Michael Lavin won his first live World Series of Poker event Friday after racking up numerous tournament victories online.

But the professional poker player took home an even larger prize.

Lavin overcame a field of 1,299 entries in the $1,500 buy-in No-limit Hold’em Shootout at Horseshoe Las Vegas. By virtue of his win, Lavin earned a $1 million bonus from rival promotion ClubWPT Gold on top of the $267,373 first prize.

“It made the whole tournament so weird for me,” Lavin told Poker.org about the seven-figure payout that only he was eligible to earn. “I had to win, and second made no difference. The whole final table I had to play completely different. It was breaking my brain, and it was a lot.

“I’m happy it’s over. I’m happy I won. It’s crazy, a pipe dream, and it happened.”

Lavin pocketed the additional $1 million through the ClubWPT Gold promotion. The contest awarded the bonus to any ticket holders who won one of 11 pre-selected summer events. The $1,500 Shootout was on the list of events.

Lavin previously finished first in a 2,800-entry free online tournament at ClubWPT to become eligible for the promotion.

“Nothing really mattered except first, so I had to be uncomfortable and do a lot of different (stuff),” Lavin said.

Lavin was a successful online pro before the government’s shutdown of online poker in 2011. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, he started playing online again in Pennsylvania and has been wildly successful.

This is Lavin’s second career WSOP bracelet, which are awarded for tournament victories, to go with his win in the 2021 WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelet Series. He also owns 17 career online WSOP Circuit victories.

Lavin defeated poker pro Michael Rossitto during heads-up play. Rossitto took home $178,240.

The WSOP Shootout format features single-table tournaments, with the winner advancing to the next round of single-table tournaments until a winner is determined.

“It’s still overwhelming,” Lavin said. “It’s very difficult to be happy in poker when you play it professionally. You lose a lot, and to win feels … awesome.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.