Michael Gagliano Returns to WSOP Main Event Final Table in Fifth Place
The New Jersey pro has $1 million locked up and is chasing the $10 million first prize after a three-week break.
Michael Gagliano returned Monday to the WSOP Main Event final table. He had 46.5 million chips, good for fifth place among the final nine. He had already locked up at least $1 million and was chasing the $10 million first prize.
The nine-handed finale resumed Monday after a three-week break at the end of the WSOP Main Event, which drew 9,208 entrants and built an $85.6 million prize pool. Lucas Jumalon led the table with 194 million chips, while Rami Hammoud sat on 79 million, Jamie Shaevel on 56 million, and Evagoras Evagorou held the short stack at 22.5 million.
Gagliano said the Main Event is what every poker player dreams about, and that growing up watching it on ESPN made it especially cool to finally play it himself. He also said he had a lot of direction coming out of college, and that his mother, who was a teacher, wanted him to follow that path too.
After graduating from Rutgers with a degree in geology, he worked in an elementary school as a staff assistant before poker success, especially online, pulled him away from education. He became a professional poker player in 2009 and now has more than $8 million in combined live and online tournament earnings.
Gagliano has four WSOP bracelets, with three coming in online events. His first bracelet arrived in 2016, and he also won a title in the 2025 WSOP Online Fall Bracelet Series. Since 2010, he has also coached other players, including 2015 Main Event champion Joe McKeehen.
This run is a big step up from his past Main Event record. Before this year, he had only two cashes in the event, and his best finish was 148th in 2025.
His path to the final table included a key double through Shaun Deeb on Day 8 when pocket tens held, a hand he said would have knocked him out if it had gone the other way. He later lost a big pot to Greg Mueller when ace-king ran into pocket queens, but said his stack was still fine and that the cards would decide the rest.
The final table is scheduled to play out over Aug. 3-5, with ESPN and ESPN2 carrying coverage. The championship ends on Aug. 5, when one player wins the bracelet and the $10 million top prize.
