On Tuesday evening at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Scott Eskenazi emerged victorious from a field of 590 players. The 61-year-old from Mercer Island, Washington earned his first-ever World Poker Tour title and took home the top prize of $361,660, as well as a seat in the WPT World Championship.
“Feels awesome. It was great. It was an educational experience. I’m still a rec player, but I learned a lot,” stated Eskenazi following his win. “They were all tough players, especially Jeremy Joseph. He’s a great player. We battled for a long time.”
As well as winning the prize money and seat in the championship, Eskenazi’s name will be engraved on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, and he was presented with a WPT trophy by world-renowned artist David Arsham.
The event set a new record for entries in a WPT Rolling Thunder, surpassing the previous high of 465 entrants from the 2014 debut. The prize pool of $1,888,000 and the first-place prize of $361,660 were also records, not just for the Rolling Thunder but for all Thunder Valley poker events.
WPT CEO Adam Pliska commented, “We are elated with the tremendous success at Thunder Valley Casino, breaking WPT and venue records in multiple categories. Congratulations to Scott for his crowning achievement in our largest WPT Rolling Thunder event in history.”
Poker pro Jeremy Joseph finished as the runner-up, receiving a payout of $234,000. Other notable players who cashed include Alejandro Jauregui, Albert Tapia, Victor Paredes, and WPT Commentator Tony Dunst.
The next stop on the WPT Main Tour is the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Hollywood, Florida, with the championship event running from April 28 to May 4.
WPT Rolling Thunder Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Eskenazi | $361,600 |
| 2 | Jeremy Joseph | $234,000 |
| 3 | Alejandro Jauregui | $172,000 |
| 4 | Albert Tapia | $128,000 |
| 5 | Victor Paredes | $97,000 |
| 6 | Tony Dunst | $73,400 |
