The Five Biggest Poker MTT Earners From South Dakota

South Dakota is the home of the world-famous Mount Rushmore and a whole host of talented poker players. The state is the 17th largest by area, yet the fifth least populous. Neighboring North Dakota ranks fourth in the latter.

The five biggest live poker tournament winners from South Dakota have combined winnings of $7,198,039. Seventy percent of that impressive sum stems from one man, who you are about to read about.

Layne Flack the Six-Time WSOP Winner From South Dakota

Layne Flack was one of No-Limit Texas Hold’em original superstars. The man from Rapid City, South Carolina, moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to seek fame and fortune. He found both in abundance. Most of Flack’s peers considered him the best NL Hold’em player on the planet in the early 2000s. Flack’s results add weight to those claims.

Flack won the first of six bracelets at the 1999 WSOP. He took down the $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em event for $244,400. He won two bracelets in 2002, doing so in the $2,000 and $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em events. Those victories came with cash prizes of $303,880 and $268,020.

The 2003 WSOP saw Flack win another pair of bracelets. Victory in the $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo yielded $119,260. Winnings the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Showdown banked Flack $120,000.

Bracelet number six came in 2008 in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha rebuy. Flack walked away with a career-best $577,725.

Unfortunately, the poker world lost Flack on July 19. He was found dead at his Las Vegas residence; he was only 52-years-old.

William Eichel the South Dakota Poker Veteran

William Eichel is a poker veteran from Parker, South Dakota, with cashes dating back to 1995. His last recorded cash came in march 2021, meaning Eichel has been raking in money for the past 26-years!

Eichel has cashed for at least five figures in 15 of the past 26 years. 2001 was his best year, thanks to his one and only six-figure haul. He finished second to Mike Liang in the $5,080 No-Limit Championship at the Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, and banked $165,870. Such luminaries as Scotty Nguyen, Amarillo Slim, and third-placed Daniel Negreanu were at the final table.

Michael Moore Has a WSOP Bracelet to His Name

Michael Moore of Agar, South Dakota, mostly plays low-stakes tournaments but takes a trip to the WSOP most years. His 2013 WSOP ended in success, with Moore triumphing in the $5,000 Limit Hold’em event. Moore defeated Frenchman Gabriel Nassif heads-up for the bracelet and a $211,743 prize.

Moore must look back at the 1995 WSOP Main Event and wonder what could have been. He burst the final table and collected $27,680. Dan Harrington went on to win that year; he scooped $1,000,000 exactly.

Mark Fink the Low-Stakes Crusher

Mark Fink of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had more than $520,000 in live cashes despite having never won more than $31,323 from a single tournament. Fink reeled in that career-best prize for a second-place finish in the MSPT South Dakota Main Event.

Fink has 118 recorded cashes on his Hendon Mob profile, most coming from lower-stakes games. As evidenced by his ten victories and 47 final table finishes, he has a knack for these events!

Scott Mahin Ran Deep in the WSOP Main Event

Elk Point, South Dakota, is where you find Scott Mahin, the state’s fifth-biggest poker winner. Mahin has $370,077 in winnings, $347,521 of that coming from one big score.

Mahin put together an impressive run in the 2014 WSOP Main Event. Spain’s Andoni Larrabe raised to 400,000 under the gun, and Mahin called from the big blind. A 6d-Td-8h flop saw Mahin check, Larrabe made a 550,000 continuation bet, and Mahin check-raise to 1,550,000. Larrabe moved all-in for 5,350,000 effective, and Mahin called.

Larrabe showed Ad-Kd, and Mahin the Th-8c. The Ac turn kept Mahin’s hand best, but the 9d river completed his opponent’s flush. Mahin bowed out, and Larrabe ultimately finished sixth for $1,622,080.

Brad Johnson

You name the game, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad has either played it or placed a wager on it! Brad calls himself a natural gambler, and someone who gains as much enjoyment from writing about the crazy game of poker as he does playing it.

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