Scott Blumstein—calling himself just an online grinder from New Jersey—has won the .1 million first prize at the World Series of Poker Main Event.
The Morristown NJ native who now lives in Brigantine—neighbor to Atlantic City—won the event as relatives and college friends looked on. He won on the 246th hand of the final table.
In interviews after the win, Blumstein, 25, said he’s not likely to change his playing habits just because of one huge payday.
“I don’t have an ego in this game,”” he said. “I know where I stand. I know two weeks ago I was just a New Jersey online grinder and nothing’s really changed. This is just one poker tournament. It takes variance and luck and playing your best. And all those things came together.”
Daniel Ott, also playing in his first Main Event, finished runner up for $4.7 million. He is also 25 and is from Altoona Pa.
The two played more than 60 hands heads up before Blumstein’s final hand of an ace of hearts and a two of diamonds ended up being stronger than Ott’s ace of diamonds and an eight of diamonds. The community cards were a jack of spades, a six of spades, a five of hearts, a seven of hearts and a two of hearts—meaning Blumstein caught a low pair on the last card.
“I’m really happy with the result, really happy with the deuce because I was playing good, but I’m pretty tired of poker at this point honestly, and to have to go back and battle pretty deep again, I wasn’t looking forward to it,” said Blumstein.
Blumstein also gave a plug to the experience he has gotten online in his home state.
“The best way to get better at anything is through repetition and practice,” he said. “When you play online in New Jersey, it’s hard for any live pro to see even close to the amount of hands I’ve probably seen in the last two years.”
This year’s main event attracted more than 7,200 entries. The final table has been played in November in recent years, but was moved back to July this year.
