Poker Writer
Japanese poker player Yuto Moriyasu was found safe after having been missing for a full week in Las Vegas during his first-ever trip outside of Japan.
The 26-year-old had been planning to play in the WSOP Main Event but went missing on the night of July 2, along with the $10,000 he was intending to use for his Main Event buy-in. The last contact he’d had with friends was a text message saying that he was heading out. They wouldn’t hear from him again for a week.
After not hearing back, a friend with whom he was staying in an Airbnb housemate posted the following on X (translated from Japanese):
My junior colleague went missing in Vegas. At noon, they said, “I’m heading out now,” and then went completely silent. When I got home in the evening, the car, phone, and their beloved daily sandals were at the house, but the pouch with their passport and wallet, along with the person themselves, were nowhere to be found. No signs of the house being disturbed.
This was reportedly the first time Moriyasu had ever been outside his home country. He had arrived in Las Vegas from Japan on May 25th and had been playing in a mixture of WSOP events and other tournaments. He has no live poker cashes on record save for a handful of small results in nightly events at the MGM Grand and South Point Casino this June.
Friends and Family Feared the Worst
Moriyasu’s family was understandably very worried. The poker world did its part, spreading the message on X in the days after his disappearance, imploring someone to come forward with information.
Popular X account Las Vegas Locally also put out an MIA for him with a picture:
Japanese poker player Yuto Moriyasu vanished in Las Vegas on July 2, during the World Series of Poker. He was last seen at a home in Spring Valley, with his $10,000 buy-in for the Main Event. Authorities and his family are seeking public help to find him. pic.twitter.com/L1kTxj0oMx
— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) July 8, 2025
However, hopes of finding Moriyasu alive began to seem slimmer after several days without any clues emerging to his whereabouts.
Speculation began to run wild as people considered all of the unsavory things that could happen in Vegas to a first-time visitor to the United States, especially one who does not speak English.
Thankfully, he was found safe early Thursday morning, fully seven days after he had gone missing. Friends announced the good news on X and promised more details to come, but said nothing about his condition other than that he was “safe.”
The friend did reveal that he’d been found “on the outskirts” of Las Vegas, in response to a question from a user who thought he’d seen Moriyasu at a 5/5 cash game in Los Angeles.
We will provide further details later, but we are pleased to report that Yuto Moriyasu has been found safe at 11pm on July 9th.
We sincerely apologize for the great concern and inconvenience caused to everyone.
We deeply appreciate your cooperation and support🙏— ベガスMAMA🇺🇸 (@VegasPokerMama) July 10, 2025
Relief for the Poker Community
Fortunately, it appears as though any serious incident has been avoided and the worst fears quelled for the poker community. Disappearances of poker players happen periodically, and don’t always end happily. An Icelandic player who went missing after a tournament in Ireland last year was found to have been murdered.
Moriyasu’s happy ending lifts a cloud from what has otherwise been a great summer for Japanese players at the WSOP. Shiina Okamoto pulled off arguably the most impressive feat of the series, winning the Ladies’ Event bracelet for the second year in a row after also having been the runner-up in 2023. Ten players out of 202 surviving in the Main Event are likewise from Japan.
