Scott Stewart Wins WSOP Circuit Lake Tahoe Main Event for His Ninth Circuit Title

Poker player Scott Stewart won the $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold'em main event at Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe, earning the ninth WSOP Circuit title of his career. The event drew 435 entries. Stewart collected the first-place prize of $125,279 and won a main event for the first time. Stewart, the 2024 WPT World Championship winner, pushed his career earnings above $6.2 million with this victory. It was the 22nd overall title and the 274th recorded cash of his career.

For Stewart, this win is about more than the money. He had reached the final table of the same event in 2022 and was eliminated in sixth place that year. The tournament was won by his close friend Jarod Minghini, who dedicated the victory to his brother Bobby, who had passed away a few weeks earlier. Four years later, Stewart returned to the same event and won it. Minghini was on the rail to support him this time.

Stewart credited the success of the people around him. He said he played his best in an environment where he felt relaxed and at ease, with less stress. Minghini, after the win, described being beside Stewart on the night they received the painful news, and said they have been among each other's closest friends since that day.

Stewart entered the last day as the chip leader with six players left. The top 44 finishers were paid, and a total of $659,025 was distributed. Ari Engel was the first to be eliminated on the final day. James Czarnecki busted in sixth place after running J-J into Engel's A-K, taking home $22,301. Engel was then eliminated by Tyler Parker, who had K-3 against Engel's A-7, finishing fourth for $41,941. Vishnu Chada took fifth place for $30,278. Harshvardhan Baghel finished third and earned $59,251. Parker, holding 7-7, outran Baghel's K-Q, made a set and then a full house, leaving Baghel drawing dead.

Parker began heads-up with more than three times Stewart's chips. On the final hand, Parker bet 700,000 on a 6-6-5 flop and Stewart called. A 6 on the turn gave Stewart trips, and Parker bet 1,800,000. Stewart went along to the river. On the 9 river, Parker moved all in for his remaining 2,785,000 chips, putting Stewart to a difficult decision. Stewart thought for a long time and then took a long sip of the whiskey Minghini had left on the table.