Back in July, Steven Jones cut through a record-setting field of 10,034 players in the 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event and ultimately finished second to Daniel Weinman.
Playing through a live field of that size once in a year apparently wasn’t quite enough for Jones, so he decided to do it again. In the biggest live $1,000 buy-in tournament of all-time, the 2023 WPT Prime Championship, Jones outlasted more than 10,500 players on the way to a 10th place finish.
Jones was one of the standout players on stream throughout Day 3 of the tournament, taking some more time in the spotlight to inject a moment of silliness into the serious, high-stakes action. After shoving with 
on a blind steal, Jones put his head into his hands. When he popped back up, he was wearing a clown nose.
What’s wilder is that the subterfuge actually worked, as Jones got his opponent to fold a better hand. And, apparently, it wasn’t the first time in his poker career that he’d pulled out the clown act at the table.
“I did break it out like two years ago, in the Milly Maker at the WSOP,” said Jones. “And I literally got this guy to call off because he told me he hated clowns. He called off super light, and I got a full double. It’s been in my backpack ever since, and I forgot about it.
“We went on break and my buddy reminded me that I had it, and I was like, ‘Yes, I’m definitely pulling it out when we get on stream.”
There are a lot of players who would love to bottle up whatever Jones has going on to make it through this many players with stakes this high.
“It feels good,” said Jones. “I’m just playing good poker. I don’t know what it is about these big fields that somehow I just run deep, I just try to stay alive by just trying to be in the moment.”
Jones will have to wait for his next chance to pop the clown nose on, as a tough string of three hands at the end of Day 3 of the WPT Prime Championship saw him go from middle of the pack to out in 10th place. Perhaps it’ll come on Wednesday, when he intends to play Day 1B of the WPT World Championship.
While $135,850 for 10th isn’t quite as sweet as the $1,386,280 the 2023 WPT Prime Champion will get, Jones still has the $6.5 million he won earlier this year to fall back on.
The Arizona-based real estate agent is enjoying life in his mid-30s, and while his day-to-day hasn’t changed too much, he said he’s enjoyed the spoils of such a life-changing run in the WSOP Main Event.
“I’ve definitely been doing the same things that I’ve been doing, but it’s given me a lot more freedom financially, obviously,” said Jones. “It’s been hard to do real estate in a super grindy way, but I have my people and my clients, so I’ve been doing a little bit of that, and playing a lot more poker.
“I bought more properties, and bought a car. Life’s been good. I’m traveling, and doing all the things you’re supposed to do when you win money, right?”