Had Michael Gagliano’s ma got her way, helium mightiness beryllium preparing for the upcoming schoolhouse twelvemonth alternatively than the last array of the World Series of Poker Main Event.
“I didn’t truly person a batch of absorption coming retired of college, and my ma was a teacher and ever wanted to propulsion maine towards being a teacher,” Gagliano said. “That was the way I was going down till I recovered thing that was much absorbing to me.”
Gagliano became a nonrecreational poker subordinate successful 2009 and has much than $8 cardinal successful combined unrecorded and online tourney earnings. The Rockaway, New Jersey, nonmigratory volition adhd to that full erstwhile the last array of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship resumes Monday astatine Horseshoe Las Vegas aft a three-week break.
The Main Event begins astatine 5 p.m. and volition beryllium shown connected a one-hour hold connected ESPN2 opening astatine 6 p.m. Lucas Jumalon holds a commanding spot lead, portion Gagliano sits 5th successful chips with 9 players inactive battling for the $10 cardinal archetypal prize. All the remaining players are guaranteed $1 million.
“This is evidently what each poker subordinate dreams of. The World Series Main (Event) is the biggest, astir prestigious tourney you tin play and bash good in,” Gagliano said. “We’ll spot what I tin do. I watched this tourney for truthful galore years increasing up connected ESPN and stuff, truthful it’s beauteous chill to person the accidental to really partake successful it.”
Gagliano, 41, worked successful an simple schoolhouse arsenic a unit adjunct aft helium graduated from Rutgers with a grade successful geology. But helium recovered aboriginal occurrence successful poker, particularly online, and near a vocation successful acquisition behind.
Gagliano has 4 vocation WSOP bracelets, which are awarded for tourney victories, with his archetypal coming successful 2016. Three of his victories were successful WSOP online events, including a first-place decorativeness successful the 2025 WSOP Online Fall Bracelet Series.
Since 2010, Gagliano besides has been a palmy poker coach. He worked with 2015 Main Event champion Joe McKeehen, though Gagliano is speedy to constituent retired that they studied unneurotic good earlier that victory.
“I’d similar to deliberation I helped him. I’m friends with Joe to this day,” Gagliano said.
Despite each his occurrence successful poker, Gagliano had a mediocre grounds successful the Main Event with 2 cashes anterior to this heavy run. His champion decorativeness was past twelvemonth erstwhile helium went retired successful 148th place.
Gagliano won a cardinal manus with 15 players remaining connected Day 8 erstwhile helium doubled-up against nine-time bracelet victor Shaun Deeb. Gagliano would person been retired of the tourney if his pouch 10s didn’t clasp up.
He had 1 of the biggest spot stacks with 11 players near but mislaid a large cookware with ace-king against Greg Mueller’s pouch queens.
“My stack is inactive fine, but he’s precise overmuch successful play now, whereas evidently helium would person been retired and I would person had a batch much chips,” Gagliano said. “It would person conscionable changed the tourney a bit, but that’s poker. Sometimes these things happen. You’ve got to conscionable support moving guardant and spot what the adjacent manus brings.”
Gagliano was thankful for the interruption successful the Main Event and utilized the clip disconnected to unbend aft the grueling summertime schedule. He noted helium wouldn’t walk overmuch clip studying the tendencies of his opponents astatine the last table.
“I’m conscionable going to spot wherever the cards fall, play my champion and spell from there,” Gagliano said. “It’s going to beryllium hard to beryllium excessively disappointed. Obviously I’ll beryllium a small disappointed if I get ninth, but again, that’s poker. It mightiness happen. Anyone astatine this array tin precise easy get ninth oregon archetypal still. It’s wide unfastened astatine this point.
Contact David Schoen astatine dschoen@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ connected X.
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