Neel Murthy Wins 2024 Wynn Millions Championship

The 2024 Wynn Millions $3,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship event attracted 1,180 total entries, surpassing the $3 million guarantee by nearly $750,000. The top 151 finishers made the money, with six-figure payouts for the final six. The largest score went to Neel Murthy, who emerged victorious with the title and the top prize of $502,856.

This was the second-biggest cash of Murthy’s tournament career, trailing only the $668,590 payout he secured as the runner-up in a 2016 Asia Championship of Poker event. The California resident now has more than $1.6 million in total tournament earnings.

Thanks to this win, Murthy has shot up the Card Player Player of the Year race standings presented by Global Poker. The 1,440 points he was awarded were enough to move him into 31st place on the leaderboard.

This tournament featured three starting flights and four more days of action inside the poker room at Wynn Las Vegas. Plenty of big names ran deep, including bracelet winner Anthony Spinella (17th), bracelet winner Paul Hizer (14th), 2023 WSOP main event runner-up Steven Jones (13th), two-time bracelet winner Martin Zamani (10th), and bracelet winner Dominick Sarle (7th).

The final day began with five players remaining and Murthy well out in front. Jesse Kandola was the first to fall, with his tens and sixes with an ace kicker running into the turned trip sixes of Haim Gabay. Kandola earned $165,379 as the fifth-place finisher.

Paul Lozano Martin was the next to hit the rail. He got all-in on a 432 flop with A4 against the 52 of bracelet winner Chris Frank. The 6 turn gave Frank a straight and the Q river confirmed Martin’s elimination. He cashed for $223,372.

A classic race spelled the end of Gabay’s run. He got the last of his stack in with J10 facing the 99 of Murthy. Murthy remained ahead through the turn, then spiked a nine on the end to improve to a set. Gabay earned a career-best score of $301,369 as the third-place finisher.

Heads-up play began with Murthy holding nearly a 3:1 lead over Frank. An early double for the German saw him take a slight lead. At that point, the two made a deal that saw Frank lock up $500,000, while Murthy was guaranteed $477,856. The title and $25,000 in remaining prize money were still up for grabs as part of the agreement.

Murthy won a key pot with pocket queens to move back into the lead and then began to pull away. In the final hand, Murthy moved all-in after a QJ24J runout. Frank called with J5 for trips and Murthy revealed 73 for a flush. Frank earned the half million that he bargained for as the runner-up, increasing his lifetime earnings to more than $3.3 million.

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

Photo credit: Wynn Poker Room X account.

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