That’s some run-good
Look, I don’t begrudge other people their success or bemoan another person’s luck, but boy, I’ll admit that it’s a little difficult to see Thomas “PaigowKing” Zanot run so pure on gambling jackpots. I’m not mad. I’m not mad.
Now, I don’t know what Zanot’s luck has been like in other parts of his life, but in gambling, it’s been insane. It started about two and a half years ago, when he nailed a $6.4 million Pai Gow jackpot at the Flamingo casino in Las Vegas.
On a $5 bet in January 2023, Zanot was dealt A-8-9, all spades. He then got 9-T-J-Q of spades plus a Joker, and since the Joker played, he turned it into the King of spades.
Zanot still arranged his hand with A-T for the low, but that was inconsequential compared to the seven-card straight flush he was starting at. That triggered the progressive jackpot and his $6,443,401 windfall.
Zanot said he was down $375 on the night before the life-changing score.
Not a mystery anymore
Fast forward to this past Sunday, Day 2 of the 2025 World Series of Poker $1,000 Mystery Millions event. This was the day during which the bounties started – for every person they knock out of the tournament, players get to pick an envelope (1,045 in total) containing at least $1,000.
About 82% of the bounties are for the $1,000 minimum. While that’s nice, what people are really hoping for is one of two $1 million bounties, or as a consolation, one $500,000 bounty and six more in the six-figure range.
Zanot bagged an elimination on Sunday, so he got to take a turn to walk up on stage and pick an envelope from a large chest. And sure enough, the main who won over $6 million two years ago, found one of the two $1 million bounties.
That was the second million-dollar bounty. The first was found by 23-year-old Tyler Montoya on just the seventh envelope pull of the day.
While I might break down in tears if I won that much money because I could pay for my daughter’s upcoming college tuition and make some much-needed repairs to my house, Montoya is at a different stage in his life than I am, god bless him, and has different plans.
“If you’re a stripper at the strip club, you should be working tonight,” he told PokerNews.
Go for it, my man.
The final day of the $1,000 Mystery Millions event just started. Twenty players have returned to fight for the $1 million first prize, as well as the remaining bounties. Most are the minimum, but a $25,000 and a $5,000 bounty are still hiding in envelopes.
The post Two Players Claim $1 Million Bounties in 2025 WSOP Mystery Millions Event appeared first on Poker News Daily.
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