After four days of play, a winner has been crowned at the 2023 BetMGM Poker Championship, which took place inside the ARIA Resort and Casino as well as the PokerGO Studio.
Michigan’s Leo Taffe was the last player standing from the 1,026 entry field after defeating Mike Vanier at heads-up to capture the title and $560,442. He followed in the footsteps of Joey Weissman, who won the inaugural edition of this event in 2022.
Taffe’s prize is more than double that Weissman claimed due to the fantastic turnout this time around. Boosting the number of entries this year were the 94 BetMGM Poker qualifiers, who all booked their seat for a fraction of the price.
Thirteen of the qualifiers took home a slice of the $3,283,200 prize pool, with former Major League Baseball player Jason Kipnis (107th – $6,534) being the most notable name from the crop. Danny DeJesus went the furthest, making it through to Day 3 before bowing out in 28th place for $14,512.
2023 BetMGM Poker Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Taffe | United States | $560,442 |
| 2 | Mike Vanier | United States | $392,704 |
| 3 | Mo Zhou | China | $254,645 |
| 4 | Stephen Song | United States | $188,193 |
| 5 | Sundiata DeVore | United States | $142,655 |
| 6 | Johann Ibanez | Colombia | $114,157 |
| 7 | Kevin Berthelsen | United States | $94,523 |
Taffe Elated and Embarrassed After Victory
Speaking to PokerNews after his first major live tournament win, Taffe noted he was “elated” with the result while also “embarrassed” about how well he ran.
Taffe woke up with big pairs anytime his opponents jammed into him and held out to scoop each time. Taffe knew the situation he came into today was very unique with his overwhelming chip lead, and he said the only thing on his mind was not to choke.
The winner’s spoils set Taffe up now to tackle bigger events, but he has no firm plans for the summer except for “sleeping for the next 24 hours.”
Prior to today, Taffe’s live tournament earnings stood at $271,497, with his former biggest cash being the $182,603 he received from finishing third in the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Cherokee Main Event earlier in the year. Taffe mainly plies his trade on BetMGM Poker Michigan, where he plays under the “NuttyWolves” screen name.
Taffe Dominates Final Table
Just seven players returned for Day 4, and Taffe came onto the final table with an uncatchable chip lead. The 24-year-old started with 115 big blinds, which nearly accounted for half of the chips in play. The finalists had all locked up $94,523 at this point, with the pay jump hitting the six-figure mark when six remain.
Sundiata DeVore was nearly the first to leave on Day 4, but he correctly folded his pocket jacks on a ten-high board. Taffe had pocket kings and put him all in on the turn, but DeVore opted to save his chips with considerable ICM implications on the line.
The opening elimination ended up being the short-stacked Kevin Berthelsen, who was ousted by 2022 GPI Player of the Year and WSOP bracelet winner Stephen Song. The latter had Berthelsen dominated and held out to seal the pot. Song had made it to the final table thanks to surviving numerous all-ins the previous day to keep him on track to securing his tenth live tournament win.
Soon after, Pot-Limit Omaha specialist Johann Ibanez left the final table after he ran into Taffe’s aces and then DeVore bowed out when he did the same thing. DeVore has had a year to remember so far as he banked another six-figure score which follows the $926,128 he banked from being the runner-up at The Return – A Borgata Championship Event in January.
Play would slow down for a short while, but things picked up again when Song’s all-in was called by Taffe. Song moved in with ace-deuce while Taffe had another premium hand in pocket queens. Taffe continued to run well and avoided his opponent pairing their ace to bring the tournament to its final three players.
It was then Zhou’s turn to end up on the wrong side of the rail. After doubling up Vanier, the American then finished him off after his ace-seven beat Zhou’s ace-king. The $254,645 third place marked Zhou’s first tournament cash in the United States.
Taffe went into heads-up with a nearly two-to-one chip lead and would have to navigate the final stage of the tournament more cautiously as Vanier finally had a stack that could do some damage.
However, Taffe picked up aces once again, and they held out for a third time. Vanier could not improve to two pair or better, and he had to settle for the $392,704 runners-up prize.
Editor & Live Reporter
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum’s proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.