Swedish player Jonas Hagstrom waited out a maze of Day 1 flights in the Mega Millions XVI at The Bicycle Hotel & Casino in California, buying in directly to Day 2 for $4,300.
It proved to be a fortuitous decision for Hagstrom, as he managed to turn that $4,300 into a $311,328 payday.
This big cash dwarfs his previous career live tournament earnings of $62,000.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonas Hagstrom | $311,328 |
| 2 | Xiao Ruan | $167,625 |
| 3 | Massoud Eskandari | $109,935 |
| 4 | Larry Serebryany | $82,065 |
| 5 | Benjamin Nguyen | $63,210 |
| 6 | Keyue Wang | $49,310 |
| 7 | Benjamin Chan | $38,765 |
| 8 | Bhagwan Tejwani | $30,450 |
| 9 | Raz Mael | $23,400 |
The unusual tournament had a $1 million guarantee and featured a variety of starting flights on different days and at different price points.