Las Vegas man wins first legal online poker tournament in United States

Las Vegas resident Daniel Healey made history last weekend, becoming the first poker player to win a legal, real-money online tournament in the U.S.

Healey topped a 200-player field to win Ultimate Poker’s first $10,000 Sunday Tournament. Healey collected a first place prize of $4,173.

Ultimate Gaming spokesman Joe Versaci said the field reached its 200-player cap 45 minutes before the event opened. Because of the high demand, Ultimate Poker will double the capacity of its Sunday Tournament to 400 players, doubling the potential prize pool to $20,000.

Healey said he was excited to have a place in history.

“I have been keeping up with the news updates and poker blogs ever since Black Friday hit and was extremely excited to hear that legal online poker is here,” he said.

Ultimate Poker is majority owned by Station Casinos. The website launched on April 30. It is currently the only real money online poker website in Nevada. Gamblers must be located in Nevada to play on the website.  

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.