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Rob Wazwaz has claimed the Roughrider Poker Tour $640 Main Event title at Jackpot Junction Casino and Hotel, taking home the top prize of $44,600 along with a $10,400 seat into the WPT Wynn Main Event in Las Vegas.
The victory carried extra meaning for Wazwaz, who missed his seven-year-old twin daughters’ birthday to compete in the event. He credited them for his “birthday magic” after sealing the win.
The tournament drew 507 entries across three starting flights, building a prize pool exceeding $270,000. Of the 86 players who returned for Day 2, only 77 secured a min-cash, with Daniel Kennedy’s elimination on a deuces-versus-kings hand pushing the remaining field into the money.
Notable names including Tyler Kolness, Kaden Becker, and Leo Pinamonti fell just short of the final three tables. At the final table itself, RPT all-time leader Weston Wells exited in seventh place after his ace-king lost to pocket kings, while Justin Deutsch and Thai Dinh also fell short despite strong stacks earlier in the tournament.
Wazwaz took control from sixth-place onward, eliminating Terence Reid and Jamie Meidinger before outlasting Paul Jain, whose kings were cracked in a decisive hand for third place.
Heads-up against AJ Thompson, Wazwaz overcame an early deficit and ultimately rivered a straight to defeat Thompson’s trips in the final hand. A 2022 WSOP bracelet winner well known in Minnesota poker circles, Wazwaz continues to build toward the $3.5 million mark in career earnings.
