Only two of the nine remaining players from a field of 9,208 in the 2026 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event are bracelet winners. While Greg Mueller is a veteran mixed-game player with three wins at the series, it is 41-year-old Michael Gagliano who has the experience advantage in no-limit hold’em, collecting four bracelets of his own in the game.
That experience in the main event, however, had been mostly disappointing during his nearly two-decade career.
“I was telling some of the other guys, I think this is my 17th main event. Before last year’s [148th-place finish], I only had one cash and zero day 4 finishes,” Gagliano admitted to Card Player. “So I had a pretty poor record overall. I made a relatively deep run last year and then obviously this year. So, it can just turn at the tip of a hat like that.”
“I’m super happy to be here,” he continued. “This is obviously what every poker player dreams of. The World Series of Poker main event is the biggest, most prestigious tournament you can play and do well in. With that being said, it’s a massive, massive field. I know a ton of good players who’ve had really poor results in it.”
Anybody’s Game
The poker pro from Rockaway, New Jersey has recorded results reaching back nearly two decades. The first of his four bracelets was won back in 2016, when he took down a $2,500 no-limit hold’em event for a career-best score of $448,463.
That mark has already been topped thanks to Gagliano’s success in the main event, as he is guaranteed at least $1 million for having made the final table. He would more than double his current career earnings of $2,559,401 with a top-four showing in this tournament.
Gagliano’s other three bracelets all came online. He took down a turbo deepstack event in 2022, a six-max event in 2023, and he also told the media that he took down an online mystery bounty bracelet, which has not yet had its results posted.
With 46,500,000 (31 big blinds), Gagliano is currently firmly in the middle of the pack heading into the final table.
“Just going to see where the cards fall and play my best and go from there. I mean, it’s going to be hard to be too disappointed. Obviously, I’d be a little disappointed if I get ninth, but again, that’s poker. It might happen. Anyone at this table can very easily get ninth or first, still. It’s wide open at this point. So we’ll see.”
Michael Gagliano At A Glance
Age: 41
Hometown: Rockaway, NJ
Profession: Poker Player
WSOP Bracelets: 4
Prior Overall Tournament Earnings: $2,559,401
Prior WSOP Tournament Earnings: $1,314,923
Current Rank At The Final Table: 5/9
Current Chip Stack: 46,500,000 (31 big blinds)
The Waiting Game
This year’s main event returned to a delayed final table, with the last nine set on July 13 and the final table set to play out over the course of three days, from Aug. 3-5.
For the first time since 2021, the WSOP has reunited with ESPN for coverage of the big dance. The playdown to the final table was broadcast live on ESPN+, while edited-down TV episodes began airing on ESPN2 on July 21.
“I watched this tournament for so many years growing up on ESPN and stuff, so it’s pretty cool to have the opportunity to actually partake in it,” said Gagliano. “I can’t wait to watch some of the episodes back.”
The three-week break in between the final table being set and the resumption of play is a marked decrease from the multi-month gap that existed during the main event’s ‘November Nine’ era, which extended from 2008 to 2016. As the name suggests, competitors had to wait until the fall to get back in on the action.
“I’m pretty happy there’s just some time just so I can relax a bit and just recover from the last 10 days, or whatever. I was not a huge fan of the November Nine,” said Gagliano when asked about this year’s approach.
“It felt like too long of a time period. I think the last couple years, they’ve done like a day off or something like that, which is fine… It’s better than nothing. I think these two weeks will probably be good. I mean, it’s slightly awkward, because I don’t know if I should go home or come back, or I’m going to fly halfway across the country and then immediately fly back.”
Those Who Can, Do… And Sometimes Teach
In addition to a successful career as a player, Gagliano has also long been involved with coaching and instructing other poker players.
When asked about his career background, he noted that he was a staff assistant in an elementary school before, and that his mother was a teacher for many years.
Michael Gagliano
“I’ve always had an affinity towards teaching. I didn’t really have a lot of direction coming out of college, and my mom was a teacher and always wanted to push me towards being a teacher. So, it was probably what I was going to do. That was the track I was going down, but until I found something that was maybe more interesting to me, poker just kind of fell into place,” said Gagliano. “Right out of the gate, people were reaching out, asking me for coaching. Once I started having results, I was very active on poker forums… shout out PocketFives back in the day. I learned so much from the people on there and the threads and everything like that. And so I just was like, ‘I should just start coaching.’ And I have been since 2009.”
