This Week's Big Winner: Daniel Weinman Wins WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open

Daniel Weinman had his 29th birthday on Feb. 3, 2017. What did he get on his special day? His first World Poker Tour title and an $892,433 payday.

“I turned 29 today, so this is a pretty awesome birthday present. My girlfriend flew in last minute, you couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Weinman told WPT reporters after coming out on top.

Weinman defeated a field of 1,312 entries to take down the 2017 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open $3,500 no-limit hold’em main event. The Georgia native now has $2.2 million in career tournament earnings, along with titles on the WSOP Circuit and European Poker Tour, and at the Wynn Classic and Aussie Millions.

Here are the five biggest hands that propelled Weinman to the win.

Tournament: WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open
Buy-In: $3,500
No. of Entries: 1,312
Prize Pool: $4,199,712
1st Place Prize: $892,433

The Action

With 23 players remaining in the tournament, Millard Hale raised and Daniel Weinman moved all-in for his last 22 big blinds from the big blind. Hale made the call with pocket sixes, only to see Weinman turned over pocket aces. According to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, Weinman was an 80 percent favorite to double up. The board ran out 10 8 4 8 7 and Weinman’s hand held to boost his stack to just under 1.4 million. Hale was still left with a comfortable stack, although he eventually went on to bust in 13th place, earning $33,598.

The Action

With 11 players left fighting for a spot at the final table, Richard Foster raised to 150,000 from under the gun and Blake Bohn called from the cutoff. Weinman then moved all in from the button for his last 1,100,000. Foster folded, and the extra dead money in the pot induced Bohn to make the call with A 10. Weinman showed his pocket aces, and didn’t have to sweat much as the board rolled out 7 6 2 Q 2. Weinman doubled up to more than 42 big blinds while Bohn fell to a similar amount. Bohn eventually finished in eighth place, earning $104,993.

The Action

At the televised final table with five players remaining, Weinman raised from under the gun to 200,000. Richard Foster then three-bet to 850,000 from the big blind and Weinman tanked for a bit before making the call. The flop came down J J 5 and Foster moved all in for 2,540,000. Weinman instantly called with pocket aces and an annoyed Foster turned over pocket kings. The turn and river were the 8 and A, giving Weinman a full house and the pot. Foster pocketed $228,884 for his fifth-place run while Weinman moved into second place.

The Action

At the three-handed final table, with Nathan Bjerno sitting on just 5,545,000 in chips, Tyler Kenney raised to 350,000 on the button and Weinman three-bet to 1,200,000. Kenney called and the flop fell 8 5 4. Weinman checked and Kenney bet 1,400,000. Weinman called and the turn was the 10. Weinman checked again, and this time, Kenney bet 3,005,000, which Weinman called. The river was the 3 and Weinman checked. Kenney then moved all in for 10,610,000. Weinman went into the tank for about two minutes before finally calling with 9 5 for third pair. Kenney could only show K 9 for king high and he was eliminated in third place for $327,578. Weinman dragged the pot and took a 6:1 advantage into heads-up play.

The Action

Although he was severely out chipped entering heads-up play, Bjerno somehow managed to last 50 hands before he was finally put away. Weinman moved all in from the button and Bjerno called off his last 3,450,000 with A 4. Weinman had him dominated with A 5, but according to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator, the pot would be chopped a whopping 44 percent of the time. Instead, the dealer put out a board of A 8 6 7 4, giving Weinman a straight and the title. Bjerno took home $524,964 for his runner-up finish, while Weinman earned his first WPT title and the $892,433 first-place prize.

Final Table Results

1. Daniel Weinman — $892,433
2. Nathan Bjerno — $524,964
3. Tyler Kenney — $327,578
4. Jia Liu — $275,081
5. Richard Foster — $228,884
6. Nicholas Immekus — $184,787
7. Thomas Penza — $142,748
8. Blake Bohn — $104,993
9. Tony Ruberto — $75,595