Most poker players would envy the spot Sam Laskowitz found himself in. He sat inside the PokerGO Studio in February as the chip leader in a $15,000 PokerGO Cup event. The former lawyer from Long Island, New York had already notched three top-10 finishes in the series, and with a win could put himself in contention for player of the series honors.
Instead, the 32-year-old found himself abruptly rushing towards the exit. Although he still had chips on the table, a major life event had forced his hand.
“My girlfriend was pregnant and the due date was sometime during the PokerGO Cup,” he recalled. “We didn’t know when it was going to be exactly, obviously. I was playing every tournament, just kind of waiting for that call. And then finally, we were on stream and she texted me that her water broke. I was actually chip leader with like 21 people left or something. It just progressed super fast. By 7:30 we were all ready to push the baby out.”
The story had a positive ending all the way around. His new son was healthy, as was his son’s mother, fellow poker pro Melissa Schubert. And while he didn’t get to finish the tournament in the PokerGO Studio, Laskowitz still managed to finish eighth for $51,600 while simply getting his stack blinded off.
He’d have to wait about a month before he found the winner’s circle again, earning a WSOP Circuit ring at Horseshoe in March, but heading to the hospital instead was certainly worth missing out on the potential $350,000 first-place prize.
“It’s actually been really nice to have a girlfriend or a partner who understands poker life a little bit,” he said of Schubert.
The couple met through mutual friends in Las Vegas.
“We knew there was a possibility he would have to blind out of something if I went into labor during the series,” Schubert said. “I was five days late, so we were expecting it any day. I started labor the night of that tournament when he had a lot of chips. As a first-time mom, I expected a long labor and no rush, but I progressed really quickly and it was all pretty hectic. He made it though! Early on, Sam and I knew we had a shared vision of family and we’re blessed to have started. Our son Dean is already no stranger to poker. The day after he was born, he spent his afternoon at the hospital watching the final table on his dad’s chest.”
Laskowitz’s life has certainly been on the upswing since leaving his job as a corporate attorney. The new career began in 2022, when he played in his first World Series of Poker event. It was a long shot. The $400 Colossus drew a massive field of 13,565 runners, but Laskowitz managed to navigate his way to heads-up play, settling for second place and a $256,170 payout.
With his new bankroll secured, Laskowitz ditched filing legal briefs for riffling poker chips and has since racked up $3.3 million in tournament winnings. He recently spoke with Card Player about his unique entry into the game, playing with the high rollers, living in Las Vegas, and more.
First-Bullet Fortune
Laskowitz took up poker as a hobby at an early age back in New York. He and his father played at the house and the Moneymaker boom only ramped up his interest. He was into sports and played a lot of basketball, making good use of his 6-foot, 5-inch frame.
Always very competitive, Laskowitz has also been a little bit of a gambler.
“I’ve never been a degenerate gambler,” he says. “I’m not into sports betting or things like that, but I’m always ready to put my money where my mouth is if I believe in myself.”
After high school, Laskowitz attended the University of Delaware to study law, eventually working in New York City for one of the big four accounting firms. But that 2022 trip to Las Vegas would eventually change his entire life.
“One of my friends convinced me to come out to Vegas for the WSOP,” he recalled. “I played my first serious poker event and I ended up coming in second. Then I left my job to try and pursue this professionally.”
“It was a surreal experience. It was my very first live bullet in a tournament. It was pretty fast because it’s over in three or four days, but it was crazy just being on the livestream for the very first time. I always thought I could probably be a professional poker player and I liked the game a lot. It was something I wanted to do, and that was the big push I needed.”
As someone fairly new to the major tournament competition, Laskowitz says he was surprisingly calm for much of the action, which helped him in the long run. While the six-figure finish added fuel to his new poker life, taking second was a major disappointment at the time.
“It’s so funny, but I swear, I [never got above] my resting heart rate,” he said. “I was very, very prepared for the moment somehow. I’ve had big spots since then where I have felt nerves. I would say I’ve felt the nerves on many occasions. But that one, it just kind of felt like a destiny type of thing.”