His prior students include Joe McKeehen, who later went on to win the 2015 WSOP main event for one of his three bracelets years after their sessions together. “I certainly cannot take credit for Joe’s main event win, but I worked with him,” said Gagliano. “We did a handful of sessions. I’d like to think I helped him. I’ll let him answer that for himself. I’m friends with Joe to this day. ”
Michael Gagliano’s Main Event Run, By The Numbers
| Day | Chip Count | End Of Day Rank | Remaining Field Size | Field Percentile |
| Day 1b | 93,000 | 250 | 759 | Top 32.9% |
| Day 2abc | 135,000 | 683 | 1,260 | Top 54.2% |
| Day 3 | 736,000 | 189 | 1,389 | Top 13.6% |
| Day 4 | 300,000 | 489 | 533 | Top 91.7% |
| Day 5 | 5,215,000 | 29 | 174 | Top 16.7% |
| Day 6 | 11,675,000 | 19 | 62 | Top 30.6% |
| Day 7 | 19,300,000 | 14 | 21 | Top 66.7% |
| Day 8 | 46,500,000 | 5 | 9 | Top 55.6% |
How The Tournament Played Out
Gagliano had a big surge on day 3, only to slide back down the leaderboard on day 4 and end with less than half of the chips he had to start the session. The experienced pro bounced back in a major way on day 5, though, surging from 300,000 up to a stack of over 5.2 million.
Gagliano on day 8
Day 8 began with Gagliano in 14th chip position among the final 21. He busted 2019 WSOP main event winner Hossein Ensan in 13th place with pocket kings holding against A-Q to ensure a first-time champion.
Earlier in the day, he squared off against two-time WSOP Player of the Year and nine-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb in one of the hands that he described as a turning point for him down the stretch.
“I was all in versus Deeb, pocket tens versus A-J, which I would’ve been out if I lost. So that was obviously very key. I mean, every all-in you win or lose is just really important at this point,” said Gagliano.
Gagliano also lost a classic flip with Mueller, which changed the layout of the field dramatically. He opened from under the gun with A♠K♥ and Mueller three-bet on the button holding Q♠Q♥. Gagliano four-bet shoved and Mueller, who had all but committed his stack with the previous raise, called. Neither player connected with the board of 10♦3♥2♠6♥3♦.
“He’s got a very good stack now. My stack is still fine, but he’s very much in play now, whereas obviously he would’ve been out and I would’ve had a lot more chips. So it would’ve just changed the tournament a bit,” said Gagliano. “But that’s poker. Sometimes these things happen. You’ve got to just keep moving forward and see what the next hand brings.”
Eyes On The Prize
| Place | Payout |
| 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 |
Now, the remaining nine have locked up $1,000,000 but are playing for the gold and the top prize of $10,000,000.
When asked about the money, Gagliano noted, “There were a couple of pay jumps where I had a shortish stack or maybe a medium stack where I felt like I was kind of locked by the pay jumps. There was one point when… I forget how many were left. It was when Brock [Wilson] and I both had identical stacks and we both just kept looking over at the other table, seeing what’s going on. I think it was 18 left when we were on that jump, which was a decent one.”
“In terms of money, [the pay jumps] are all huge at this point, but I don’t know,” he continued. “The biggest jump is still second-to-first.”
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chip Count |
| 1 | Lucas Jumalon | 194,000,000 |
| 2 | Rami Hammoud | 79,000,000 |
| 3 | Jamie Shaevel | 56,000,000 |
| 4 | Greg Mueller | 48,500,000 |
| 5 | Michael Gagliano | 46,500,000 |
| 6 | Mario Boos | 44,000,000 |
| 7 | Lauri Saaskilahti | 37,500,000 |
| 8 | Han Feng | 25,000,000 |
| 9 | Evagoras Evagorou | 22,500,000 |
The first two nights of final-table action air on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4 starting at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The finale of the 2026 WSOP main event airs starting at 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 5 on ESPN.
Photo credits: WSOP / Monique Marestein, Alicia Skillman, Travis Ball
