WSOP Champion Jonathan Tamayo is Still Playing Mid Stakes Tournaments

It’s now been five months since Jonathan Tamayo won the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas for $10 million dollars. Yet the now-multimillionaire poker pro is still playing the odd mid stakes cash tournaments across the U.S. 

Recent victories for Tamayo include a $1,000 buy-in tournament at his local cardroom in Houston, Texas, and $1,870 for finishing 10th in a $600 event at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in Florida. 

The quiet but controversial $10 million winner reflected on his WSOP victory with the media shortly before entering the World Poker Tour World Championship Main Event in Las Vegas this week. He finished in 50th place at that $3,000 buy-in tournament, taking home $6,515. 

Humble Purchases 

Many might think, being a professional gambler, that the winner of the $10 million WSOP Main Event might spend their newfound wealth on some of life’s many other vices. 

But not for Tamayo. The resident of Humble, Texas, says he has yet to even buy himself a new car since winning one of the poker world’s biggest prizes. His most extravagant purchase was apparently a $4,000 set of new golf clubs – which he said needed replacing anyway. 

The first thing he bought with the money? A $100 box of lemon flavor Jelly Bellies candy. 

Tamayo also revealed he has started to teach his parents poker, as well as continuing to referee high school football matches back in his small Texas hometown.

“So right after, I went back to refereeing high school football in Texas because that’s what I do,” Tamayo said. 

“You can’t leave your crew high and dry with that. I stayed the season, and I’m still going to do it because I need something else to do because I have a lot more time on my hands.”

Controversy Talk 

Media figures have also recently spoken to Tamayo about the controversy surrounding his $10 million win. Many in the poker world criticized Tamayo for consulting with his supporters at the rail in between hands, while they used poker solvers to analyze previous play. 

This wasn’t against any official rules at the time. However, WSOP has now actually changed them going forward. Many online saw the quiet, soft-spoken and clearly studious Tamayo as the polar opposite of the traditional big gambling, hard drinking players of poker in the past.

“Given the anger afterwards, it’s probably a good thing,” he said of the rule change. 

“As long as it is the same for everybody, I don’t have a problem with whatever they do… so I’ll just shut up about it. I haven’t thought about what needs to happen. People that run tournaments know a lot more about what’s going on. I’ll leave it to the operators.”