“It was really weird because I was actually really sad [after losing],” he admitted. “I really wanted it. I was a card away from winning the bracelet. We got it all in heads up. I lost the flip for the bracelet (his pocket threes fell to A-Q when eventual winner Paul Hizer rivered a Broadway straight) and the remainder of the heads-up. So afterward, I remember kind of just sitting there and watching them celebrate. It was a bittersweet feeling.”
New Full-Time Job
So far, playing full time has been a highly profitable decision. Along with the big runner-up, Laskowitz grabbed a win six months later in a $2,200 mystery bounty event at Borgata for $146,609. He also finished eighth in the championship event for another $144,006.
In 2023, Laskowitz transitioned to playing more events in the PokerGO Studio, chalking up a few final table appearances at the Poker Masters and PGT Sprint series. He also finished runner-up in a $1,500 mystery bounty event at the Wynn for $133,820 and closed his year with a win at the North American Poker Tour at Resorts World for a score of $180,850.
In 2024, Laskowitz turned up the heat on the high roller circuit, winning event no. 3 of the PGT Last Chance series for $205,000 while adding two more final tables for another $102,200. He then picked up two more final tables at the PGT Kickoff series a couple weeks later for a combined $80,950 and another two in April when the U.S. Poker Open was running for $315,310. Even more final tables followed up and down the Strip, including a $250,000 score at the Wynn Summer Classic.
So far in 2025, he has already made 10 final tables, including his most recent WSOP Circuit win and runner-up finish for a total of $100,152, which Schubert credited on Twitter to some baby run good.
Laskowitz now sees that first runner-up finish for what it was, a major windfall to springboard to a full-time poker career.
“I feel like it’s a pretty common story in poker,” he said. “A lot of the guys that have had staying power ended up having one big score or a lot of success early on. So (a major win) really does help and keep you in the game.”
After formerly working in corporate taxes, mergers, and acquisitions, poker has been a welcome change. High-octane legal work can mean long hours and major responsibility. High salaries can come with demanding workloads and a highly competitive environment. He now spends those same long hours betting and bluffing. How do his two jobs compare?
“They’re both pretty stressful in their own ways,” he said. “There are a lot more similarities than it would probably appear. I would say this one’s a little bit better on the time flexibility.”
Time flexibility is very important given his new family. He and Schubert plan to get married in the future.
“It’s nice,” Schubert admitted. “I’ve definitely taken a step back from poker since I got pregnant but I think being in the same industry and knowing the same people adds to our relationship. I’m able to empathize better knowing the game and lifestyle.
“Sam is hardworking, focused, and has an unrelenting belief in himself,” she added. “He’s always looking to learn and that’s why he’s been able to improve so quickly. In life, poker, and love – he knows what he wants and he’s good at getting it!”
Looking Ahead
Poker has not only brought about a change in career, but also to his lifestyle overall. Laskowitz enjoys the weather more in Nevada and finds his new life more peaceful. His routine includes playing as many of the higher-stakes tournaments in Las Vegas as he can get into, but when not at the table, studying occupies much of his time – including working with solvers and reviewing hands and footage. His good friends in the game include Nick Seward, Landon Tice, David Coleman, and Nick Schulman.
He doesn’t have any hard goals at the moment, just to improve and get better in high-stakes events. Winning a WSOP bracelet is on his bucket list after getting so close and he wants to possibly play in some Triton Poker series in the coming years. But he particularly enjoys battling it out in the PokerGO studio.
“I can’t imagine there’s anywhere else that’s better to play,” he said. “They treat you really nice. The structures are amazing. It’s my favorite place to play and it’s not close. I’ve done well there. It’s going well. The competition is tough, but it’s not as intimidating as it sounds.”
With poker as his new 9-to-5, not being a flash in the pan is one of Laskowitz’s major goals. He aims for real consistency and doesn’t want to be remembered in poker as a guy who just went on a massive heater or grabbed a big finish in his first-ever tournament. That means plenty of work left to do on and off the felt.
“When I’m not playing poker, I’m studying poker. If I’m not studying poker, I’m watching poker,” he says. “I’m pretty obsessed and I want to get good at this. This is my hobby, my passion, my career – it’s everything right now.”
