2014 Millionaire Maker Event Winner Jonathan Dimmig Hopes to Be a Novelist
Jonathan Dimmig is the 2014 winner of the $1,500 Buy-in Millionaire Make No-Limit Hold’em event. In recent years, the event is one of the most anticipated contests of the World Series of Poker, held each year in Las Vegas/Paradise, Nevada. Mr. Dimmig won $1,319,587 for taking the title, defeating 7,976 other challenges to take top prize.
The gimmick behind the Millionaire Maker event is to have a low buy-in, but a large prize for the winner. For a $1,500 entry fee, everyone has a chance to become an instant millionaire. The number of entries is larger than any other event at the tournament, besides the WSOP Main Event. These days, the player pool between those two events is comparable.
About Jonathan Dimmig
Jonathan Dimmig emerged from relative obscurity to win the Millionaire Maker. He has played in the last several World Series of Poker Main Events, but has never finished in the money on those events.
Mr. Dimmig did have a money finish in a WSOP Circuit event in 2011, but had never cashed in a live tournament, otherwise. Now, he is a millionaire.
“My goal on the first day was just to make it through the day. I’d played the main event here all the last three years and never even cashed in that,” said the native of Buffalo. “So coming in, my goal was really to just get the money off my back and just cash–that’s really all I wanted to do.”
Path to a Million Dollars
Jonathan Dimmig likened his Millionaire Maker bracelet to his favorite sports teams. He said, “I played hockey all my life and, as everyone knows, I’m from Buffalo. The Sabres have never won a championship, the Bills have never won a championship, so I’m proud to bring a little piece of championship-ness to the city, because where I’m from is really a great city.”
Dimmig had the second highest chip stack after Day 2. Going into the final table, though, Dimmig was behind an overwhelming favorite: Stephen Graner. The final table ended up being a 12-hour grind, with big stacks of chips changing hands several times. Eventually, Stephen Graner’s stack shrank and he was eliminated in 6th place.
The Final Table
Recent big name players like Maurice Hawkins (9th) and Brad Anderson (5th) were at the final table. Maurice Hawkins was the Palm Beach WSOP Circuit champion recently, while Brad Anderson has cashed at 10 different WSOP events. Andrew Teng continued with a nice run by finishing in 4th place.
After James Duke was knocked out by Dimmig and finished in third place, the heads-up showdown came down to him versus Jeffrey Coburn. Jonathan Dimmig began heads-up play behind Coburn. On the first hand of heads-up play, Dimmig doubled-up to make the stacks more even. On the third hand between then, Dimmig draw a straight on the river, which gave him a commanding edge. When the last hand came, Jonathan Dimmig flopped bottom pair, which held up for the win.
Below is a list of the final table participants, where they finished, and how much their event winnings were.
1st – Jonathan Dimmig – $1,319,587
2nd – Jeffrey Coburn – $815,963
3rd – James Duke – $614,368
4th – Andrew Teng – $465,972
5th – Bradley Anderson – $355,913
6th – Stephen Graner – $273,854
7th – Jason Johnson – $211,394
8th – Andrew Dick – $164,118
9th – Maurice Hawkins – $128,150
The Millionaire Maker Field
The Millionaire Maker event had a field of 6,226 unique players. After busting out, 1,751 of the players reentered the field, using the rebuy option. Play began last Saturday with two starting flights, which played separately.
Those on hand to watch claimed the Millionaire Maker has rekindled some of the spirit of the original “Poker Boom“. From 2003 to 2006, thousands of amateur players flocked to the World Series of Poker, hoping to win fame and fortune at the WSOP Main Event. The UIGEA law passed in 2006 dampened enthusiasm, because online poker became much harder to play in the United States. Without a ready supply of easy-to-access, trusted online card rooms, enthusiasm for poker in general waned in America. Because the Millionaire Maker event has a more affordable buy-in than the Main Event, mass market players flock to this event every year.
Though people talk about waning enthusiasm for the poker circuit, it’s a relative lack. Compared to the interest level in 2002 and before, the 2014 level of participation is still ten times what it was before the boom.
