Georgia’s own Daniel Weinman overcame more than 10,000 competitors to win the 2023 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, walking away with more than $12 million in winnings and setting a new record.
“I’ve always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction,” Weinman told PokerNews. “But to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible.”
After 16 years of competing — and only once making it to the finals — Weinman wasn’t even sure if he wanted to compete this year. After all, players must make a $10,000 buy in to participate.
“I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament,” the player said.
But this year, Weinman made a slow and steady climb throughout the 10 days of the tournament. And when the final hand was played, he stood triumphant with $12,100,000 in prize money, beating the $12 million won by Jamie Gold in the 2006 tournament.
“To win this Main Event, it doesn’t feel real. I mean, there’s so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well, but so many hands that (were) incredibly lucky for the situations to arise.”
His exciting victory came after 164 hands against the world’s best players. The Main Event drew more than 10,000 players, leading to a total prize pool of more that $93 million. The 35-year-old Georgian almost didn’t make it to the final table: On day 8, he hit a two-outer, making a move considered to be one of “the most pivotal suck-outs in poker history.”
“Final tables can go so many different ways,” Weinman explained. “You need some cards to get chips; there were a lot of good players left with a lot more tournament experience than me. But when we got down to three, I did feel like I was the best player of the three. And a couple of good hands at the right time — it all came together.”
Weinman is a Georgia Institute of Technology graduate who credits his win to hard work and consistency.
As for what he’ll do with his winnings, Weinman notes that while he’s a professional gambler, he’ll probably play it safe with the money.
“I have no clue. Probably invest it. Probably not the best answer everybody wants to hear, but I’m fairly cautious with it away from the table. Even though I like to gamble pretty hard.”
