"It Feels Like The Triple Crown": Jesse Lonis Wins $10,300 NAPT Super High Roller for $174,550
It took three hours, but Jesse Lonis won his latest poker trophy and some extra savings for his two young daughters after defeating David Stamm in the $10,300 Super High Roller as part of the 2023 PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas at Resorts World. Lonis came out on top of the lengthy heads-up battle to win $174,550, just one of several six-figure scores this year for the young poker star.
The Super High Roller event, which kicked off the return of the NAPT after a 12-year hiatus, drew 59 players for a prize pool of $572,300. Shannon Shorr (8th - $22,890) and John Morgan (7th - $28,615) fell on Day 2 before six players returned on Day 3, including high stakes regular Sam Soverel (4th - $48,645) and Spanish crusher Sergio Aido (3rd - $82,985).
$10,300 NAPT Super High Roller Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $174,550 | |
| 2 | David Stamm | United States | $114,460 | |
| 3 | Sergio Aido | Spain | $82,985 | |
| 4 | Richard Green | United States | $62,955 | |
| 5 | Sam Soverel | United States | $48,645 | |
| 6 | Jim Collopy | United States | $37,200 | |
| 7 | John Morgan | United States | $28,615 | |
| 8 | Shannon Shorr | United States | $22,890 |
The New York native's latest victory comes at the tail end of a year that kicked off with a win at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) for $367,400 and included a bracelet win at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for $2,303,017.
��It feels like the Triple Crown," Lonis told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "I got the one in the Bahamas, the WSOP and now this one. So it��s nice. It feels good, obviously. I feel like I��m playing good and everything��s aligning pretty nice. And running good too. So it feels good to win this one.��
"You Can Have the Trophy, I��d Rather Have the Money"
The Day 3 field shrunk rapidly with the quick eliminations of Jim Collopy, Soverel and Richard Green, who had a rollercoaster day that saw him doubling up Stamm and Aido before falling in fourth for $62,955.
Aido was next to fall as he three-bet jammed with king-ten only to run into the ace-king of Stamm, who held up to enter heads-up play with a formidable chip lead over Lonis.
Stamm, a retired tech businessman from California with more than $1.4 million in live earnings, couldn't hold off the young poker star who was motivated by some earlier beats he took in the tournament.
��It was really tough in that aspect," Lonis said. "I just kept trying to stay the course because I would take a few big coolers, but I wasn��t getting frustrated. I just kept playing my game and just knowing that eventually I would hold in the big spots and just kept the course. And I didn��t really make any mistakes that I remember, which is rare in tournaments. So I feel like I really played my A-game and made some really sick hero calls in this one. And I think I folded correctly a lot. So it was a real battle. It was a test.��
But Lonis was motivated by more than bad beats. While he battled for the win behind a reflective pair of aviators and a Puma bomber jacket, he was thinking about his wife and two daughters at home here in Las Vegas.
��When I was heads-up, I was telling him [Stamm], I care about the money. I told him, ��You can have the trophy, I��d rather have the money.�� And everything is just preparing them for the future and everything. So obviously the money is just very important. That��s why we play this game and go crazy at times. But it feels amazing, and they're definitely my biggest motivation, for sure.��
https://twitter.com/JesseLonis/status/1696553587743363094
Intuition Pays
While Lonis came out on top in "probably the longest heads-up I��ve played," he credited Stamm as being a tough opponent.
��We��ve played quite a few times in the last couple of years and I know he��s actually pretty studied up for an older gentleman," he said. "He studies the game like these young kids do. He��s definitely studied more than I have. He��s not a bad player. He understands the spots. He��s always asking if he��s doing the right thing, but he plays pretty good.��
Lonis had joked earlier at the final table that he'd "never studied a day in my life." How does he manage to stay competitive at poker's highest levels without hitting the lab?
��I understand the game pretty good. It��s a volume game. It��s like anything. If you play every day and practice every day, you��re going to be great. And I��ve always just had the confidence to play against anybody. So I think that helps, just that I look at everyone equal no matter who they are �� I guess I��ve got good intuition too. I can read situations pretty well and know when it��s time to go and when to fold.��
A celebration will have to wait as Lonis wasted no time hopping into $5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha with many of the opponents he faced in the Super High Roller.
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of the $10,300 Super High Roller, but be sure to check out the NAPT Las Vegas portal for coverage of other events.