A retired firefighter and Santa Clarita native cashed out at nearly $218,000 in Las Vegas at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on Sunday.

Steven (Vito) Genovese won the $217,921 first-place prize and his first WSOP gold bracelet by surviving the 4,303-entrant field in event 56: Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold’em.

 “It feels amazing! I was pinching myself the whole time,” said Genovese in a Poker News interview.

The WSOP bracelet is like the holy grail for poker players, the ultimate feather in their cap, and the apple of their eye. It’s the bee’s knees and the cream of the crop when it comes to non-monetary prizes in the poker world. 

Ever since 1976, poker players have been slapping a bracelet on the wrist of the victor of every event at the yearly WSOP. 

WSOP championships are now considered “bracelets” even if the victory took place before 1976. 

In the Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold’em event nearly $200,000 was raised for United Service Organizations (USO) and other military charities.

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