An Ontario poker player has made the final nine at the prestigious World Series of Poker Main Event and is headed for a guaranteed seven-figure payday.
Jason Sagle of Niagara Falls, Ontario, is the lone Canadian to finish in the top 10. Monday is an off day for the WSOP Main Event, held at the Horseshoe Las Vegas. The nine remaining participants will resume play on Tuesday, July 16.
Sagle, often seen sporting a Toronto Blue Jays hat at the table, has collected 67.3 million chips going into the final two days of the Main Event. He is guaranteed at least $1 million USD, his biggest tournament prize ever.
Ontario Poker Player’s Path To Main Event
Anyone participating in online poker at Ontario gambling sites can dream of making the WSOP, but it takes a lot of work and practice.
“I have been here for five weeks and every day I get up and play a tournament,” Sagle told Jeff Platt of PokerGo on Sunday, in an interview posted on the X social media platform.
According to the Hendon Mob poker database, Sagle – nicknamed “Big Bird” – is No. 69 on the all-time money list among Canadians. He will at least move into the top 40 and perhaps much higher. The tournament winner is guaranteed at least $10 million. Sagle’s chip count placed him fifth on the Main Event final table; American Jordan Griff goes into Tuesday with the most chips at 143.7 million.
Sagle said he has been playing poker since 1995, way before the World Series of Poker Ontario online site was an option for players.
Kristen Foxen Highest-Ranking Woman
Another Ontario player, Kristen Foxen, exited the WSOP Main Event just short of the final table. but her 13th-place finish brought her a $600,000 prize. She was the final woman left in the competition.
Foxen, a native of St. Catherines, has more than $7.7 million in career earnings. Her $600,000 cash-in at the Main Event is her best career payday, according to Hendon Mob, but she has had dozens of six-figure paydays in her poker career.
Last year, OntarioBets.com wrote a Kristen Foxen profile that highlighted how few women have made deep runs at the WSOP. Barbara Enright is still the only woman to reach the final table at the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold ‘Em Main Event, finishing fifth in 1995.
“It was, I don’t even know how many hours of poker, and I feel pretty happy. … I feel fine with it, honestly,” Foxen told Platt after she was eliminated. Of being an inspiration for other female players, she said, “I hope so. I hope it just shows, don’t be afraid to sit down and play with guys.”
Other Canadians finishing in the top 100 of the 2024 WSOP are: Jason James, 14th; Garrett Bok, 35th; Robert Renaud, 41st and Randy Gattesco, 54th.
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Photo courtesy of WSOP
