For ‘King 6’8 The Great,’ an invitation to the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational VII was quite an opportunity. He’d play poker with a collection of other influencers, professional athletes, and celebrities inside the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
There was only one problem. The Instagram star with 1.9 million followers had no idea how to play poker before he started the event.
Just moments before the action kicked off inside the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, King watched a five-minute YouTube video.
Clearly, something clicked. King outlasted a field of more than 50 entrants in the celebrity-centric freeroll. He walked away with the $20,000 first-place cash prize, a CPT champion’s belt and a bottle of Louis XIII cognac worth thousands.
King left it up to luck entirely when action got down to heads-up play. He was up against Dancing With the Stars’ Alan Bersten. Bersten appeared on nine seasons of the hit celebrity dance show, and later won season 28. Most recently, he finished as the runner-up with Olympian Ilona Maher in season 33.
Bersten and King elected to go all-in blind to determine a winner. On the final hand, Bersten was ahead with K♣10♠ to King’s 7♠4♣. The 9♠6♦5♥ flop gave King a world of outs, but it would be the 7♣ turn that put King ahead. The A♠ was a harmless river, and King stood victorious.
UNREAL stuff heads up to take down CPT Invitational VII 🍿
Check out full recap on our YouTube! #celebritypoker #poker pic.twitter.com/kmSsn0JcGH
— Celebrity Poker Tour (@celebpokertour) July 29, 2025
Other Notable Finishes And Participants
The final table also included Love is Blind star Damian Powers (3rd), rapper 24kGoldn (4th), former UFC middleweight title contender Paulo Costa (5th), 22-year-old magician and influencer PAS Magic (6th), NFL safety John Johnson III (7th), and former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones (8th).
Costa was part of a strong contingent of MMA fighters in attendance. He was joined by former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, and former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington.
University of Kansas basketball standouts Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers were both in attendance. They won a national championship together with Kansas in 2008, and each had their numbers retired.
Professional wrestlers Saraya and Deonna Purrazzo were in the field. Reality TV standouts Nev Schulman (Catfish) and Chumlee (Pawn Stars) also played. Bryce Hall, who was recently announced for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship revival, played, too. Princess Love, magician Mat Franco, MLB standout Jose Canseco, and former NBA player Will Bynum also got into the mix.
Among the most notable participants were four members of the Chrisley family, former co-stars of the reality show ‘Chrisley Knows Best.’ Todd and Julie Chrisley received presidential pardons to commute their respective prison sentences for tax evasion and bank fraud back in May. Their starting table also featured their daughter, Savannah, and Todd’s mother, Faye.
The next edition of the CPT Invitational takes place on August 30.
