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Michael Gagliano reached the final table of the 2026 WSOP Main Event with 46,500,000 chips, finishing fifth. After years of competition, he finally achieved his dream.
Michael Gagliano reached the final table of the 2026 WSOP Main Event with 46,500,000 chips, finishing fifth. After years of competition, he finally achieved his dream.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, besides testing No-Limit Texas Hold'em skills, is also a test of endurance and mental resilience. The opening group attracts hundreds, sometimes thousands, of players. Each group and subsequent days involve a grueling 10-hour battle, with only scheduled breaks interrupting the 120-minute levels. Players might feel like they're trapped in Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.
Gagliano was finally satisfied.
Michael "Gags30" Gagliano, a BetMGM ambassador, has extensive knowledge of tournament winnings. His first recorded live winnings came in June 2008 at the Heartland Poker Tour Verona festival in a $550 buy-in event. Eighteen years later, Gagliano's Hendon Mob profile shows 155 winnings, $3.3 million in prize money, and four WSOP bracelets.
In fact, his profile showed three gold bracelets, but Gagliano's online victory seems to have vanished into thin air.
Gagliano had previously won two WSOP Main Event awards. In 2016, he finished 842nd out of 6,737 players, earning $16,007. He then finished 148th out of a massive field of 9,735 players at the 2025 WSOP. This year, he finally broke through, successfully reaching the Main Event final table.
In an interview with PokerNews shortly after packing 46,500,000 chips—enough to finish fifth when the tournament restarts—Gagliano likened the ordeal of the WSOP Main Event to Groundhog Day, but also said he was finally satisfied to have made it to the final table.
"I've been saying this for days, it feels like Groundhog Day. It's like the more people are eliminated, the more the number seems to keep going. My friends asked me, I think there are about 100 or 80 people left. 'When will you be happy?' I said, 'Well, when there are only nine people left. I feel like it's finally over.'"
Good karma helped Gagliano
When planning the summer tournament schedule, Gagliano decided to help his poker enthusiasts by creating the Summer Poker Calendar—an Android and iOS app. Players can download the app for free to access information, including the structure, for every poker tournament in Las Vegas throughout the series.
Gagliano decided earlier this summer to help the community by creating the Summer Poker Calendar, a free mobile app that provides information on all the events in Las Vegas during the series.
If you missed the chance to use the Gagliano app, don't worry, it will be back next summer.
Whether you believe in karma or not, there's no harm in lending a helping hand to your fellow poker enthusiasts. If anything, it perfectly illustrates what kind of person Gagliano is.
The popular poker grinder thanked everyone for their support on the social media platform X. He revealed that while he was giving it his all to win the $10,000,000 jackpot, he would be happy for anyone who was crowned world champion, even if he didn't win.
Michael Gagliano's 2026 WSOP Main Event Journey
Day 1, Group B, was a moment of glory for Gagliano, who traded $10,000 for 60,000 chips and a chance to become the World Poker Champion. The New Jersey native had a bountiful day at the tables, packing 93,000 chips and finishing in 250th place out of 759 players.
Gagliano returned to the field on Day 2 with 1,259 other players in Groups ABC. He increased his chip stack, packing 135,000 chips and placing him in the middle of the chip leaderboard.
Day 3 went well for the finalist, who increased his chip stack from 135,000 to 736,000, moving into the top 15% on the chip leaderboard. However, on Day 4, Gagliano's chip stack dwindled to 300,000, putting him at a disadvantage on the leaderboard, and he entered Day 5 with only 12 big blinds.
Good karma, excellent play, or a combination of both, allowed Gagliano to climb rapidly up the leaderboard on Day 5. He quietly finished the day with 5,215,000 chips, ranking 29th out of 174 survivors.
Some of his final table chips had once belonged to Shaun Deeb. On Day 8, Level 36, Deeb min-raised to 1,600,000 with A♣J♠, then called when Gagliano went all-in for 13,800,000 with 10♠10♥. The 10 held, Gagliano doubled up to 29.2 million, and Deeb's chip stack was halved.
Gagliano took the chip lead after defeating Hossein Ensan's AQ with pocket Ks, eliminating the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion in 13th place. He then broke the 100 million chip mark, sending Antonio Galiana to the prize pool for a 12th-place finish.
In Level 38, Gagliano faced off against Greg Mueller, who went all-in with pocket queens against Gagliano's AK. A 10-high board allowed Mueller's queens to maintain the lead, and Gagliano surrendered 26.5 million chips.
When time was stopped after Malcolm Trayner was eliminated in 10th place, Gagliano had 46,500,000 chips.
| Days | Chip quantity | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1, Group B | 93,000 | 250/759 |
| Day 2, Groups A, B, and C | 135,000 | 683/1,260 |
| Day 3 | 736,000 | 189/1,389 |
| Day 4 | 300,000 | 489/533 |
| Day 5 | 5,215,000 | 29/174 |
| Day 6 | 11,675,000 | 19/62 |
| Day 7 | 19,300,000 | 14/21 |
| Day 8 | 46,500,000 | 5/9 |
2026 WSOP Main Event Final Table Chip Count
| Ranking | player | country | Chip quantity | big blind number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Jumalon | United States | 194,000,000 | 129 |
| 2 | Rami Hammoud | Canada | 79,000,000 | 53 |
| 3 | Jamie Shaevel | United States | 56,000,000 | 37 |
| 4 | Greg Mueller | Canada | 48,500,000 | 32 |
| 5 | Michael Gagliano | United States | 46,500,000 | 31 |
| 6 | Mario Boos | France | 44,000,000 | 29 |
| 7 | Lauri Saaskilahti | Finland | 37,500,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Han Feng | United States | 25,000,000 | 17 |
| 9 | Evagoras Evagorou | Cyprus | 22,500,000 | 15 |
Remaining bonus
| Ranking | player | country | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 | ||
| 2 | $6,000,000 | ||
| 3 | $3,750,000 | ||
| 4 | $2,750,000 | ||
| 5 | $2,250,000 | ||
| 6 | $1,750,000 | ||
| 7 | $1,500,000 | ||
| 8 | $1,250,000 | ||
| 9 | $1,000,000 |
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