Golden Nugget Awards $5.5 Million in Prize Money During 2023 Grand Poker Series

Brandon Bloom
Live Reporter
5 min read
The 2023 Grand Poker Series

Table Of Contents

The 2023 Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series kicked off on May 30 and concluded on July 3. The Downtown Las Vegas summer series featured 89 events offering over $3 million in guaranteed prize money, and at the end of it, 24,402 entrants had competed and $5,587,560 in prize money was awarded.

The Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series featured poker variants suited to fans of mixed games in addition to No Limit Hold’em, including Pot-Limit Omaha, Big O, Mixed Triple Draw Lowball, Limit 2-7 Lowball, H.O.R.S.E., 8-Game Mix, and Dealer’s Choice.

Among those to claim Golden Nugget titles were 2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer (Event #77: $600 NLH Seniors Championship for $32,000), Kyle Jeffrey (Event #41: $300 NLH Mystery Bounty for $55,485), and Edward Holt (Event #32: Bar Poker Open Championship for $100,000).

The series culminated with the second annual $1,100 buy-in $1,000,000 GTD PokerNews Cup. The tournament featured the popular mystery bounty format, and a whopping 2,331 entrants flocked to the felt to create a $2,261,070 prize pool, smashing the guarantee and setting a new record for the largest prize pool in Golden Nugget Las Vegas history. The United Kingdom’s Johnny Kelly claimed the trophy and the $176,540 top prize in addition to mystery bounties.

Here's a look at some other winners from the closing events of the 2023 Grand Poker Series.

Check out the Golden Nugget Poker Room review here on PokerNews!

Maureen Blochlinger Wins 2023 Grand Poker Series Ladies Event

Maureen Blochlinger Event 81
Maureen Blochlinger

On June 30, Event #81: $200 NLH Ladies $10K GTD saw 181 entrants battle it out on the felt for a piece of the $27,150 prize pool paid to the top 23 finishers.

Switzerland’s Maureen Bloechlinger claimed the title and $4,623 following a four-way deal with Nancy Matson (2nd - $4,303), Devona Cole (3rd - $4,303), and Mary-Rose McCann (4th - $3,000).

Others who finished in the money include Susie Isaacs (7th - $923), Sinem Melin (15th - $502), Sarah Casey (16th - $421), and Nika Futterman (18th - $421).

2023 Grand Poker Series Event #81 Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize
1Maureen Bloechlinger$4,623
2Nancy Matson$4,303
3Devona Cole$4,303
4Mary-Rose McCann$3,000
5Tara Augustoni$1,307
6Raphaella Krass$1,083
7Susan Isaacs$923
8Paula Banks$812
9Roxanne Sanchez$703

Poker's "Coming Home" as Brit Johnny Kelly Wins 2023 PokerNews Cup ($176,540)

Joni Liimatta Finishes Strong to Close Out Series

Joni Liimatta Event 89
Joni Liimatta

The final three events of the 2023 Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series played out on July 3 at the Downtown Las Vegas venue.

Finland’s Joni Liimatta started that day with a runner-up finish for $1,849 in the 51-entrant field Event #87: $200 NLH $5K GTD following a three-way chop.

After Liimatta’s deep run in the early event of the day, he entered the final event of the series, Event #89: $130 NLH $5K GTD. Liimatta one-upped his previous result by navigating through the 101-entrant field and ended up victorious, earning another $2,502 for a solid day’s work to close out the series.

2023 Grand Poker Series Event #89 Final Table Results

PlacePlayerPrize
1Joni Liimatta$2,502
2Oliver Klar$2,223
3Robert Shearing$1,103
4Terry Stephens$720
5Gerald Wade$561
6Steven Nguyen$449
7Dung Nguyen$381
8Jeffrey Kupferberg$331
9Gang Zhu$293
Golden Nugget
The Golden Nugget

