ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A Bethlehem man won more than $600,000 in national a poker tournament at the end of January.
Alex Queen, a local poker star, took first place in the Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the culminating event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open.
Queen took home a prize of $613,063. It was his biggest cash win and title since he first showed up on the No Limit Hold ‘Em scene in 2008.
“It’s good vibes here. It has left a great impression on me.”
Poker champion Alex Queen of Bethlehem
He won at the Final Table of six in heads-up (or 1v1) play against John Pannucci of Parsippany, New Jersey, after progressing past a total field of 689 players.
The win increased Queen’s career earnings to over $2.5 million.
Queen’s previous biggest win was for $355,000 at the 2010 Borgata Spring Poker Open. He was also married at the casino in October 2022.
“It’s good vibes here," Queen said of Borgata in a news release. "It has left a great impression on me.”
According to the release, “With some of the winnings from his top prize from Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship, Queen plans to take his 10-year-old stepson to Universal Studios in Orlando.”