North Bend’s John Wasnock finished in second place July 16 at the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas.
Wasnock advanced through the 9,735 player tournament for a seat at the final table of the tournament.
Wasnock made the final table with a tournament-leading 108.1 million chip count, and in the final four, he entered with a chip count of 94.5 million.
The 50-year old of North Bend, a town of about 8,200 in King County about 30 miles east of Seattle along Interstate 90, is in uncharted waters for himself as his highest cash winnings in a tournament was $56,330 and his career earnings are $143,463, according to pokerdb.
Eight-time winner Michael Mizrachi took the grand prize of $10 million and the coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.
Wasnock was essentially the lone amateur left in the tournament. The fellow competitors had either won a World Series of Poker or are professional poker players.
According to pokernews.com:
John Wasnock would then take his shot at rallying against Mizrachi, who began the finale with over 75% of all chips in play. “Wazz” would put up a fight, but he simply couldn’t find a spot to double-up to get back into the ballgame. The 42-year-old from Oklahoma flopped top two pair and put his entire stack in the middle, only to find out his opponent turned a 10-high flush that held up on the river.
In the finals, Mizrachi, who had already won seven WSOP tournaments, took over the chip lead after the final four cut, overtaking Wasnock. Braxton Dunaway won the WSOP in 2023, but also made the final table last year in this same tournament. The fourth competitor was from across the pond — Kenny Hallaert from England has multiple European poker titles, but was looking to take his first WSOP bracelet across the Atlantic.
In just this year alone, Wasnock has won two tournaments in the Pacific Northwest. He took home the crown at the Little Creek Casino in Kamilche, Washington, near Shelton, and he won another tournament at Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon.
“You always think, ‘If I made the final table, what would that be like?’ And I’m like, I want my poker buddies here first for being able to go over and talk strategy a little bit. I want my family here to just be able to soak it in. And then I want people to be loud,” he said in an interview with Poker.org.
Wasnock’s family and friends flew down to Las Vegas to watch him take on some of the world’s best.
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