Jesse Lonis Wins World Series of Poker $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller

In late June of 2018, Jesse Lonis recorded his very first live tournament cash, placing ninth in a $250 buy-in event at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in his native New York for $1,645. Just over five years removed from that first score, Lonis is now a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner with more than $5.6 million in career tournament earnings to his name.

Lonis’ latest win was also his biggest. The 27-year-old poker pro defeated a field of 200 entries in the 2023 WSOP $50,000 pot-limit Omaha high roller event for his second bracelet and a career-best payday of $2,303,017. Lonis’ first bracelet came in a $1,000 buy-in online event held during the 2022 WSOP Online series. He bested a 384-entry field that time to secure $73,371 and the hardware.

Incredibly, this was the very first $50,000 buy-in event that Lonis had ever entered. He took to Twitter on day 1 to share his excitement about getting off to a strong start in the highest buy-in tournament he had yet played.

Playing my first $50,000 buyin today PLO! Start with 300k have 630k. Really feeling grateful to be in this spot. pic.twitter.com/EO2BPDoZNS

— Jesse Lonis (@JesseLonis) July 1, 2023

Less than 48 hours after making that post on social media, Lonis had secured the title. The tournament took three days to complete. The impressive field of 200 entries built a prize pool of $9,550,000 that was split up among the top 30 finishers. As one might expect, several big names were among those that ran deep, including two-time bracelet winner Robert Cowen (20th), World Poker Tour champion Matthew Wantman (13th), bracelet winner Eelis Parssinen (12th), top 2023 WSOP Player of the Year race contender Ian Matakis (9th), bracelet winner Isaac Haxton (7th), and Adam Hendrix (5th).

Haxton was already the top-ranked player in the Card Player Player of the Year for this year prior to cashing in this event. The $329,142 and 383 POY points he secured in this event helped maintain his lead over second-ranked Nacho Barbero. Haxton has won six titles so far in 2023, with 15 final-table finishes and more than $7.8 million in to-date POY earnings. He also sits in second place in the 2023 PokerGO Tour race after his strong showing in this event.

Lonis knocked out each and every player at the unofficial final table of nine contenders. After making a set of jacks to bust Haxton, he held more than a third of the total chips in play heading into five-handed action.

After making a flush to eliminate Jonas Kronwitter in third place ($1,037,441), Lonis entered heads-up play with nearly a 3:1 chip advantage over bracelet winner Tyler Smith. In the final hand of the tournament, Lonis potted over a button raise with J1074. Smith called all-in with AK97. The board ran out AQ4J5 and Lonis’ jacks up earned him the pot and the title. Smith cashed for $1,423,372 as the runner-up, which was by far his largest tournament score yet.

Lonnis took home 1,530 POY points as the champion. This was his second title and fifth final-table finish of the year, with nearly $3.1 million in earnings accumulated as he went. As a result, he has moved into 26th place in the overall POY standings, which are presented by Global Poker. He is the 16th-ranked player on the PGT leaderboard after adding 800 points to his total with this win.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Visit the Card Player 2023 World Series of Poker page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest event results. WSOP coverage sponsored by Global Poker.

Winner photo credit: WSOP / Matthew Berglund.

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