Jesse Lonis is absolutely on fire in 2025. He leads all Card Player Player of the Year contenders in points (10,257), POY-qualified titles (eight), and final tables (24).
The only major statistical category tracked in the POY standings that Lonis isn’t leading in is POY earnings. His staggering $10.8 million is somehow only good for third, with Ben Tollerene ($11.6 million) and Michael Mizrachi ($11.3 million) being the only poker superstars to top Lonis.
The 30-year-old poker pro’s latest triumph saw him outlast 146 entries that turned out to the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas for the first event of the PokerGO Tour Pot-Limit Omaha Series II. The Little Falls, New York native’s victory in the $5,000 buy-in PLO event saw him add $175,000 to his already massive earnings total this year.
Lonis needed just over an hour to close out the win on the final day, making for a quick start in his campaign to back up his series champion run in the PGT PLO Series held back in April of this year. During that festival, Lonis posted on social media about big side bets he’d made and how they impacted his play. Apparently there was plenty of side action this time around, also.
Was a sick one to win, had a 50k must win side bet with 5 others. Made the dynamic and decisions completely different! 🦍🇺🇸 https://t.co/A2w0DoZOmT
— Jesse Lonis (@JesseLonis) October 15, 2025
Eight of Lonis’ 15 top tournament paydays have been recorded since New Year’s Day, including a career-best $3.4 million payday for a win in a $100,000 event at the Triton Montenegro festival. Lonis’ career earnings now sit at more than $27.3 million thanks in large part to his incredible streak in 2025.
Lonis now sits 1,277 POY points ahead of second-ranked Alex Foxen in the POY standings. His 10,257 has already surpassed the final total of 10,174 that won Adrian Mateos the POY title in 2024, with Lonis still having two-and-a-half months to add to his tally.
Setting The Scene
The solid turnout for this PGT PLO Series kickoff event resulted in a $730,000 prize pool, with 20 players earning a share of that sum. Several big names were among those that cashed but hit the rail late on day 1, including Allan Le (18th), Jim Collopy (16th), Joe Serock (14th), John Riordan (13th), Alex Foxen (12th), James Chen (10th), Nicholas Palma (9th), and Sean Winter (8th).
Three-time World Poker Tour main event champion Chino Rheem was out in front when the final day began, with Lonis sitting on the next-largest stack and a sizable gap between the leaders and the four other remaining contenders.
Anthony Hu was the first to fall, with his Q♥J♠J♣10♦ losing an all-in confrontation to the A♦A♣K♦3♥ of two-time Super High Roller Bowl champion Isaac Haxton. An ace high runout gave Haxton top set and the knockout. Hu earned $36,500 as the sixth-place finisher.
All Lonis Down The Stretch
Lonis scored his first knockout of the day when his flopped set of threes held against the nut flush draw and overpair of jacks held by Haxton. There were plenty of dangerous cards on the turn for Lonis, but the 3♦ was decidedly not one of them. Lonis’ quads sent Haxton packing in fifth place ($43,800). The score grew Haxton’s career haul to nearly $63.1 million, while propelling him into 21st place in the POY race standings presented by CoinPoker.
Josh Arieh
Artem Maksimov soon joined Haxton on the rail. He got all-in with middle pair on an eight-high board facing a flopped straight for Lonis. A blank on the turn left Maksimov drawing dead. He secured $58,400 for his efforts, while Lonis’ stack continued to surge.
Josh Arieh, fresh off winning a World Series of Poker Online event for his seventh career bracelet, made a deep run in this event. His final stand saw him commit his final chips with a flush draw, double-gutshot straight draw, and middle pair. Arieh’s A♣7♥5♥4♣ was up against A♦K♥10♠8♠ for Lonis, which amounted to top pair on the 8♥4♠2♥ flop. The K♦ turn gave Lonis top two pair, which remained best after the 5♦ completed the board. Arieh was awarded $76,700 as the third-place finisher, increasing his lifetime earnings to nearly $14.4 million in the process.
Heads-up For The Trophy
That gave Lonis more than a 4.5:1 chip lead over Rheem going into heads-up play. He was soon able to convert that lead into the title, with the final hand seeing both players flop a flush. Rheem had potted to 450,000 from the button with A♥J♣9♣2♣ and Lonis called from the big blind with K♣10♦9♠3♣. The flop came down A♣7♣6♣ to give Lonis the nuts. He check-raised to 775,000 after Rheem made a 300,000 continuation bet. Rheem called and the 10♥ appeared on the turn. Lonis bet the pot and Rheem quickly called all-in with his lower flush. He was drawing dead, making the 2♦ a mere formality.
Rheem earned $106,000 as the runner-up. Thus was his 22nd cash and 13th final-table finish of the year in a PGT event. With 1,849 PGT points, he now sits in fifth in the season-long standings. Lonis climbed to 9th on the PGT leaderboard with 1,501 points accrued across 17 cashes.
Chino Rheem finishes in 2nd place in PGT PLO Series Event #1 for $106,000.
Updates: https://t.co/10lRtoA9gz pic.twitter.com/LTg6RX4WO4
— PGT (@PokerGOTour) October 15, 2025
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Jesse Lonis | $175,000 | 576 | 175 |
| 2 | Chino Rheem | $106,000 | 480 | 106 |
| 3 | Josh Arieh | $76,700 | 384 | 77 |
| 4 | Artem Maksimov | $58,400 | 288 | 58 |
| 5 | Isaac Haxton | $43,800 | 240 | 44 |
| 6 | Anthony Hu | $36,500 | 192 | 37 |
| 7 | Frederic Normand | $29,200 | 144 | 29 |
Photo credits: PokerGO Tour / Antonio Abrego.