2023 Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series Results

DateTournamentEntriesPrize PoolWinnerPrize
30-MayEvent #1: $300 Omaha 8/B $10K GTD96$23,040Chad Campbell$5,020
30-MayEvent #2: $150 NLH $10K GTD136$14,960Austin Emerick$3,458
30-MayEvent #3: $200 Big O $5K GTD75$11,250Bryce Fox$3,300
30-MayEvent #4: $130 NLH29$2,755Scott Mahoney$1,140
31-MayEvent #5: $300 H.O.R.S.E $5K GTD85$20,400Jean Marie Blanc$6,014
31-MayEvent #6: $200 Mixed NLH / PLO $5K GTD32$5,000Federico Peralta$2,006
31-MayEvent #7: $200 Omaha 8/B / Stud $5K GTD79$11,850Mark Povich$3,632
31-MayEvent #8: $130 NLH36$3,420Bruno Manoel Fernandes$924
1-JunEvent #9: $300 Dealer's Choice $5K GTD38$9,120James Van Alstyne$3,422
4-JunEvent #10: $200 NLH $200K GTD2,347$317,325Jora Beit$30,938
2-JunEvent #11: $150 NLH $10K GTD122$13,420Robert Bladon$2,652
3-JunEvent #12: $150 NLH $10K GTD137$15,070Nabyl Simmons$2,814
4-JunEvent #13: $300 Mixed PLO/8; Omaha 8/B; Big O $20K GTD179$42,960Shawn Carter$6,100
4-JunEvent #14: $200 NLH $25K GTD262$39,300Christos Georgakis$4,703
4-JunEvent #15: $130 NLH $5K GTD65$6,175R Phillips$816
5-JunEvent #16: $300 Omaha 8/B / Stud 8 $20K GTD198$47,520Jonah Seewald$8,306
5-JunEvent #17: $200 NLH $25K GTD305$45,750Steven Sparks$4,271
5-JunEvent #18: $130 NLH $5K GTD64$6,080Max Nieder$1,837
6-JunEvent #19: $300 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball Limit $10K GTD109$26,160Matthew Schultz$7,155
6-JunEvent #20: $200 NLH $25K GTD277$41,550Simon Lefebvre$4,384
6-JunEvent #21: $200 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw $5K GTD65$10,075Michael Wood$3,185
6-JunEvent #22: $130 NLH $5K GTD70$6,650Jonathan Liu$2,103
7-JunEvent #23: $300 PLO 8-Handed $10K GTD91$21,840Ethan Bennett$4,600
7-JunEvent #24: $200 NLH $25K GTD209$31,350Dennis James$4,388
7-JunEvent #25: $200 H.O.R.S.E. $5K GTD127$19,050Arturo Segura$3,957
7-JunEvent #26: $130 NLH $5K GTD61$5,795Johnny Tan$1,628
8-JunEvent #27: $300 NLH 6-Handed $10K GTD59$14,160Guilmot Polizzi$4,630
11-JunEvent #28: $200 NLH $200K GTD1,784$267,600Baker Abdallah$23,651
11-JunEvent #29: $300 PLO Black Chip Bounty $10K GTD132$19,800Dale Elifrits$3,124
11-JunEvent #30: $200 NLH $25K GTD255$38,250Jason Crews$7,820
11-JunEvent #31: $130 NLH $10K GTD333$29,970Arno Brandes$3,968
14-JunEvent #32: Bar Poker Open Championship1,053$315,900Edward Holt$80,000
12-JunEvent #33: $130 NLH Green Chip Bounty298$19,395Bonnie McCurdy$2,721
13-JunEvent #34: $200 NLH $25K GTD281$42,150Morgan Ravail$7,480
13-JunEvent #35: $200 NLH Tag Team $10K GTD192$28,800Brian Barros Vazquez$7,297
14-JunEvent #36: $400 NLH $50K GTD168$55,440Craig Jones$11,088
14-JunEvent #37: $130 NLH $5K GTD140$13,300David Gonzalez$3,714
15-JunEvent #38: $1,000 Bar Poker Open Pro-Am199$177,110Konstantinos Tsikopoulos$44,086
15-JunEvent #39: $200 NLH $25K GTD292$43,800Ivo Schoofs$9,656
15-JunEvent #40: $130 NLH $5K GTD126$11,970Adam Moremon$3,472
19-JunEvent #41: $300 NLH Mystery Bounty $250K GTD2,356$339,340Kyle Jeffrey$55,485
16-JunEvent #42: $300 Mixed PLO/8; Omaha 8/B; Big O $10K GTD125$30,000Michael Judge$6,650
17-JunEvent #43: $150 NLH $10K GTD142$15,620Jason Luzzi$2,099
19-JunEvent #44: $300 H.O.R.S.E. $10K GTD202$48,480Jonathan Breneman$11,229
19-JunEvent #45: $150 NLH $10K GTD217$23,870Kerri Salamanca$3,930
19-JunEvent #46: $130 NLH $3K GTD76$7,220Petr Satek$2,017
