

At one point heads-up, Jones lost six straight hands, with five folds, and one ill-timed call with king high.

Still, eventually Jones did manage to whittle Weinman's chip lead down to about 2-to-1, before he ran into a cooler a little over 2 hours into play on the final day of the Main Event. Holding jack-eight off-suit, Jones raised to 7 million chips, and Weinman, holding jack-king off-suit, called. On the flop came a jack, giving both one pair, with a five and a two. Weinman checked, Jones bet 6 million, and Weinman raised to 18.5 million. Jones called. The turn came a four, and Weinman led out for 38 million.

That put Jones deep into the tank - he spent several minutes thinking, grabbing his chips, putting them down, and repeating multiple times - before he finally decided top pair was good enough in a heads-up situation, and he announced all-in, for more than 140 million in chips.

Weinman asked the dealer for a count, before he quickly made the call, and saw the good news.

Jones needed one of three remaining outs on the river to stay alive, and when the ace of hearts came, a celebration erupted in the theater, with Weinman's friends and family showering him with beer, while Jones got sympathy hugs.

"It's very tough to fold there," Jones said. "Such a tough decision."

Said PokerGo commentator Lon McEachern: "Steven Jones went for it. ... What a showing for this non-pro."

After the final hand, Weinman was presented the coveted gold bracelet - complete with 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, 2,352 gemstones, 42 carts of round genuine diamonds, 425 black and red stones and a removable golden poker chip - from 2006 Main Event winner Jamie Gold, who at $12 million had taken home the largest payout for winning the Main Event until Weinman.

This year's tournament featured a record 10,043 entries, each paying a $10,000 buy-in.

Weinman had never cashed in the Main Event, despite more than 10 previous tries, until Monday, ending a magical run that last week including catching trip-jacks to beat his opponents queens and kings, setting him up for Monday's victory dance.

"There's a billion thoughts. It's really hard to put into words," Weinman said. "Just felt like I played the best I've ever played in my life. Just incredible. It's unbelievable."

"There's more money in the bank. It's always nice," added Weinman, a web developer when he's not at the tables. "My boss can probably expect me in the office this week."

Daniel Weinman (@notontilt09) is your 2023 @WSOP Main Event Champion.

In the final hand, Weinman and Steven Jones both flop top pair, and when Jones moves in on the turn, Weinman calls.

Weinman walks away with $12,100,000 after conquering the largest Main Event field ever. pic.twitter.com/bxOOJaOcMH

For Jones, who took advantage of the exposure to pump up his real-estate company (which was emblazoned on his hat), he scored the best finish in the Main Event by a Michigan native since Riess in 2013. Muskegon's Nic Manion finished in fourth place in 2018, the year Cada returned to the final table and finished fifth.

That year, John Cynn won the Main Event, and the image of him holding up his bracelet has been on Jones' vision board at home for several years.

He willed this run into existence, and will reap the rewards for years to come.

The poker journey began with his mom taking him to the casino, and reached its pinnacle with family and friends cheering him on, including father Steven Jones Sr., who originally is from Fenton but now also lives in Arizona. Steven Jones Jr.'s mom still lives in Michigan.

"It's hard not to root for a momma's boy, right?" PokerGo commentator Maria Ho said.

Jones has lived for more than a decade in Arizona, where he enjoys flag football, golfing, softball and fantasy football, among many other activities, including pretty extensive travel.

But his allegiance to Michigan remains strong. He was born in Flint, raised in Troy and attended Seaholm. He counts himself a huge Detroit Lions fan - one of his friends was rocking a Matthew Stafford No. 9 Lions jersey Monday, though Jones stuck with a t-shirt. (Riess won wearing a Lions jersey in 2013.)

Jones also is a big fan of the Michigan Wolverines, particularly football, which, perhaps fitting, knows from recent years all about getting so close to ultimate glory, but coming up just short. Jones probably got the better consolation prize, however.

This is Jones' fourth cash of the summer WSOP schedule. His previous-best cash was for $57,425 in 2019.

"That helps, of course," Jones said with a smile, reminded about the $6.5 million that was awaiting him at the casino cage. "I can do a lot of things with that money, start investing and set myself up nicely.