Lincoln, CA (March 26, 2024) – Casey Sandretto took down the ninth installment of WPT® Rolling Thunder at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Tuesday evening. The Sacramento resident claimed his first World Poker Tour® title, a place on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, and $246,600, which includes a seat in the WPT World Championship.
“Feels pretty great,” stated Sandretto after his triumph. “This is my first live tournament win… so to have it at Thunder Valley with the best poker room in the country, in my opinion, and Ben Erwin being a superstar, and with WPT being the most prestigious tournament series, this is great, couldn’t have been any better.”
The tournament drew a field of 458 entrants, which generated a prize pool of $1,465,600. The seven-figure sum awarded a cash prize to the top 58 finishers.
“The stars were out for WPT Rolling Thunder with more than 20 WPT Champions in the field,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “But we must welcome a new member to the Champions Club. Congratulations to Casey for his big win.”
Michael Kinney, who claimed a WPT Championship title in 2004, came up one spot short of a second milestone. Shortly after heads-up action began, the two finalists negotiated a near-even chop while still competing for the title and trophy.
Kinney took home a payout of $235,000. He was preceded by Travis Egbert (3rd place – $140,000), Yunkyu Song (4th place – $105,000), Cody Wiegmann (5th place – $78,000), and Brock Wilson (6th place – $60,000).
WPT Champion Ryan Riess exited as the bubble player in 59th place. Notable players earning a cash after Riess’ exit were Shannon Shorr (51st place), ClubWPT™ qualifier Gail Levine (34th place), 2023 WPT World Championship Champion Dan Sepiol (26th place), WPT Champions Harrison Gimbel (22nd place) and Name Le (14th place), 2022 WPT Prime Championship Champion Stephen Song (13th place), and WPT Champion Soheb Porbandarwala (11th place).
Next stop for the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup is Miami to set sail for a trip around the Caribbean Sea. The WPT Voyage on Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady begins March 31 with the $5,000 buy-in Championship event, which boasts a $1,000,000 guarantee, running April 1-3.
All photos from WPT Rolling Thunder can be accessed via our Flickr Page.
For more information regarding this and all World Poker Tour events, visit WPT.com.
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About the World Poker Tour®
World Poker Tour® (WPT®) is the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online, and mobile. WPT has hosted live poker tournaments in 48 countries, drawn more than 400,000 total entries, and awarded more than $1.5 billion in prize money. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show, which has broadcast globally in more than 150 countries and territories, and is currently producing its 22nd season, which airs on Bally Sports in the United States. Season XXII of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com. ClubWPT.com is a unique online membership site that offers inside access to the WPT, as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club available in 43 states and territories across the United States, Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. WPT also participates in strategic brand license, partnership, and sponsorship opportunities. In 2012, the WPT Foundation was launched, which has gone on to raise $45 million over 10 years and 50 events. For more information, go to WPT.com.
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