Rob Wazwaz Wins Wisconsin Poker State Championship for Second MSPT Title
The Hall of Famer earned $253,521 from a 1,568-entry Milwaukee Main Event and extended his tour-record final-table total to 22.
- The 1,568-entry Main Event generated a $1.52 million prize pool from its $1 million guarantee.
- Wazwaz entered heads-up play with 34.2 million chips against Mark Cahill’s 12.84 million, while Cahill finished runner-up for about $154,000.
- The result brought Wazwaz’s record MSPT final-table total to 22 and lifted his tour earnings above $1 million.
- The victory secured him a seat in the $3,500 MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida.
Rob Wazwaz won the 2026 Wisconsin Poker State Championship at Potawatomi Hotel Casino in Milwaukee, collecting $253,521 from a 1,568-entry Main Event. The MSPT Hall of Famer’s victory was his second Major Series of Poker: The Tour title and brought his record total to 22 MSPT final tables.
The Sept. 24-27 event carried a $1,110 buy-in and $1 million guarantee, but generated a $1.52 million prize pool. The top 173 finishers were paid. Wazwaz entered heads-up play holding 34.2 million chips against Mark Cahill’s 12.84 million, then closed out the tournament; Cahill earned about $154,000 as runner-up.
According to MSPT’s event report, Wazwaz eliminated four of his eight final-table opponents. Brittany Spain finished 10th for $19,676 to set the official final table, while Mike Wilklow took third for $118,057. Wazwaz said he had concentrated on avoiding the mistakes that had affected him at previous final tables: “I was really focused this time around.”
The win was Wazwaz’s first MSPT title since the 2018 Canterbury Park Main Event, where he earned $109,375. Seventeen of his 22 tour final tables have come since that first title. The latest result also lifted his MSPT earnings above $1 million, making him the fifth player in tour history to reach that mark, while his overall tournament earnings rose beyond $3.4 million.
Wazwaz was inducted as the eighth MSPT Hall of Fame member in October 2021 after recording his 25th MSPT Main Event cash and a tour title. His $253,521 Wisconsin payday was his second-largest career score, behind the $358,346 he earned for winning an $800 deepstack event at the 2022 World Series of Poker.
The Wisconsin victory secured Wazwaz a seat in the $3,500 MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. Its $2 million-guaranteed Main Event is scheduled to run from Nov. 18 through Dec. 2.
