Share on Twitter Share on Facebook May 03,tee patti joy 20254 min read

Table Of Contents

• "I've Had a Lot of Time to Think"
• Welch Out in Fifth; Suede Brooks Wins Game Night VI
• CPT Game Night VI Results

After rocketing to fame with her mega-viral "hawk tuah" moment and then suddenly disappearing from the public eye for months following a crypto meme coin scandal, Haliey Welch made her public return in Las Vegas on Friday in a Celebrity Poker Tour (CPT) event.

The CPT Game Night VI at ARIA's PokerGO Studio was a single-table, freeroll event offering $10,000 to the winner and featuring an array of celebrities, including chess streamer and recent Life Outside Pokerguest Alexandra Botez, athletes Jose Canseco, Adrian Peterson and Mackenzie Dern and influencers CJ So Cool and Suede Brooks, the eventual champion.

Despite the dazzling lights of the Las Vegas strip, the spirited atmosphere inside the studio, and having played in a previous CPT event, it was a high-pressure moment for Welch. The 22-year-old abruptly stopped her Talk Tuahpodcast in December 2024 after being accused of a meme coin "pump and dump" and had hardly been seen or heard from since.

"I'm a little nervous," Welch told PokerNewsin an interview ahead of the event. "It's a smaller (one-table event), so everyone's going to be watching our table. And I still don't know what I'm doing."

Former NFL Player Hayes Pullard is the Co-Founder of the Celebrity Poker Tour

"I've Had a Lot of Time to Think"

After parlaying her viral moment with a podcast featuring guests like Wiz Khalifa and Mark Cuban, Welch misstepped by launching a meme coin that quickly rose in value before plummeting 95%, causing substantial losses for investors and leading to accusations of a "rug-pull" scam by Welch and her team.

In late March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed its investigation into the HAWK coin and concluded Welch wasn't involved in any foul play, according to International Business Times. Around the same time, Welch brought back Talk Tuah.

As she was landing in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon, Vanity Fairpublished a feature story and interview about Welch's return to the spotlight and the crypto scandal that showed "her notoriety has also come with consequences."

"I'm in the middle of rebranding right now," she told PokerNews. "I've had a lot of time to think. I want to rebrand."

What might that rebrand look like? "I guess you'll have to watch and see."

Though she was vindicated by the SEC, many on social media were critical of Welch's sudden return to public limelight, and Vanity Faireven questioned the "optics" of "gambling after some people lost their money" on her coin.

Welch Out in Fifth; Suede Brooks Wins Game Night VI

Welch played in last September's CPT Invitational IV and said she hasn't played a hand of poker since. "It feels good to be back, but I still don't know what I'm doing."

Despite her nerves, Welch maintained a big smile throughout the tournament, cheering with excitement when a pot went her way and folding with conviction after thinking through her decisions.

"Did I win?! No shit! No shit! Yay!" Welch cheered at one point as UFC champion Mackenzie Dern demonstrated an arm bar on her.

And despite being a viral sensation known the world over, the former spring factory worker displayed all the vices of a normal twenty-something with a red vape in hand and an oversized glass of red wine beside the table.

Welch held her own for hours but eventually bled down to her final chips as she fell in fifth place.

"Fifth place out of ten!" someone from Welch's friend group cheered.

Dern and CJ So Cool were next to go ahead of a marathon heads-up battle between MLB legend Jose Canseco and influencer and model Suede Brooks. Brooks emerged victorious and proudly held up the CPT belt in her winner's interview with PokerNews.

"I won my first poker tournament!" Brooks said.

https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/1918752299511394350

CPT Game Night VI Results

Place	Player	Prize (USD)
1	Suede Brooks	$10,000
2	Jose Canseco
3	CJ So Cool
4	Mackenzie Dern
5	Haliey Welch
6	Josie Canseco
7	Trent "Book It With Trent" Attyah
8	Zach Justice
9	Adrian Peterson
10	Alexandra Botez

The CPT will be back on May 10 for a multi-table event. In the meantime, check out Friday's Game Night VI stream on YouTube.

_{*Photos courtesy CPT & PokerGO}