Poker pro Thomas Evans Zanot has just landed the biggest score of his life, but his huge $6,400,000 win came at the Pai Gow tables rather than his usual poker table.
The #HeartofTheStrip just got 6 million times more fab 💖 Congrats to Las Vegas local Thomas Z. on hitting the biggest Pai Gow Progressive for a win of $6,443,401 🔥
+21 Gambling Problem? Call 800-522-4700 pic.twitter.com/seFexFiKCp
— Flamingo Las Vegas (@FlamingoVegas) January 8, 2023
Zanot, who has more than $1.1million in tournament earnings, had been playing for 11 hours at the Flamingo on the Las Vegas Strip and was down around $375 when his luck changed.
Defying odds of more than 600,000-1, his $25 bet hit a seven-card straight flush – 8♠ 9♠ 10♠ J♠ Q♠ K♠ A♠ – with the wild joker in the 53-card pack counting as the king.
That gave Zanot the first big progressive jackpot of 2023 in Vegas, a monster $6,443,401, which is almost 6 times what he has earned in 8 years of tournament poker.
His most recent big score at the poker tables was an fine 33rd spot for more than $99,000 at the WPT World Championship last month, an event won by Eliot Hudon for $4,136,000 – some $2million+ shy of Zanot’s Pai Gow score.
News of Zanot’s big score soon had the poker community sending congratulations, with Joe Stapleton, Johnny Vibes Moreno and Max Silver among those enjoying his success.
Congrats @TRZpoker pic.twitter.com/xYHUoKxflB
— Max Silver (@max_silver) January 8, 2023
How much to tip?
The thorny question of how much Zanot should tip from his monster win was raised by Marty Mathis…
hypothetical tipping situation:
you win a 6.4 million USD jackpot playing $25 / hand face-up Paigow at The Flamingo
how much are we tipping@MikeMcDonald89 @TRZpoker
— marty mathis (@martymath) January 9, 2023
Mike McDonald, long known as the ‘Bank of Timex’, calculated it as being around $43k, as Zanot quickly counted, “1% of the jackpot after taxes, right?” Other figures ranged from $50k all the way up to $300k as the correct tip.
What would you tip if you won more $6.4million? Let us know in the comments!
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