February 19-23, 2026
Days since Frank Bonacci's last live win at the Pittsburgh Poker Open on August 23, 2014.
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1ST
Frank Bonacci
$200,164
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2ND
Aaron Gao
$140,205
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3RD
John Hall
$90,140
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4TH
Ryan Kirkpatrick
$58,375
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5TH
Valeriy Pak
$44,995
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6TH
Casey Hatmaker
$37,221
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7TH
Kash Corpening
$31,237
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8TH
Jimmy Chen
$25,583
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9TH
Chong Han
$20,014
“I might have come in a little too jacked up from the USA hockey win.”
Frank Bonacci entered Day 2 as the overall chip leader, but the road to the finish was anything but smooth.
“I went from building a stack to bleeding chips pretty quick."
When the final six eventually returned for Day 3, Aaron Gao was the one with the chip lead, and Bonacci had to catch up. The two would eventually meet in heads-up play and Gao still had the advantage, but that changed on the very first hand.
Bonacci picked up queens and got all the chips in against Gao’s pocket nines. The board ran clean, flipping the match on the spot. Bonacci finished the job a few hands later, sending Gao out in second place for $140,205.
The victory marked Bonacci’s biggest live outright win. Still, he was quick to point out that tournaments are not his usual focus.
“I mostly play live PLO cash,” Bonacci told us. “I’ll jump into online tournaments when there’s something fun running, but cash is what I play a handful of days a week. Tournaments can be slow. Cash is just more my speed.”
Win one for the kids
A Pennsylvania native from the greater Pittsburgh area, Bonacci’s trip to National Harbor was spontaneous.
“Our game wasn’t running,” he explained. “I went to Parx, played some cash, played in a buddy’s game in Delaware, then came here for the 1K and this. It’s probably the third or fourth time I’ve played this tournament. I just happen to like it.”
The win also carried an extra bonus away from the table. Bonacci said he promised his kids that if he won any tournament, “even a $100 tournament online,” they would get a Nintendo Switch.
“I just needed them on my side,” he said. “When my wife told my son we were five-handed, he was shaking with excitement.”
Despite the six-figure payday, Bonacci does not plan to ramp up his live tournament schedule.
“I’ve got three little ones at home,” he said. “This was awesome, but the time commitment is real. You finish 23rd sometimes and don’t even make back what you fired. You might see me here in August, maybe a Borgata trip, or something close to Pittsburgh. Otherwise, it’s back to what I usually play.”
This time, the detour paid off. Bonacci showed up, found a structure he liked, and closed it out when it mattered most.
