Troubled Poker Pro Matt Marafioti Takes Own Life Aged 33

Matt Marafioti has died in an apparent suicide after falling from the 28th floor of a highrise building in New Jersey, the troubled Canadian poker pro having suffered with mental health issues for several years...

Rumours had been circling all week among the poker community that Marafioti had died tragically, Todd Witteles of Poker Fraud Alert and Doug Polk both spreading the news on Twitter.

Initial press reports that appeared to have his age wrong were only confirmed yesterday, law enforcement officials telling the Daily Voice newspaper that Marafioti was indeed the person who plunged to their death last Friday morning.

The 33-year-old Canadian, known in his online heyday by the nickname "ADZ124", had shared a very concerning Instagram post shortly before his tragic death.

According to police sources, Marafioti apparently panicked and jumped from his friend’s apartment on the 28th floor of the Winston Towers building in Cliffside Park , overlooking the Hudson River.

The Daily Voice reported:

“Two young lifeguards were alone at the pool next door at 100 Winston Drive, the official said, when they heard Marafioti's screams, then saw his body. Both were later offered counseling.”

Police officers who responded to the tragic incident apparently found the apartment door open and $24,000 in cash “stuffed into bags”.

Today, August 17th, Marafioti would have been in court for a custody battle hearing about his son, who turned one-year old earlier this month. Matt had apparently recently split with the mother of their child and was staying in Winston Towers with a friend.

Marafioti’s mental health issues were well-known among the poker community, Matt having gone “missing” for several weeks in the summer of 2016 after abruptly leaving the WSOP in Vegas.

He had posted on social media:

“People in poker who are claiming I am a danger to myself/others are lying for self-motivated interests (Illuminati movements) to kill me.”

That naturally had people concerned for his welfare, among them fellow pro Randy Dorfman, who Marafioti later claimed wasn’t a friend.

When he resurfaced, Matt recorded a short video stating:

“I am 100% completely safe and have been since leaving Toronto...I didn’t realise that after 3 weeks people would already be looking for me, claiming I have this severe mental problem I don’t have.”

In the run-up to his death, Marafioti appeared to be struggling yet again with his imagined demons, posting messages such as:

“I am being entrapped, gang stalked, harassed, and set up for murder” He added: “They are somehow going to attribute this to my ‘mental health’ instead of a social justice movement funded by incredibly powerful people which can’t be revealed because it’s completely dehumanizing and unlawful in nature.”

Marafioti’s poker career saw him record $2,846,163 in live tournament cashes across more than a decade, beginning with a $198,473 scoop of the Empire State Hold’em Championships Main Event in 2007.

Deep runs in EPT events in France, Italy and England followed, along with big cashes in the Bahamas and Vegas, including just missing out on WSOP gold in 2010 when he finished 2nd in the $10k Pot Limit Hold’em Championship event behind Hungary’s Valdemar Kwaysser.

PokerTube extends its condolences to Matt Marafioti’s friends and family and urges anyone worried about their own or someone else’s mental health to seek help.