For several years now, Joseph Spanne’s largest career poker tournament score had been the $234,226 he earned for a runner-up finish in a $1,600 buy-in at the 2021 Wynn Fall Classic. He fell one spot shy of hoisting the trophy on that day, but was able to navigate his way down to heads-up play in another major event at the same venue in March of 2026. This time around, Spanne closed out the victory, earning $397,319 and his first major title as the winner of the Wynn Millions Championship.
The California resident outlasted 694 entries in the $3,500 buy-in affair to earn the largest chunk of the $2.2 million prize pool. This triumph increased Spanne’s career earnings to more than $1.1 million, with roughly $675,000 of that coming from his three largest scores, which were all recorded at Wynn Las Vegas. In addition to his two heads-up showings, he also finished 10th in a $2,200 event at the 2025 Wynn Summer Classic for $43,371.
In addition to the money and the trophy, Spanne was also awarded 1,260 Card Player Player of the Year points for this victory. That was enough to catapult him inside the top 30 in the 2026 POY standings presented by CoinPoker.
Spanne Outlasts Stacked Final Table
The strong turnout saw the $2 million guarantee bested by over $203,000, with the top 87 finishers earning a share. Plenty of highly accomplished players made it down to the business end of the event, including David ‘ODB’ Baker (29th), reigning POY award winner Jesse Lonis (23rd), Joao Simao (20th), Maxx Coleman (15th), Steven Jones (12th), Nadya Magnus (11th), and Qing Liu (10th).
There were also several big names at the official final table, including bracelet winner and World Poker Tour champion Ryan Tosoc (9th – $36,313), four-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen (7th – $61,168), and 2023 World Series of Poker main event third-place finisher Adam Walton (5th – $110,283).
Spanne busted Alex Farahi (4th – $148,953) and then won a massive confrontation with pocket kings against the pocket nines of Chahn Jung to take a sizable lead. Jung went on to bust Quang Vu (3rd – $200,955), giving him the chip advantage when heads-up play began.
Spanne was able to pull ahead, and after some back and forth, won a massive pot with a turned queen-high straight to leave Jung’s stack in shambles. The final hand saw Jung get all-in with 9♣7♠ for bottom pair of sevens on a A♣8♦7♦ flop. Spanne was ahead with J♥J♦. The 2♥ turn and 4♠ river changed nothing, and Jung was eliminated in second place ($271,245).
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Joseph Spanne | $397,319 | 1,260 |
| 2 | Chahn Jung | $271,245 | 1050 |
| 3 | Quang Vu | $200,955 | 840 |
| 4 | Alex Farahi | $148,953 | 630 |
| 5 | Adam Walton | $110,283 | 525 |
| 6 | Ernest Bush | $81,836 | 420 |
| 7 | Jeff Madsen | $61,168 | 315 |
| 8 | Greg Rankich | $46,647 | 210 |
| 9 | Ryan Tosoc | $36,313 | 105 |
Photo credit: PokerNews / Luther Redd.
