It's Déjà vu all over again. Six weeks ago in Graton, Michael Persky won the first World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event there for $175,000. Today, a couple of hours from there, he did it again.
Michael Persky just won the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Thunder Valley for $170,780. That's right, he won two Circuit Mains in less than two months' time. Simply unthinkable.
"I don't even know what to say, I'm just super grateful," said Persky. "I played my best, I fired four bullets."
Persky certainly battled, especially because he came into the table 8th of 10 in chips. The uphill battle was one he was prepared for, and he knows it's where you finish that matters.
WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Michael Persky | $170,780 |
| 2 | Tracy Oto | $105,550 |
| 3 | Xing Wei | $78,030 |
| 4 | Amir Lehavot | $58,360 |
| 5 | John Koo | $44,160 |
| 6 | Travis Egbert | $33,820 |
| 7 | Jonathan Wang | $26,210 |
| 8 | Fan You | $20,560 |
| 9 | Derrick Geliberte | $16,330 |
| 10 | Luis Carmona | $13,140 |
Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude
Over and over, throughout the event and especially during the post-game interview, one word kept coming up: grateful. The man permeated the meaning of the word.
"This is unbelievable," he said. "I know how hard this is. I tell people, 'I won the WSOP Main Event! Twice, now! I'm just super grateful."
When Graton brought tournaments to his backyard, he decided to get more involved. That turned out to be a great decision as he won the Main Event there, but also placed second in another ring event. Meeting the dealers, staff, tournament organizers, and players made him want to come to Thunder Vallet to keep the party going.
"You guys are great," he said. "They're all great."
Still, even with the nearly half a million dollars in scores over this run, his mind was still on the priceless loves waiting for him back home.
"I need to go home," he said. "My wife, my kids, my dogs, and my business are waiting. I haven't missed a day's work when I was winning Graton, and I literally haven't missed anything here. I'm a contractor. I take nothing for granted, nothing."
Apparently, his wife is quite the player, too. Persky expects that we'll be interviewing her in the near future as well.
"I gave my wife $25k last time, I'll probably give her $25k again," he laughed. "And, my wife is going to win a WSOP Circuit event, mark my words."
Keys to success
As much as Persky was open about how he knows how difficult his accomplishment is, he offered a few nuggets of advice that seek to follow in his footsteps.
"If you don't play, you can't win," he said. "Poker is a grind. A lot of players know me, I feel I can play. I believe in luck...I believe in momentum. I'm just a regular dude, and I love life."
He played tight, but aggressive when the situation called for it. Heads up for the ring, he turned on the aggression, winning a large majority of the hands once in that spot. Still, he thinks playing too many hands is the detriment of many a poker player.
"If you play too many hands, you're going to lose," he offered. "If you don't fold hands, you have no chance."
That said, it helps when you get pocket aces, the hand that he finished the tournament with when Tracy Soto moved all in with pocket sixes.
"Pocket aces? They play themselves," he laughed.
Congratulations to Michael Persky for winning his second WSOP Circuit Main Event this season, taking home another $170,780 and a coveted gold ring for his efforts!
