While Schuyler Thornton was busy shipping the WPT World Championship down the hall, Aaron Johnson was putting on his own show at the WPT Prime Championship — and he walked away with over a million dollars for his trouble.

The $1,100 buy-in event drew nearly 10,000 entries, creating a massive prize pool and a seven-figure top prize that Johnson claimed via a heads-up chop deal.

The Quick Hit

• First place: $1,010,400 (via chop deal)
• Runner-up: Fernando Martin del Campo - $942,480
• The field: Nearly 10,000 entries
• Buy-in: $1,100

The Monster Field

Let's talk about that entry count for a second. Nearly ten thousand people fired at this tournament. At $1,100 a pop, that's a prize pool that turned what started as an affordable buy-in into a life-changing score.

The WPT Prime Championship has become one of the most popular events on the tour specifically because of this dynamic — low buy-in, huge field, massive first place.

The Chop Deal

Johnson and Fernando Martin del Campo of Mexico decided to chop when they got heads-up, with Johnson taking the slightly larger share. These deals are common in big-field tournaments where the difference between first and second is significant but both players want to lock up life-changing money.

Martin del Campo took home $942,480 for second — not exactly a bad consolation prize.

Part of a Bigger Festival

The WPT Prime Championship was just one piece of the WPT World Championship festival at Wynn Las Vegas, which ran December 2-22. The festival featured over $18 million in prizes across multiple events.

Combined with Thornton's $2.1M win in the main event and all the side action, Wynn Las Vegas was THE place to be for poker degenerates in December.

What $1,100 Can Get You

This is the dream, right? You fire a $1,100 bullet — which is expensive but not unreachable for most recreational players — and you walk away with a million dollars.

That's a 900x return on investment. Find me a stock that does that.

The Bottom Line

Aaron Johnson turned an $1,100 buy-in into over a million dollars by navigating a field of nearly 10,000 players. Fernando Martin del Campo walked away with $942K for second.

If you're looking for evidence that poker can change your life without requiring a $25K buy-in, this is it. The WPT Prime Championship proves that the dream is still alive for players at every bankroll level.

Just bring your A-game and a lot of run good.