Poker Pro Matt Marafioti Ends Life at 33 by Suicide
Poker players first got to know Matt Marafioti as ADZ124 at the online tables. He played relatively high stakes cash games, and he was good at it. When he ventured out into the live tournament scene, his poker skills became obvious to more people. His name also became synonymous with an aggressive style, wild stories, and a brash personality.
Many saw the signs of mental illness through his delusions and paranoia. Some believed he was simply a braggart, a cocky young pro whose main concern was money. Others simply saw an outgoing poker personality, one of many that emerged during the poker boom.
The mental illness was real. Over the years, it worsened. And last week, it drove Marafioti to take his own life by jumping from a 28th-floor balcony to his death. He was 33 years old and left behind a very young son.
Online and Live Poker Skills
Matthew Marafioti had those skills. Whether playing as ADZ124 or Adzizzy, everyone knew who he was in his heyday. Poker fans wanted to watch him play, and high-stakes pros wanted to play against him.
In the online poker world, Global Poker Index reported that he earned nearly $3M in winnings.
He took to the live poker tournament scene before he turned 21. When not online, he played occasionally at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, where the legal age was 18. In 2007, he won the Main Event of the Empire State Hold’em Championships there for nearly $200K. When legal in Las Vegas, he played in the 2009 World Series of Poker and finished 12th in the high-stakes $40K buy-in 40th Anniversary WSOP event for more than $172K.
Marafioti final tabled events from the Bellagio Cup in Las Vegas to the Legends of Poker in Los Angeles. His second-place finish in the 2010 WSOP Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship earned him more than $381K and more notoriety. He final tabled events from the European Poker Tour to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the years that followed, though he never won another title after that first one.
His appearances in live poker tournaments became rarer in the past few years. He seemed to emerge primarily for series like the WSOP and big series in Atlantic City like the Borgata Poker Open.
Even so, Marafioti’s live earnings totaled $2,846,163.
Earnings in live or online cash games are not tracked, though he claimed to have made millions in those games as well.
A Self-Told Life Story
The basic facts are undisputed. Marafioti was born in Toronto on February 27, 1988. He was the eldest of two sons of a couple who worked in the medical industry. The family lived a comfortable life. He attended De La Salle, a private high school that served as more of a college prep purpose. He then went to Queen’s University to study business.
Marafioti thrived on challenges, physical or otherwise. He played football in high school but also enjoyed video games, along with the occasional low buy-in home poker games with friends. When he discovered online poker around the age of 17, his parents discovered an immediate obsession with the game and blocked those poker sites in their home. But at Queen’s, he could play without interference. According to Marafioti, he borrowed $18 to start playing and grew that to $48K within one week, then up to $200K in one year.
While father Sam Marafioti had been staunchly opposed to his son playing poker online in his teenage years, he eventually understood the intricacies of the game. He and his wife saw their son’s dedication and skill in poker.
They didn’t seem to know the wild swings of his play, but Marafioti claimed to have played in the biggest private games in the country and then gone broke. The support of his parents – financially and emotionally – helped him through the initial swings.
By 2010, Marafioti had rented a luxury apartment in Las Vegas, though he spent time in his Toronto townhouse as well. In the years since, he appeared to have left Las Vegas and lived in the New York-New Jersey area.
Toronto Life published an insightful, personal look into Marafioti’s life in 2011. (photo credit to Dave Gillespie from this article)
Poker Listings produced a short documentary on Marafioti in 2012.
Growing Scope of Mental Illness
One might argue that the mental struggles of Marafioti were always on display in some form. His wins and losses might have been exaggerated. His purchases of wildly expensive gifts and cars may not have been all that he portrayed as well. Few know the truth.
In 2016, however, he posted several YouTube videos that exhibited very disturbing behavior and allegations.
Later that year, a very public episode involving Marafioti brought his mental illness even more to the fore.
Marafioti disappeared during the time of the World Series of Poker. His social media posts had already been concerning for months, as they contained everything from conspiracy theories to alleged threats on his life. He reportedly spent time in a mental health facility, but he went quiet in mid-June 2016. He wasn’t using social media or credit cards. Friends and family alike put out messages asking people to report if they had any contact with him.
He reappeared on August 2 via social media, claiming only that he had been camping. He also disparaged many of those who had been concerned, including one of his previously-close friends in poker, Randy Dorfman.
Instagram posts and YouTube videos over the past several years show a great deal of confusion, seemingly rooted in conspiracy theories and delusions. The details are mostly irrelevant. What is shows, though, is a roller coaster of emotions and behaviors, from an almost-constant fear of being murdered to a tremendous love for his son, who recently celebrated his first birthday.
Last Days
The last few days of Instagram posts paint a most disturbing picture. Marafioti tagged posts with phrases like #CannabisInducedPsychosis and #Illuminati. He commented about his impending arrest, torture, imprisonment, and murder. He alluded to an August 17 court date, among others, and legal battles pertaining to custody of and visitations with his son. His last post on Instagram alluded to his fear of being abducted while picking up belongings at an old apartment. His last sentences were messages to his son:
“Sammy I love you so much. You mean the world to me. I am always with you no matter what. Love dad.”
Apparently, the apartment mentioned in that last post belonged to a friend. It was on the 28th floor of Winston Towers, a high-rise building in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. He was living there after losing a previous apartment after the breakup with his baby’s mother.
The Daily Voice reported and police confirmed that Marafioti dove head-first from that apartment balcony just after 11am on Friday, August 13. Two lifeguards at a neighboring pool heard his screams and saw the result of the fall. They were offered counseling.
https://twitter.com/RyanFeePoker/status/1426751369311047688?s=20
Suicide Prevention
I purposely did not link to social media posts or forums that speculated about Marafioti’s death, made light of it, or dismissed mental illness in any way.
Mental illness is serious. Suicide is final.
If you know of anyone struggling with such issues, reach out to them and/or their family and friends.
If you are struggling with mental illness, there are resources available 24 hours per day, every day:
-United States-based National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-8255
–Canada Suicide Prevention Service (833) 456-4566
