Joey Weissman Wins Inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event ($224,236)
Joey Weissman is the winner of the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event at ARIA Resort and Casino after defeating Paul Hoefer during heads-up play. Weissman entered heads-up play with a dominant chip lead and finished the job after doubling up his short-stacked opponent twice.
The four-day BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event drew 343 entrants to generate just under $1.1 million in prize money to surpass the guaranteed million. A decent chunk of the field, 68 players to be exact, qualified for the event by playing online at BetMGM Poker in either Michigan, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania.
Weissman, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, adds the top prize of $224,236 to his previous $4.1 million in Hendon Mob-reported earnings in addition to the magnificent golden cup.
"This is the stuff we wake up for," Weissman told PokerNews after the victory. "Every day we wake up, most of the time we lose. As my good buddy Pads (Patrick Leonard) says, you wake up, you suffer, you go to sleep, you wake up, you suffer, you do it again. This is the day you wake up for, though. Some days you win.”
2022 BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
| 1 | Joey Weissman | United States | $224,236 | |
| 2 | Paul Hoefer | Germany | $159,152 | |
| 3 | Noel Rodriguez | United States | $104,272 | |
| 4 | Michael Wang | United States | $65,856 | |
| 5 | Benji Felson | United States | $51,587 | |
| 6 | Joe Kuether | United States | $41,709 | |
| 7 | Zachary Donovan | United States | $34,026 | |
| 8 | Todd Ivens | United States | $28,538 | |
| 9 | Albert Nguyen | Canada | $24,147 |
Final Table Action
Day 4 began with only six players and took nearly seven hours to get down to a winner. First out was veteran grinder Joe Kuether, who ran ace-queen into the pocket queens of Hoefer to fall in sixth place for $41,709.
Benji Felson, the last BetMGM Poker qualifier standing who satellited into the tournament for just $500, was next out when he got it in with top pair only to be out-kicked by Hoefer. The payday of $51,587 gave the New Jersey qualifier a greater than 100x return on his investment and biggest score to date.
Bracelet winner Michael Wang bowed out in fourth in heartbreaking fashion when he got it in with pocket queens against the ace-jack of diamonds of Weissman. Wang stayed ahead until the river card, which gave Weissman a coveted Royal Flush to crack the queens full of Wang, who kept a smile on his face as he took the gutwrenching beat.
Noel Rodriguez fell in third when he three-bet shoved with king-queen and couldn't improve against the ace-jack of Weissman, who entered heads-up play with a dominant chip lead over Hoefer before the German managed to double up twice to stay afloat.
In the final hand, Weissman held ace-four and put Hoefer in for the rest of his stack. Hoefer called with king-deuce and managed to out-flop Weissman before Weissman spiked an ace on the river to win the hand and the tournament. It was quite the spin-up for Hoefer, who began the day as the short stack with just 12 big blinds and managed to ladder to a second-place victory worth $159,152.
Weissman told PokerNews he navigated heads-up play cautiously despite having a big lead. In the same PokerGO Studio last year, Weissman overcame a dominant heads-up lead by Adam Hendrix to take down the U.S. Poker Open Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $204,000.
“So, I know from firsthand (experience) that people come back in heads-up and win," he said. "So you’ve just got to stay focused, you can’t get too cocky. Anything can happen.”
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship Main Event at ARIA Resort and Casino. Be sure to check out the live reporting portal for coverage of other events.
to put Paul Hoefer all-in for 1,800,000 and Hoefer called off with 
. 
and the 
on the turn was no help to Weissman. But Weissman's rail erupted in cheer when the 
peeled off on the river to give him a pair of aces and lock up the victory.
and Noel Rodriguez three-bet shoved for 2,000,000 in the big blind with 
to give Weissman a full house, have Rodriguez all but drawing completely dead heading into the 
on the turn. The stream cameras cut away before the dealer put out the meaningless river card. 
to give Weissman additional outs with a gutshot and the 
on the turn gave him a flush draw to go with it. 
on the river for a runner-runner Royal Flush to beat the queens full of Wang, sending Wang out in absolutely brutal fashion.
and Benji Felson defended from the big blind with 
.
to give both players top pair and. Felson checked and Hoefer bet 150,000. Felson check-raised all in for 850,000 and Hoefer called.
to send the BetMGM Poker qualifier out in fifth place for his biggest career score of $51,587, not a bad return on his $500 investment.
to give Wang a big lead with a set of ducks, though Weissman had the gutshot to Broadway. The board finished out 
and Wang secured the double to stay alive.
and Paul Hoefer flat-called on the button with 
.
turn. Only Hoefer called. Rodriguez fired for 650,000 on the 
river with just ten-high. Hoefer went in the tank and eventually called to win the pot.
and Benji Felson three-bet jammed a stack of 1,050,000 from the small blind with 
. Rodriguez called with a bigger stack. 