20-JunEvent #47: $300 Big O $20K GTD200$48,000Samuel Diaz$7,200
20-JunEvent #48: $200 NLH $25K GTD267$40,050Philip Pontecorvo$5,975
20-JunEvent #49: $200 Mixed PLO/8; Omaha 8/B; Big O $5K GTD86$12,900Vernon Vollertsen$2,420
29-JunEvent #50: $130 NLH $5K GTD81$7,695Thomas Wall$2,100
21-JunEvent #51: $300 8-Game Mix $10K GTD146$35,040Arne Olsen$6,444
21-JunEvent #52: $200 NLH $25K GTD370$55,500Adrienne Culpepper$7,872
21-JunEvent #53: $200 Omaha 8/B $5K GTD138$20,700Darin Wilson$4,669
21-JunEvent #54: $130 NLH $5K GTD109$10,355John Tobin$1,501
22-JunEvent #55: $300 Mixed NLH/PLO 8-Handed $10K GTD109$26,160Scott Yeates$7,153
22-JunEvent #56: $200 NLH $25K GTD321$48,150Peter Harter$5,186
22-JunEvent #57: $130 NLH $5K GTD141$13,395Timothy Dallman$2,432
23-JunEvent #58: $400 NLH Seniors $100K GTD509$167,970Vince Salvatore$18,154
26-JunEvent #59: $600 NLH Championship $500K GTD1,073$547,230David Hudson$66,162
23-JunEvent #60: $200 NLH $25K GTD252$37,800Brian Hamamoto$5,738
23-JunEvent #61: $130 NLH $5K GTD112$10,640William Gernenz$3,193
24-JunEvent #62: $200 NLH $25K GTD368$55,200Tac Tac$9,851
24-JunEvent #63: $130 NLH $5K GTD148$14,060Sven Bindrich$2,800
25-JunEvent #64: $130 NLH $5K GTD129$12,255Shachar Yonayov$1,475
26-JunEvent #65: $300 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low $10K GTD145$34,800Dennis McGlynn$6,473
26-JunEvent #66: $200 NLH $25K GTD340$51,000Stephen Forde$5,118
26-JunEvent #67: $130 NLH $5K GTD99$9,405Emil Simonea$2,316
27-JunEvent #68: $300 Omaha 8/B $10K GTD138$33,120Dale Phillips$7,278
27-JunEvent #69: $200 NLH $25K GTD243$36,450Yung Ng$5,534
27-JunEvent #70: $200 Omaha 8/B $5K GTD70$10,500Nathan Moss$3,321
27-JunEvent #71: $130 NLH $5K GTD92$8,740Thomas Schaeven$1,881
28-JunEvent #72: $400 Super Seniors $50K GTD320$105,600Thomas Cooke$16,825
28-JunEvent #73: $200 PokerNews Cup NLH Mega Satellite 10 Seats GTD54$11,10010 Winners$1,100
28-JunEvent #74: $200 NLH $25K GTD303$45,450Alexandru Razvan Pasare$4,719
28-JunEvent #75: $200 Triple Stud $5K GTD79$11,850Rick Muniz$3,284
28-JunEvent #76: $130 NLH $5K GTD111$10,545Russell Love$2,500
29-JunEvent #77: $600 NLH Seniors Championship $50K GTD321$163,710Greg Raymer$32,000
3-JulEvent #78: $1,100 NLH PokerNews Cup Mystery Bounty $1M GTD2,331$1,356,570John Kelly$218,605
29-JunEvent #79: $200 NLH $25K GTD209$31,350Ginold Rendel$4,235
29-JunEvent #80: $130 NLH $5K GTD102$9,690James Rees$1,822
30-JunEvent #81: $200 NLH Ladies $10K GTD181$27,150Maureen Bloechlinger$4,623
30-JunEvent #82: $130 NLH $5K GTD89$8,455James Budelier$1,583
1-JulEvent #83: $130 NLH $5K GTD69$6,555Marc Gruttner$1,521
2-JulEvent #84: $300 NLH Black Chip Bounty $10K GTD117$16,380Rahamim Idel$4,137
2-JulEvent #85: $200 NLH $25K GTD243$36,450Eugenie Tehiva$5,200
2-JulEvent #86: $130 NLH $5K GTD79$7,505Markus Langegger$1,674
3-JulEvent #87: $200 NLH $5K GTD51$7,650Asafi Hasanov$1,849
3-JulEvent #88: $200 NLH $10K GTD232$34,800James Brockriede$4,925
3-JulEvent #89: $130 NLH $5K GTD101$9,595Joni Liimatta$2,502
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Brandon Bloom
Live Reporter

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Poker's "Coming Home" as Brit Johnny Kelly Wins 2023 PokerNews Cup ($176,540) Poker's "Coming Home" as Brit Johnny Kelly Wins 2023 PokerNews Cup ($176,540)