Daniel Weinman, a 35-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, emerged as the victorious winner of the largest World Series of Poker main event ever held. Overcoming a staggering field of 10,043 entries at the Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas for the 2023 WSOP $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, Weinman secured the championship gold bracelet and an astounding $12.1 million as his first-place prize.
In awe of his accomplishment, Daniel Weinman expressed his disbelief, acknowledging the significant role luck plays in a poker tournament. While recognizing his own skillful play, he attributed his success to the fortuitous circumstances that arose throughout the event.
Reflecting on his triumph, Daniel Weinman shared his thoughts with a smile, stating, “Winning any poker tournament requires a considerable amount of luck. There were several hands in this tournament where I experienced unbelievable luck. It almost feels like destiny, whether it’s because of the time I’ve invested in the game for nearly two decades or some other factor. It’s an incredibly surreal feeling.”
With this victory, the holder of a Georgia Tech engineering degree now boasts a lifetime earnings total exceeding $15.8 million. Additionally, he adds a second career bracelet to his accolades, complementing his two World Poker Tour main event titles. His initial bracelet win occurred last summer when he emerged victorious in a $1,000 pot-limit Omaha event, earning $255,359.
Notably, Weinman’s triumph marks the first main event win by an American since John Cynn’s victory in 2018. Previous champions hailed from Norway (Espen Jorstad, 2022), Germany (Koray Aldemir, 2021, and Hossein Ensan, 2019), and Argentina (Damian Salas, 2020).
Entering the final day of the event as the second chip leader among the last three contenders, Daniel Weinman found himself in a favorable position. For a recap of the first day of action from the final table, click HERE.
Adam Walton, the shortest stack at the start of the day, was far from desperate with 83 big blinds in his possession. The 40-year-old professional poker player from Seattle, Washington had surpassed the chip leader, Steven Jones, joining Weinman in chip count. Although Daniel Weinman held a slight advantage over Walton of just over seven big blinds, a pivotal hand would soon transpire.
With blinds set at 1,250,000-2,500,000 and a big blind ante of 2,500,000, Jones raised to 6,000,000 on the button with Q♦6♦, and Walton flat-called from the small blind with 8♠8♣. Weinman, in the big blind, revealed A♥A♦ and opted for a three-bet to 27,000,000. Jones folded, and Walton responded with a four-bet shove for 209,500,000. Weinman swiftly called, holding the powerful pocket aces, thereby gaining a substantial advantage as the heads-up play approached.
The board produced 7♣5♥3♣9♠K♣, and Weinman’s pocket aces remained unchallenged, securing him the monumental pot and resulting in Walton’s elimination from the tournament.
2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Weinman | United States | $12,100,000 | |
| 2 | Steven Jones | United States | $6,500,000 | |
| 3 | Adam Walton | United States | $4,000,000 | |
| 4 | Jan-Peter Jachtmann | Germany | $3,000,000 | |
| 5 | Ruslan Prydryk | Ukraine | $2,400,000 |
