Additional reporting by Christina Bradfield.
On Tuesday, January 28, Preston McEwen (above center, with man's best friend) added to his already impressive list of poker accolades at the recent World Series of Poker Circuit series at the Horseshoe in Tunica, Mississippi,
In winning the WSOP Circuit Tunica $500 Mystery Bounty event, McEwen not only added $24,592 to over $2.3 million career winnings but also his seventh career WSOP Circuit ring.
While reaching seven rings is certainly an achievement in its own right, merely stating the total glosses over the fact all seven of them have been won over the past three years.
McEwen’s incredible run on the felt the past few years has not been reserved to the WSOP Circuit.
A career year for McEwen
Within the last year, McEwen has won four RunGood Poker Series tournaments, bringing his career win total to eight. A proven veteran on both the RunGood Series and WSOP Circuit, McEwen’s success has also seen him prove himself on one of poker’s biggest stages.
During the 2024 WPT Championship in Las Vegas, McEwen made a deep run finishing in 33rd place amongst the 2,392-player field for $101,000. If it weren’t for being on the wrong end of a heartbreaking pocket sixes vs K-Q suited flip, who knows just how far McEwen could have gone?
Potentially overlooked by his long list of recent wins the past few years, McEwen also finished 57th in the 2021 WSOP Main Event for $113,800.
Behind the poker player
Whether playing the biggest tournament in the world in Las Vegas or grinding within the friendly surroundings of the WSOP Circuit and RunGood Series, McEwen’s poker acumen is evident, and any surveyor of his success the past few years could surmise the best is yet to come, especially with the 2025 WSOP on the horizon.
With his orange sunglasses and long, curly locks paired with the fact he is frequently at final tables, McEwen can be hard to miss. And sure, his skills on the felt and signature look draw the eye of anyone on the tournament floor, but what they also notice is the large group of friends that is usually accompanying him.
Throughout the recent Tunica stop, I saw McEwen many times away from the poker table, and can’t recall a single time that he was alone.
Whether chatting hands-on break or enjoying a High Noon at the casino bar after bagging for a Day 2, McEwen can usually be seen with at least one other person and - unless they just got one-outed - they are clearly having a good time.
'A shoutout to my wife and kids'
In our interview following his most recent Circuit win, two topics had priority for McEwen over any others: friends and family.
“I gotta give a shoutout to my wife and kids,” McEwen said. “They are the main reason I’m able to do this. My kids love it when I shout them out because they are old enough now to read the updates!”
Along with his wife and kids, McEwen also loves to share about the family he grew up with. Not only has McEwen’s family been a major source of support, but also an iconic nickname.
That nickname, 'Flapjack Jesus', can be found across most of his social media. One would think it might derive from pancakes, or mornings out by a campfire, especially after finding out his mother would give him flannel shirts every Christmas. Its origin however is family-oriented. Preston has five brothers, and “whenever one of the boys gets married they get gifted a speedo. It’s personalized in some way, and it gets named based on that person."
"Growing up every Christmas, my mother would give me a flannel shirt, so I had all these shirts, so they got me a flag flannel speedo named ‘Flapjack’ and I just put Jesus on the end of it.”
Family is another thread with his poker origin story. “My uncle was a dealer and poker player out here in Vegas for a while and my grandmother and my great grandmother all played poker. Growing up we’d get together and play a Skittles game.”
McEwen and friends on a heater
He moved out of Memphis to just south of Nashville when he started playing poker more seriously. “I don’t get out much when I’m home,” says McEwen, focusing on family when he’s there.
Even when Preston is away from his family, his poker family is with him along the way as they support one another in poker tournaments across the country. McEwen certainly isn’t the only card shark among a group of very skilled poker players.
During the recent WSOP Circuit series in Tunica, one of McEwen’s running mates William 'Cody' Stanford pulled off the incredible achievement of winning three WSOP rings within a single series.
Speaking of the community the game of poker provided him, all McEwen could do was sing his peers’ praises and how much he enjoys returning the support they provide.
“When one of your buddies wins a tournament, it's like you won the tournament yourself. I enjoy it just as much,” McEwen shared. “Cody has been on such a heater this past month, watching your friends finish on top is just awesome and thrilling.”
A regular on the rail just as much as he is a regular at the final table, even when McEwen isn’t playing his presence is not only felt but appreciated.
Players, dealers, security guards, and live reporters, everyone enjoys running into McEwen on the tournament tour and looks forward to the next stop they’ll get to see him at.
And given his recent run of success, it feels like only a matter of time before his name is known on a much larger stage.
Having previously experienced deep runs at the WPT and WSOP in Las Vegas in the past few years, summer in the desert could be the perfect time and place for 'Flapjack Jesus' to rise again.
