Chasing a Dream: Michael Nia Ends 15-Year Wait for LA Poker Classic Success
The LA Poker Classic has a long and storied history in the poker world, and few players would know that history better than Michael Nia. The Southern California native has been playing this event for more than 15 years, and earned a special piece of hardware at The Commerce Casino & Hotel.
After four days of dramatic action, the 71-year-old Nia reached a heads-up deal with Elvyn Bello, earning the victory in the $10,000 LAPC Main Event.
“I am seriously honored to have been able to take this one down because it’s LAPC,” Nia told PokerNews while preparing to take his winner photos. “It was a dream since 2010 for me to actually take this down and take the trophy home.”
The prestigious tournament attracted 145 entries over two starting flights and an hour of late registration on Day 2. That created a total prize pool of $1,348,500, split up among the top 19 finishers.
Nia takes home the largest share, earning $308,270 for the largest tournament score of his career.
2025 LAPC Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Nia | United States | $308,270* |
| 2 | Elvyn Bello | Dominican Republic | $300,000* |
| 3 | Faraz Jaka | United States | $138,900 |
| 4 | Frank Brannan | United States | $84,320 |
| 5 | Adam Weinraub | United States | $65,400 |
| 6 | Gevork Kasabyan | United States | $54,010 |
| 7 | Cecile Ticherfatine | France | $47,200 |
| 8 | Anthony Hu | United States | $42,140 |
| 9 | Jonathan Pastore | France | $37,230 |
* Denotes heads-up deal
Star-Studded LAPC Field
The LAPC Main Event field was full of notable names, including start-of-day chip leader Faraz Jaka. Nia was quick to erase that deficit and claim the chip advantage on the opening level of the day, staying at the top of the counts throughout the rest of the final table.
Nia explained that he was prepared for the high level of competition that this LAPC event provided. “The players that I’ve been playing with the past days, every time I played with that individual, I changed my strategy because individuals would also change the way they play.”
“When I lose a hand,” Nia continued, “I don’t lose it, I don’t lose my energy, and when I win, I don’t show any celebration or anything, because that’s just the process and it’s a long process.”
That process served him well, watching his competitors head to the payout desk one by one throughout the day. That included WSOP bracelet winners Jonathan Pastore and Frank Brannan, plus high-stakes veteran Anthony Hu.
Others to earn a spot at the final table were Cecile Ticherfatine, Gevork Kasabyan and Adam Weinraub.
Heads-Up Deal
Jaka survived to three-handed play, but his exit in third place saw Nia and Bello call for the floor to discuss a deal. Once they had an agreement in place, Bello celebrated with his rail as the result and $300,000 runner-up prize represented the biggest score of his young career.
“I been getting prepared for this kind of moment,” Bello told PokerNews shortly after play had concluded. “It means a lot because a lot of people don’t believe that I’m capable of being here competing with really good players, but this is just the beginning.”
“I’ve only been playing tournaments for a year and a half, and with this $300,000 it will be almost a million, so you’re going to see in the future more of me, so they gonna know me soon.”
As for the champion, Nia was able to reflect on his accomplishment and success here at The Commerce.
“It means a lot, because you come to the casino and grind all day long, spend so much time and so much money, so much effort for one goal, and that it to achieve first place in a tournament.”
Nia explained that he loved the level of competition and that is what bring him back to this special venue. “I’m a retired person, I do this for fun and a challenge, Commerce has been one of the better card rooms in the industry overall.”
“It’s a huge joy achieving this level of success in a tournament.”
