Latest news with #MacauPokerCup
India.com
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Who is The Traitors winner, Nikita Luther? World's best poker player, belongs to Army family, she has won Rs...
The first season of filmmaker Karan Johar's reality show The Traitors has its winners. In the finale, which aired on Prime Video on July 3, Uorfi Javed and Nikita Luther won the prize money of Rs 70.05 lakh spectacularly, which means Rs 35 lakh each. The duo defeated traitor Purab Jha with their smart moves in the finale. Many people believed that stars like Apoorva Makhija or Harsh Gujral could win the show, but they couldn't clinch the title this season. Uorfi Javed and Nikita have been in the spotlight ever since The Traitors began. We are aware of Uorfi's journey in the industry, but no one knows who Nikita is. Who is Nikita Luther? Nikita, who is 34, is India's most successful female professional poker player. She completed her studies from Delhi's Sanskriti School and then completed her bachelor's from Delhi University. Nikita is also known as a trailblazer, combining high-stakes poker prowess with strategic TV play and active advocacy for women in mental sports. She won the Indian Poker Championship and earned her first official title. What did Nikita Luther won? Nikita Luther, who hails from the Army background, had won a gold medal at The World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2018. She won a gold bracelet and recorded history at The World Series of Poker, which is also called the Olympic gold medal. From that time, there was no stopping for Nikita as she won the Macau Poker Cup back in 2017. It was a team event, and then Nikita earned the fifth position in the Aria Poker Classic Main Event. She also became the brand ambassador of Natural8 in India, which is Asia's online Poker room.
News18
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Who Is Nikita Luther, India's First Female Poker Star And The Traitors Winner
Last Updated: Nikita Luther was sent home in the first episode by another contestant, Elnaaz Norouzi, but with her mindful playing, the wildcard entrant emerged as the winner with Uorfi Javed. Karan Johar's reality show The Traitors crowned its first-season winners—Uorfi Javed and Nikita Luther. While Uorfi is a well-known social media personality and fashion influencer, many viewers are curious about the show's other champion. Unlike her co-winner, Nikita Luther isn't from the entertainment world. She is, in fact, India's top female poker player. A Delhi native, Nikita studied finance and marketing at the University of Delhi. Her foray into poker began casually on Zynga, a popular online poker app. What started as a fun pastime soon became a serious pursuit. In 2015, during a friend's birthday party, she played poker for real money for the first time—a moment that marked a turning point in her journey into professional poker. Nikita appeared on the first season of Game of Gold, a poker reality show. In February 2017, she won the Macau Poker Cup team event with Raghav Bansal. Her victory made her India's first woman to win a global poker tournament. But the biggest moment of her career came in June 2018. She, along with her teammate Giuseppe Pantaleo, won a gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. She is currently mentoring at the 'Super Bowl' of poker championships in India and is the COO of the Poker Sports League. By taking part in many national and international events over the years, she has built an impressive record. Till now, she has won over $440,000 (over Rs 3 crore) in live tournament earnings. Coming to The Traitors, professional poker player Nikita Luther was sent home in the first episode by another contestant, Elnaaz Norouzi, before the game officially began. But she made a surprising entry in the game in the third episode as a wildcard. With her mindful playing, she emerged as the winner of the show with Uorfi Javed. The two walked away with a whopping prize money of Rs 70.05 lakh. The Prime Video show ended with an intense finale where the duo eliminated Harsh Gujral to clinch the title. The comedian came third, while Sudhanshu Pandey and Purav Jha were out of the game, bagging fourth and fifth positions, respectively. The Traitors started with an impressive ensemble cast of 20 celebrity contestants and influencers. Besides the above-mentioned contestants, the show also featured Karan Kundrra, Raj Kundra, Raftaar, Anshula Kapoor, Maheep Kapoor, Jasmin Bhasin, Ashish Vidyarthi, Elnaaz Norouzi, Janvee Gaurr, Lakshmi Manchu, Mukesh Chhabra, Sahil Salathia, Sufi Motiwala, Jannat Zubair and Apoorva Mukhija. First Published:
Pink Villa
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Who is Nikita Luther? Meet The Traitors contestant who was ousted in the first episode but returned as wild card
Nikita Luther is currently a contestant on The Traitors, competing alongside 19 other celebrity participants. Her journey on the show has been intriguing so far, as she was eliminated by a fellow contestant, Elnaaz Norouzi, in the very first episode, even before the game officially started. This shocking twist left the contestants reeling. While the other contestants began forming strategies, alliances, and attempting to identify the traitor, Nikita returned to the show in the third episode as a wild card contestant. But who is Nikita Luther? Who is Nikita Luther? Born in Delhi, Nikita Luther holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Delhi, where she studied finance and marketing. This academic background helped her develop a strong analytical mindset, which has proven beneficial in her poker career. Professionally, Nikita is a prominent poker player based in Delhi. Her journey into poker began as a simple curiosity when she started playing on Zynga, a U.S.-based online poker platform. Her interest took a significant turn during a friend's birthday party in 2015, when she played poker with real stakes for the first time. Nikita participated in the first season of GGPoker's Game of Gold, a poker reality competition. In February 2017, she and another poker player, Raghav Bansal, won the Macau Poker Cup team event, making her the first Indian woman to win a poker tournament on the global stage—an important milestone in her career. To date, Nikita Luther has reportedly won over $440,000 in live tournament cashes. Following her early successes, she continued to win several international tournaments, earning substantial cash prizes along the way. Nikita was also the first professional female poker player in India to be invited to deliver a TEDx talk. She has achieved significant success in poker competitions both in India and abroad. On Instagram, Nikita Luther boasts more than 34.5k followers and maintains an active social media presence. Her participation in The Traitors is more than just a spotlight for poker enthusiasts; it represents a pivotal moment of visibility that could influence how Indian audiences, particularly women, view the game of poker. The Traitors premiered on June 12, with the first three episodes released on Prime Video at 8 PM. New episodes are scheduled to release every Thursday at 8 PM.
