Lonnie Hallett emerges on top of a huge WSOP Seniors NLHE Championship

The 54-year-old player earns his first WSOP bracelet and takes down a big winner in the process

A significant number of participants took part in the World Series of Poker’s (WSOP) $1,000 Senior No-Limit Hold ’em Championship, with a staggering total of 8,180 players aged 50 or above grabbing a seat at the felt. From this vast pool of contestants emerged the tournament’s victor, 54-year-old Canadian Lonnie Hallett, who clinched a well-deserved first gold bracelet and took home a hefty payout of $765,731.

Hallett emerged victorious amid a fiercely competitive battle, contending against seasoned players such as two-time bracelet winner and last year’s champion Dan Heimiller (who took third place) and seven-time bracelet winner Billy Baxter (who secured second place) in the poker tournament. This triumph marked Hallett’s greatest accomplishment yet, surpassing his previous record of finishing third in an online event hosted by PokerStars back in January 2021. In that tournament, he faced off against a whopping 6,922 participants to claim a well-deserved prize of $646,189.

Hallett’s record earnings skyrocketed after his latest triumph on the show, amassing more than $1.5 million. The event stretched over six days, involving two flights followed by four days of nail-biting action.

Seven-time bracelet winner Men Nguyen (131st), along with other notable names such as Yue Du (103rd), Kevin Song (97th), Victor Ramdin (35th), Jiaqi Xu (16th) and previously mentioned Heimiller and Baxter, made up the top 1,227 finishers in the race. On the final day, only seven players remained in contention, with Heimiller leading and Hallett in second place.

Eventually, the field was reduced to only Hallett and Baxter, with the Canadian holding a chip lead of about 8:1. Not long after the final heads-up battle began, the two were all in, with Baxter holding a Q-2 against Hallett’s suited A-8. The board produced two more 8s and the win for Hallett.