Sean Winter won PokerGO Cup Event #9 $10K NLH for $210,000 at the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. He came from behind heads-up to beat chip leader Benjamin Grise, who played through one of the most difficult weekends of his life. 70 entries. $700,000 prize pool.
Event #9 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Winter | $210,000 |
| 2 | Benjamin Grise | $136,500 |
| 3 | Myles Mullaly | $94,500 |
| 4 | Jeremy Ausmus | $70,000 |
| 5 | Brandon Wilson | $52,500 |
| 6 | Justin Zaki | $38,500 |
| 7 | Aram Zobian | $28,000 |
Final Table Action
Aram Zobian was the first out after Grise cracked his pocket kings early. Justin Zaki went sixth, Brandon Wilson fifth, Jeremy Ausmus fourth.
The key three-handed hand: Mullaly slow-played A
A
into a flopped flush for Grise, who held K4 on a Q76 board. Mullaly got it in as a favorite and lost. Grise entered heads-up with 7,250,000 to Winter’s 1,500,000.
Winter didn’t panic. He applied constant pressure, picked up small pots without showdowns, and gradually climbed back. Grise doubled once to keep it close. Winter eventually took the lead and never gave it back.
About Benjamin Grise
Grise runs a real estate investment business in Westfield, Indiana. Poker is something he does on the side, not his main income.
His career live earnings sit above $1.3 million, built mostly through mid-stakes Midwest events. His biggest result before this week was runner-up at the 2023 WSOPC Hammond Main Event for $121,651.
He’s taken shots at bigger fields before. In 2023 he bagged the Day 1 chip lead at a $25K WPT High Roller at Seminole, his first event at that level. “These guys are thinking on a much higher level,” he said at the time. He made the final table anyway.
This week he chip-led Day 1 in Event #9, reached two straight heads-up battles, and collected $273,000 across 48 hours. He did all of it while carrying news most people couldn’t sit with at all.
The Friend He Lost
After his Event #8 runner-up finish, Grise immediately registered for Event #9. That’s when his friends told him.
James “Matt” Lushin, 47, had been found dead in his Westfield home on March 12. Westfield Police confirmed the death as a homicide. No arrest has been made. The investigation is ongoing.
Grise’s friends made a deliberate choice not to tell him while he was still deep in Event #8. They let him finish. Then they told him.
Lushin had over $511,000 in live tournament earnings and was a well-known face in Midwest poker. He won a 2015 Chicago Poker Classic event for $95,000. His last cash came two weeks before his death, 61st place at the $600 WSOPC Mini Main in Hammond.
“You always knew you could hang out with him and he’d put a smile on your face,” Grise said. “He felt like a big brother that always picked on his little brother, in a fun way.”
“I’m just really thinking about his son. Yesterday felt numb, but then today the emotion hits you and I have to come to the final table and gather myself.”
A Week Worth Remembering
Winter takes the trophy. Grise takes $273,000 and a performance that says a lot about who he is, at the table and away from it.
The poker community has come together to remember Matt Lushin and support those close to him. The Westfield Police Department asks anyone with information about the case to reach out to investigators.
Der Beitrag Sean Winter Wins PokerGO Cup Event #9 as Ben Grise Plays Through Tragic Loss erschien zuerst auf VIP-Grinders.
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