Ryan McKnight Looks to Complete Hard Rock Triple Crown in WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Main Event

By Sean Chaffin

Poker has always been a passion for Ryan McKnight (pictured). He’s been playing since age 12 and jumped right in the game in his early-20s.

While basketball was also an interest, poker seemed to take up the most of his time – playing with friends and following the action on TV. Watching televised poker was a bit of a life changer for him. Like many Americans, McKnight was hooked.

He now plays regularly at events across the country including the WPT. McKnight was among those playing in Day 1a of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.

“I don’t play all the stops, but most on the East Coast,” he says.

McKnight hopes his nice run continues here in the championship event. In the first event of the series, a $570 Deepstack, McKnight took sixth for $58,421. He followed that up with an 11th-place finish in the $1,650 Purple Chip Bounty for $3,264.

Those results came after a fifth-place finish in March in a World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in Atlantic City in March for $31,348.

On the WPT, the 27-year-old from Philadelphia has $67,461 in winnings. His best finish came in September this season at WPT Maryland where he took 12th for $26,543. His biggest career score came in 2017 at the World Series of Poker, where he finished fourth in the $1,500 Monster Stack for $374,515.

With more than $1 million in live tournament winnings, McKnight is no slouch at the poker table.

McKnight was married in August and things have gone well so far, both in marriage and at the poker tables. Being the spouse of a professional poker player isn’t always easy but they’re making it work.

“She likes it,” he says of his job. “She would probably prefer for me not to be away as often. She works in a school and she can’t travel with me unless it’s in the summer or on a holiday weekend or something like that.”

Mixing it up at the Seminole Hard Rock is a perfect atmosphere. McKnight loves the property and the poker scene here.

“It’s probably my favorite in the country other than Wynn in Las Vegas,” he says.

The location is right and the mojo is with him. McKnight is hoping that translates into another deep run – this time with a trip to Las Vegas to play the final table at HyperX Esports Arena on May 30.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.

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