Leron Washington

Total Winnings
$100,000

Poker is rife with Cinderella stories. Amateurs beat the odds and the pros to take major titles, a player rallies from just a chip and a chair to make the final table. Leron Washington is an example of a poker fairy tale, though his rise to the top is not so much Cinderella as it is Rocky Balboa.

A boxer from West Virginia, Washington liked to spend his downtime between fights grinding on the ClubWPT poker tables. Playing under the screenname “Dream187,” Washington played in a number of ClubWPT online events, including a 1,683-person tournament with just one prize—a seat in Season VIII’s WPT Celebrity Invitational. Washington maneuvered through the massive field to win the seat and showed up to the Commerce ready to mingle with celebrities and log some time on the felt with some of the best pros in the game.

Washington did more than just that. He made the final table of the event and bobbed and weaved his way through a final table line-up that included poker pro Thor Hansen and reality TV star Trishelle Cannatella to win a WPT title, not to mention $100,000 and a chance to play in the WPT World Championship that season.

After his big win, Washington said signing up for ClubWPT was one of the best investments of his life. Washington got to live every amateur player’s dream. He came to play with the pros, held his own, and made history as the first ClubWPT qualifier to earn a WPT title.