Alex Foxen Captures Lodge Championship $25,000 High Roller Title

On Feb. 21, 2023, Alex Foxen and Bin Weng squared off as the final two players in the World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Las Vegas $1,700 main event. Weng ended up victorious, securing the title and the gold ring. Just a few months later, on May 12, the two players found themselves heads-up yet again with a six-figure top prize on the line. This time around it was Foxen who came out on top, defeating Weng to win the 2023 Lodge Championship Series $25,000 no-limit hold’em high roller event for $235,000. The win increased Foxen’s career tournament earnings to nearly $29.3 million.

Foxen and Weng are two of the hottest players on the tournament circuit this year. This was already Foxen’s third title and 12th final-table finish of 2023. With 4,349 Card Player Player of the Year points, and $1.6 million in POY earnings, he is now the fourth-ranked player in the 2023 POY race sponsored by Global Poker.

Weng, who won $1,000,000 as the champion of ‘The Return’ $5,000 main event at Borgata before winning the previously mentioned WSOPC main event, is also a top POY contender. He currently sits in ninth place in the standings, with those two titles and five total final-table finishes. He has already cashed for nearly $1.4 million in POY earnings this year, and is well situated to add to that total in a big way thanks to making two World Poker Tour delayed final tables.

Weng is the chip leader of both the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 main event and the WPT Choctaw $3,800 main event. He will play out those two final tables on back-to-back days (May 25 and 26), with the chance to win up to $1.5 million.

This high-stakes event drew 20 entries to The Lodge Poker Club in Round Rock, Texas. As a result, the prize pool grew to $480,000. The top three finishers ultimately made the money, with Daniel Rezaei being knocked out on the money bubble with his K-Q suited facing the pocket jacks of Foxen. Rezaei flopped a flush draw to go with his two overcards but failed to improve on the turn and river and was sent to the rail empty-handed.

Lodge co-owner Doug Polk finished third in this event. Polk got all-in with an open-ended straight draw facing the pocket aces of Weng. He was unable to hit any of his outs on the river, though, and the two-time bracelet winner was sent home with $100,000 for his efforts.

Weng entered heads-up play with 562,000 to Foxen’s 435,000. He was able to extend that advantage, taking more than a 8:1 lead at one point, only to have Foxen storm back into contention. Foxen got a key bluff through, then picked up pocket kings against Weng’s A-J and got all-in for around 20 big blinds. After Foxen’s pocket pair held, Weng’s lead had been cut to less than a 3:2 advantage. Foxen then took the lead when he got all-in with a flush and straight draw against the bottom two pair of Weng. Foxen rivered the nut flush to take roughly a 2:1 lead of his own.

In the final hand, Foxen’s KQ outran the A5 of Weng. The J949Q turnout gave Foxen queens up on the river to lock up the pot and the title. Weng earned $145,000 as the runner-up.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded in this event:

Photo credit: The Lodge Card Club Twitter account / Rachel Kay.

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