[1/7] Dev Shah, 14, reacts after winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland U.S., June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Leah MillisJune 1 (Reuters) - Dev Shah, a 14-year-old boy from Largo, Florida, won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, nailing the word "psammophile," meaning an organism that thrives in sandy soils, in the 15th round of the contest's finals. Shah, a student at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School, had correctly, and swiftly, spelled "bathypitotmeter" in the 14th round, but under spelling bee rules needed to land one more word to be declared winner. Shah, who was crowned champion in a hail of confetti before being joined on stage by his parents and other relatives, takes home $50,000 cash from E.W. Dev, whose hobbies include reading, tennis, playing the cello and solving math problems, tied for 51st place in the 2019 edition of the spelling bee, and tied for 76th place in 2021.

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Persons: Dev Shah, Leah Millis, Charlotte Walsh, Shah, Webster, The Merriam, Dev, Harini Logan, Brendan O'Brien, Steve Gorman, Matthew Lewis, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Scripps, Spelling, National Harbor , Maryland U.S, REUTERS, Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School, Scripps Co, Encyclopedia, The, Webster, ION, ESPN, Thomson Locations: National Harbor , Maryland, Largo , Florida, Arlington , Virginia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam, Washington ,, San Antonio , Texas, Chicago, Los Angeles