Lucky Eight for Lonny Weitzel as He Wins $1,000 Super Seniors Event

Copy link Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Jun 27, 2025 4 min read

Lonny Weitzel outlasted 3,338 total entries in Event #64 $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2025 World Series of Poker to win his first gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $356,494 at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. Weitzel did so by spiking a two-outer with pocket eights against the pocket queens of Damir Stefanic to win the title.

“I just felt it was a good spot, and of course, no one wants to look at a dominated hand, but then just the relief when you look up and you realize you just won the tournament…It’s just an amazing way to go,” said Weitzel in an interview with PokerNews after his tournament victory.

$1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results

Winner's Reaction

Weitzel scored the highest single cash of his career with the top prize, but according to Weitzel, it was all about winning that WSOP gold bracelet. “It’s an achievement. It’s a personal goal for me,” said Weitzel. He shared that as a business owner, it was more about the prestige of playing at the WSOP. “Money is not as important as getting to win and being in the WSOP in a world-class event like this,” said Weitzel after he claimed the lion's share of the $2,937,440 prize pool.

Money is not as important as getting to win and being in the WSOP in a world-class event like this

When asked about playing in the Super Seniors event, Weitzel stated playing in this event against a field of fellow players aged 60 and higher meant that these players brought with them a wealth of experience as they have seen the game grow from the pre-boom to the post-boom era of poker.

“We have picked up from the way the game has morphed and changed and developed over the years to use those strategies, but we’re to a point where we can incorporate some of the old school, some of the gut feeling like Doyle [Brunson] and all the rest of the greats used to have with some of the strategy like Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu used,” said Weitzel. “We sort of have a spectrum that we draw on.”

Weitzel had a rowdy crowd supporting him in the form of his wife, Bonnie, and several friends who came to root him on. Weitzel shared that Bonnie has been a source of not only support, but also a source of information and inspiration.

Bonnie Weitzel, an accomplished player in her own right with a WSOP ring on her resume, has been his stanchion for him in life and in poker. This aided him when he saw the tides turn against him as Stefanic overtook him in the chip count for the first and only time at the final table. “I looked over at Bonnie, which she’s my energy source, and she’s my positivity, and she looked at me, and she gave me the look, and she was like, ‘Just settle down.’ Shake it off, let it go,” Weitzel said.

He indeed did let it go, as he rebounded to capture his first bracelet and enjoyed the embrace of his wife Bonnie, but this time as a WSOP champion.

Day 4 Action

Zaher Sayegh did not wait long to get his chips in at the final table. After being late to start the final day, he got it in the first hand he played, but his tens were outdrawn by big slick to be the first out in ninth place for $35,872.

Edwin Huston was the next player to go in eighth place when he ran his ace-seven of diamonds into the ace-queen of Stefanic and was sent to the exit after he missed his flopped flush draw during the showdown to earn $45,920.

Wesley Cameron met his tournament fate when he took a three-way limped pot and jammed with a flush draw and ran into the top pair of Weitzel. Cameron was unable to find a diamond to stay in the match and was sent out with a prize of $59,243.

Richard Frandsen had the bad timing of running his pocket sixes into the pocket queens of Martin Kohler. Kohler immediately hit his queen on the flop to improve to a set to send Frandsen out in sixth place for $77,025.

Shortly after, Lawrence Whyte was eliminated in fifth place when he moved all-in with ace-ten offsuit and was quickly called by Weitzel with pocket kings. Whyte did not find any help on the runout and was awarded $100,915.

Kohler played a massive pot with Weitzel when he chose to shove with ace-ten and ran into the pocket aces of Weitzel. Kohler turned a nut flush draw for a sweat, but the river did not comply, and Kohler was sent out in fourth place for $133,228.

Richard Jutte got it in good against Stefanic, but the flop was a disaster for Jutte as it came all hearts to give Stefanic a flush, which was the last board Jutte saw in the tournament as he was eliminated in third place for $177,222.

Stefanic was the last to be eliminated in the $1,000 Super Seniors tournament as he went all-in with a healthy lead as he held pocket queens against Weitzel’s pocket eights, but an eight on the flop spelled Stefanic’s demise as he was sent out in second place for $237,521.

That concludes the PokerNews coverage of the Super Seniors event. Keep it right here throughout the rest of the 2025 WSOP for updates from the remaining bracelet events.

• Tags WSOP World Series of Poker Lonny Weitzel
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker
• Related Players Lonny Weitzel