Three years ago, Josh Guindon - pictured above at the ClubWPT Gold $5M Freeroll - was an ER doctor living just outside of Boston, when a decision made by a colleague on an idle Saturday night reshaped the trajectory of his life and his poker career.
Fast forward to the present day, and Guindon has just been announced as the first ever ambassador for ClubWPT (the long-running subscription poker platform, not the ClubWPT Gold sweepstakes site), after turning four qualifying online runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars in live tournament results. But it might have never happened.
Back to March of 2022, Saturday night, and Guindon's colleague asked to switch shifts. Guindon agreed, and with an unexpected free Saturday the family decided to drive to Connecticut and visit with some family.
Just before dinner started, Guindon decided to fire his entry in a 1,100-player freeroll with a prize package for WPT Venetian later that year for the outright winner.
Guindon recounted the tale of that night in full to PokerOrg last year, but in short: instead of working his way through the night, Guindon won the satellite for a $7,000 package, and then, in the first recorded live tournament cash of his career, banked $19,700 for his troubles.
More freerolls lead to deep WPT runs worldwide
That qualifier and subsequent cash was just the beginning of Guindon’s magical ride to ClubWPT ambassadorship. He won his way onto WPT Voyage last year and reached the final two tables. Guindon had a genuine chance at a run to an official WPT final table, and possibly more, when he ran headfirst into the buzzsaw that is Dan Sepiol.
“I had about 15 blinds, 650,000 chips and 
in the small blind,” said Guindon. “I was thinking to myself, ‘What is the best way to maximize this spot, just trap him, essentially.’ I just call and he instantly jams all-in. I remember in that moment, in my head, 'I don't play slots', but it was a slot machine with triple sevens lining up and the jackpot going off. I called, and he had 
.”
In the biggest poker spot of his life to date, Guindon had visions of winning the WPT Mike Sexton Champions Cup and hundreds of thousands of dollars. And he’d be doing so against the then-reigning and defending WPT World Champion in Sepiol. But alas, as the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady continued on at sea, the winds of fate blew in another direction as Sepiol rivered a flush in clubs.
Guindon settled for 11th place and $24,000 in the WPT Voyage Championship, and with that run and WPT Venetian both originating on ClubWPT, Guindon could’ve told stories on the strength of those two adventures for the rest of his life.
The $5M freeroll and a $100K luck of the draw
Guindon wasn’t done yet. Not by a longshot. There was the matter of another deep run in the WPT bestbet Scramble a few months later - 18th for $16,800 - followed by Guindon winning his way into a freeroll of a different kind; the biggest of its kind in poker history, in fact, worth $5 million.
“I won an NFL pick’em that Tony Dunst was hosting, just a few weeks beforehand,” said Guindon. “I get out there, I’m pretty excited, and I mentioned to Jeremy Clemons from ClubWPT, I said, I really would like to make a final table. It's got to be my goal.”
Action played well into the money on Day 1 of the ClubWPT Gold $5 Million Freeroll, and Guindon managed to build up quite a stack. Once players hit the money there was a bounty element added to the equation, including some six-figure prizes. Guindon’s path to chipping up didn’t include many eliminations, but he did manage one before the end of the night.
That’s when the magic happened.
“Day 1 finished, there's about 60 people left for Day 2 and I had one bounty,” said Guindon. “And so at the end of the day, right before the cage closed, I went up and the gentleman who was working on the floor basically said, ‘Josh, why don't you take one of these big bounty prizes? No one has really hit a big one yet.’
“My friend Josh Merrin had just drawn a WPT Championship seat, and I asked Josh what was the secret to picking a good bounty. He said, ‘Josh, you just have to go in smooth'. I'll never forget it. Jeremy comes videoing me, a couple people were chanting my name. Having a rail for a bounty draw, it was the strangest thing. And then I opened it up, and sure enough, $100,000. It was incredible. I was speechless.”
Guindon went on to add another $30,000 for a seventh place finish in the freeroll, capping off an extraordinary year of poker made possible by ClubWPT. Now, as a new season of the World Poker Tour kicks into high gear for 2025, Guindon will get to enjoy further adventures thanks to the brand, representing ClubWPT as one of its greatest success stories.
“It's extremely exciting,” said Guindon. “An incredible opportunity, I just truly feel honored and realize how much of a privilege this is. I can't say enough about the World Poker Tour. From the very first time at the Venetian, the people from the cameramen to the dealers, the player relations, Jeremy Clemons and Adam Pliska, everyone I got to meet just kept me coming back. It feels really exciting and rewarding to be able to represent this exceptional community, and it's a big responsibility.”
Guindon's first order of business as a ClubWPT Ambassador
Guindon will be a bounty in a special ClubWPT $5,000 Sun Run Bounty Tournament, and if he cashes in the upcoming WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship, every player who cashes will double their payouts. He’ll also get to participate in the return of the WPT Bay101 Shooting Star Championship and the WPT World Championship in December.
The changes to Guindon’s life have been extraordinary, and he’s excited to see what else poker has in store for him. But as it’s been since the beginning, Guindon has a particularly strong motivating factor driving him towards poker success.
“My wife, Alex, is super supportive, and with our two boys now, my wife and I have an agreement that any proceeds or winnings, 50% go straight off the top to their college funds,” said Guindon. “It's tough being away, but my wife does see the excitement and joy I have had in this process and this journey, and she's really supportive.
"There's been a lot of support from friends and family, too, including the final table for the freeroll. And with a couple of exciting tournaments coming up this year, we're gonna have another really fun rail. I’m just really excited to share this opportunity with everyone.”
Images courtesy of World Poker Tour/Joe Giron.
