Lucas Jumalon will play Lauri Saaskilahti on Wednesday for the World Series of Poker Main Event title and a $10 million payday. The final table at the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas came down to those two after Tuesday night, with Jumalon one step away from the biggest prize in poker.
The timing matters because the field is now at the last hand that counts. Jumalon, who wore a black shirt with a green raven etched across the front during the final table, has already moved into rare company; if he wins at 22, he will become the second youngest Main Event champion ever, behind Joe Cada, who won in 2009 at 21.
There is more than money at stake. Paul Beitelspacher said the World Series of Poker runs 100 tournaments a year, but 99 of them are smaller and skinnier than the Main Event bracelet, which he said is valued at half a million dollars. The gold-plated bracelet is studded with expensive jewels, and the winner can wedge two winning cards into a latch at the top, a detail that helps explain why Beitelspacher called it the most coveted poker trophy you can win.
Jumalon’s path to the final two was not sealed by one headline hand but by the accumulation of small edges, starting with the very first hand of the game around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, which he won. From there, he stayed alive long enough for the table to narrow around him, with supporters from Spokane, Ferris High School, and his close friends and family turning the room into a home crowd while chants rolled in from other camps as well.
That support did not remove the simplest fact of the night: he still has to beat Saaskilahti to take the title. Laura Penney said she was surprised to see Jumalon wear the Circling Raven Golf Club logo on Tuesday night, and she also said her heart and support go to people in Spokane and the surrounding communities. For Jumalon, the reward is immediate and personal; for everyone watching, Wednesday decides whether the 22-year-old leaves Las Vegas as just a finalist or as a name poker will remember.
