ShareTexan amateur poker player Braxton Dunaway walked off with a dream WSOP gold bracelet, scooping the $1500 Monster Stack for a whopping $1,162,681 payday.
Dunaway, a 40-year-old family man from Midland, Texas who works in the oil and gas industry, was among 8,317 runners, the Monster Stack one of the most popular and well-attended events of the series.
With a prizepool of $11,103,195 and more than $1million up top, it would take five full days of play to separate the hopefuls, with the likes of WSOP bracelet winners Kyle Julius, Dietrich Fast, and Gershon Distenfeld all making the paid spots.
By the time day 5 and the final seven started play, most eyes were on Joe Cada, the 2009 Main Event champ looking to add a fifth gold bracelet to his WSOP haul.
It wasn’t to be, though, as his short stack fell to a painful river...
Joe Cada: A♣ K♦
Braxton Dunaway: A♥ J♣
Flop: 9♣ 7♦ Q♣
Turn: 6♣
River: J♥
Seventh place for $186,149 for Cada and Dunaway followed that up with a similar KO of Joshua Adcock, spiking a queen on the turn to outgun Adcock’s big slick.
Dobrigna also fell to Dunaway, flopping a set this time, and the Texan couldn’t miss as he felled Jesse Rockowitz in 3rd when all the chips went in on the turn...
Jesse Rockowitz: 8♣ 7♣
Braxton Dunaway: Q♣ 6♣
Flop: K♠ 5♠ 7♦
Turn: 4♥
River: Q♦
Heads-up didn’t last long, the unstoppable Dunaway inducing a river call that handed him the title and a monster $1,162,681 cash...
Final results
| 1 | Braxton Dunaway | $1,162,681 |
| 2 | Colin Robinson | $718,649 |
| 3 | Jesse Rockowitz | $541,376 |
| 4 | Loic Dobrigna | $410,493 |
| 5 | Nicholas Gerrity | $313,297 |
| 6 | Joshua Adcock | $240,695 |
| 7 | Joe Cada | $186,149 |
Dunaway revealed his plans to celebrate with the family, flying out to Omaha, Nebraska where his son is playing poker.
“They’re at the College World Series,” he told PokerNews. “My son is in a tournament during that, which is for teenage boys. He won his first two games today and he’s guaranteed like five more games. I’ll be there, we’ll catch some games, and just hang out on vacation.”
He also stated: “I’ll be back to for sure play the Main, that’s the plan. I’ve just been gone so long I need to get home, do laundry, and sleep in my own bed. I still can’t believe it. It’s just amazing. I told my wife and she said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”
