Over the weekend, 80 celebrities got together for the fourth edition of the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational, competing for a share of the $50,000 prize pool. Emerging as the winner of the top prize of $20,000 was high stakes slots YouTuber Stephen Matt “Vegas Matt” Morrow.
The most universally “famous” attendees were retired and active professional athletes such as Dwight Howard, Mike Bibby, and Jose Canseco.
Key Highlights
- The list of celebrities included athletes, YouTubers, and social media influencers
- Vegas Matt defeated chess pro Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou heads-up to win $20,000
- “Hawk Tuah Girl” Haliey Welch admitted she was new to poker and fell short of the money
Celebrities to Some, Unknowns to Others
If you are of a certain age, like this writer, you will be forgiven if you don’t recognize most of the names on the participant list. The tables weren’t filled with the George Clooneys and Brad Pitts of the world, but rather a group of mostly YouTubers and social media influencers that a younger audience would know.
Out of the dozens of players, though, most eyeballs were likely on Haliey Welch, best known as “Hawk Tuah Girl.” Famous for an explicit vox pop interview that went viral in June 2024, Welch has parlayed her moment of fame into a merchandise deal, social media notoriety, celebrity appearances, and even a new podcast that debuted this month.
Vegas Matt Keeps Nemo From Second Celeb Win
While Vegas Matt is a prolific slots player and not a poker player, perhaps his gambling experience helped him navigate the field to the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational IV title. Ultimately, he squared off against chess player Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou heads-up.
Of all the possible opponents, Nemo was one of the most likely to make it that far. The first Canadian female chess player to earn either the Woman Grandmaster or FIDE Master titles (she has both), Nemo won the Enclave Celebrity Poker Invitational last year, her first-ever poker tournament victory.
She also began streaming on the BotezLive Twitch channel in 2020 with Andrea and Alexandra Botez, the former of whom has since made several appearances on popular live poker streams.
Pair of twos, never lose!
Vegas Matt, high-stakes gambler and YouTuber
Vegas Matt had about two and a half times the chip stack of Nemo going into the final hand Saturday night. Holding K♣-5♦ in the big blind, Nemo smiled and moved all-in. Vegas Matt immediately announced, “Pair of twos, never lose!” and made the call, flipping over 2♠-2♥.
Right before the dealer laid out the flop, Matt started yelling for a two. And he got one, the 2♦ sitting right there in the window.
The eventual champ proceeded to run around the table in celebration, not realizing that although flopping a set is fantastic, the other two cards on the flop were 4♦-8♦, giving Nemo plenty of outs to a flush. She even had a backdoor straight draw.
When he got back to his spot at the table, Vegas Matt saw the possibilities and let out a pained scream. Another King on the turn didn’t help Nemo and the case deuce on the river cemented the hand for Vegas Matt, giving him the overkill quads and the $20,000 win.
The Power of Magic
Back to the person everyone wanted to see, Haliey Welch. She admitted in a pre-tournament interview that she had no idea what she was doing.
I’m not very good at poker, and I’ve never played poker, so we’re going to see how this goes.
Haliey Welch, best known as Hawk Tuah Girl
“I’m not very good at poker, and I’ve never played poker, so we’re going to see how this goes,” she told Drea Renee.
Welch did alright on her opening hand. After Josh Richards limped in pre-flop and magician Xavier Mortimer made a min-raise, Welch completed from the small blind with T♠-6♣. The dealer ran down her options with her after Mortimer min-bet on the flop of J♣-A♠-3♦, but even though she was a complete novice, she had the good sense to fold.
Welch’s inexperience, youth, or both showed up later. Playing K♥-3♣ pre-flop with most of her table also in the hand, Welch flopped two pairs, the best hand at that point. Mortimer then decided to entertain the table with a magic trick, fashioning a piece of tape into the shape of a tie, affixing it to his shirt, and then ripping it off to produce a real necktie.
That caused a possibly distracted Haliey Welch to fold her excellent hand. As it turned out, she would have lost had she stayed in, so it worked out for her.
Welch eventually bowed out short of the money and was eliminated by Vegas Matt.
Sources
https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/09/vegas-matt-wins-celebrity-poker-tour-invitational-iv-46873.htm
https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/09/four-big-poker-hands-played-by-hawk-tuah-girl-in-the-cpt-46874.htm
https://x.com/celebpokertour/status/1830001858230042880
https://x.com/FanDuelCasino/status/1830367594571858101
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_Zhou
https://x.com/celebpokertour/status/1830064941992464622
