These Are The Five Biggest Live MTT Winners From Maine

Maine is the ninth-last populous state in the United States, with a population of 1.344 million. Maine is the only state whose name consists of a single syllable and is the only U.S. state to border only one other state, New Hampshire.

The Pine Tree State is the home to some excellent poker players, too. These are five of the biggest live poker tournament winners who call Maine home.

Matt Woodward is Number One in Maine

Matt Woodward of Waterboro, Maine, has $2,477,255 in live tournament winnings. He was an unknown quantity until 2009 despite a handful of cashes at the World Series of Poker. Woodward went deep in the 2006 WSOP, finishing 95th from 8,773 entrants. Jamie Gold won that Main Event, which is still the largest in the history of the game.

Woodward banked $51,129 for his Main Event run, and it remained his best score for almost three-years. The former University swimming champ navigated his way through the EPT Grand Final‘s shark-infested waters before busting in second-place for a €1,300,000 score ($1,709,312).

His volume waned since that seven-figure prize, although he did win a WSOP Circuit ring in Mexico when he triumphed in the High Roller event for the equivalent of $73,396.

Leonard Cortellino Ranks Second in Maine

Leonard Cortellino of Lewiston, Maine, occupies second-place courtesy of his $1,574,024 winnings. Cortellino made a name for himself in November 2005 in a $5,200 buy-in event at Foxwoods Resort & Casino. He outlasted Tom Franklin, Lee Markholt, and Eugene Todd on his way to banking the $377,175 top prize.

That six-figure haul is still Cortellino’s largest score, although he does have another big payout on his resume. Cortellino finished third in the $10,000 Foxwoods Poker Classic in 2009 for $214,449.

No cashes were recorded on Cortellino’s Hendon Mob page in 2020, probably due to COVID-19 restriction. He will be back in 2021, no doubt.

Spencer Champlin is a High Volume Grinder

Spencer Champlin hails from Scarborough, Maine, although he is hardly ever there. Why? Because Champlin is a high-volume grinder, one with 181 recorded live cashes. Champlin has won at least $150,000 in four of the past five years. Only 2020 saw him win less prize money.

2019 was Champlin’s best year on record after he won $623,217. A third-place finish in the $1,700 WSOPC Cherokee Main Event netted him $137,936. A larger $234,887 followed four months later, which is still his biggest live score.

Champlin has $1,356,363 in winnings and will definitely win much more in the coming years. Keep an eye out for him in future reports.

Foxwoods Regular Randolph Spain

Brewer, Maine is Randolph Spain‘s home, who, like fellow Mainer Leonard Cortellino, has enjoyed plenty of success at Foxwoods. Spain already had three five-five prizes before heading to the 2013 WSOP. He entered the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Seniors Championship alongside 4,406 others. The victory was just out of Spain’s reach, and he had to make do with the $156,629 fifth-place prize. Kenneth Lind won that event for $634,809.

Spain’s last five results have all come from Tampa tournaments, suggesting the poker veteran is enjoying the sun in Florida.

Half-Million Dollar Man Dale Beaudoin

Dale Beaudoin of Maine is fifth in the state’s all-time money list with $505,497 in winnings. He is usually found frequenting low-to-mid stakes tournaments, with most of his success stemming from Las Vegas events.

Beaudoin finished 10th in the 2016 Millionaire Maker at the WSOP for a career-best $75,109. He has 12 other five-figure prizes, including a brace of victories in Deep Stack Extravaganza tournaments. Beaudoin won a $340 edition in 2011 for $27,619 and a $400 buy-in in 2015 for $30,019.

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

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