Who is Daniel Weinman? Poker star earns record-breaking $12.1M in 2023 WSOP Main Event
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Atlanta poker player Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, July 17, in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million for the world championship victory. It was reportedly Weinman's 16th year in the tournament and saw him top in a pool of 10,043 players, eyeing nearly $93.39 million. Moreover, the poker star broke the record of the highest win, which was previously set to $12 million by Jamie Gold during 2006's Main Event.
The 35-year-old's victory came after 164 hands at the final table. Steven Jones finished in second place, earning $6.5 million, while Adam Walton came third with a $4 million reward. Weinman's final table reportedly featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who came fourth and secured $3 million.
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Who is Daniel Weinman?
Weinman is a professional poker player from Atlanta, Georgia, and the winner of the WSOP Main Event in 2023. He was born on February 3, 1988, and graduated in 2009 with a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. Prior to establishing his professional poker career, Weinman reportedly worked as an engineer, making his WSOP final table debut in 2012. He won a WSOP Circuit event in Cherokee, North Carolina, in 2015, securing $280,000.
Furthermore, the poker star won two World Poker Tour events in 2017, first beating a field of 1,312 players to win the Borgata Winter Poker Open to earn $892,000 in February and then winning $381,500 for his victory in the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions in April. Weinman first cashed in the WSOP Main Event in 2021 and finished in 173rd place. Notably, Weinman made three final tables and had 19 cashes at the 2022 World Series of Poker. He reportedly won his first WSOP bracelet in a $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, taking home $255,000, and finished second to Daniel Zack for WSOP Player of the Year.
Weinman reportedly entered the final table in third chip position with 81,700,000 winning a three-way all-in pot with pocket jacks against pocket aces in 2023. He beat Jones on the 164th hand of the final table and 24th heads-up with King of Clubs and Joker Heart suit after both the players hit a pair of jacks on the flop to win the bracelet and $12.1 million top prize. In addition to poker, Weinman is also an avid golfer and plays to a scratch handicap. He also played in a qualifier for the US Mid-Amateur Golf Championship in 2023.
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'It doesn't feel real'
Speaking about his latest victory to the local press, Weinman said, "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," as reported by ESPN. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," he added, continuing, "And 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."