13 years ago, Daniel Lowery was a relatively unknown player on the WSOP Circuit, but he burst onto the scene with a pair of runner-up finishes in back-to-back Main Events in Lake Tahoe and Choctaw in late 2011 and early 2012. Add in a few more deep runs, and Lowery quickly had nearly a half million dollars in earnings on the circuit.
To celebrate the return of the WSOP Circuit to the Big Easy after a six-year hiatus, PokerOrg sat down with the now 18-time WSOP Circuit ring winner to discuss his first gold ring and what keeps the RunGood ambassador motivated in his hunt to be the first to get to 20 WSOP Circuit rings.
Lowery: First ring was special
“I decided to play [in 2012] because my wife got a job with Dennis Jones dealing the circuit,” Lowery said of his motivation to start entering more WSOP Circuit Events.
“The year before that, I had those deep runs, and looking back, I thought that might have been normal, but it is definitely not. I was very blessed to make those deep runs.”
However, despite the deep runs, the elusive first gold WSOP Circuit ring would take another year to capture, and it came right here in New Orleans when he took down Event #6: $365 No-Limit Hold'em in May of 2013 for $22,912.
“I was really looking forward to winning one, and when I did, it was special because so many of my friends were on the rail,” Lowery said of that first WSOP Circuit ring. “Back then, they used to announce the final table, and when they said my name, there were cheers across the room, and it made me feel really confident, which I think helped propel me to the ring.”
Floodgates open for Lowery
With the monkey off his back and a ring in his pocket, the floodgates started to open for Lowery as he went on to win 17 more rings, placing him third on the all-time Circuit list behind Ari Engel and Maurice Hawkins. But the Arkansas native will always have a soft spot for the Gulf Coast.
“I love it here; this is my favorite city in the country,” Lowery said of his passion for New Orleans. “[My wife and I] started coming down in 2010, and I always feel comfortable here.”
About a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lowery was at Caesar’s New Orleans, adding a ninth ring to his collection, and almost went back-to-back with a runner-up finish in the next event. However, when the pandemic hit, Gulf Coast poker and the world came to a standstill. It took six years to recover and get a Circuit stop back to the city, but Lowery understands why.
“I am just happy poker is back. [WSOP] put this stop on the schedule twice in the last four or five years, and everyone was excited, but they had to cancel it because of repairs and upgrades to the casino. I can see why, though; every upgrade they have done looks beautiful, and it is great to be back.”
The race to 20 WSOPC rings
Looking forward, RunGood is set to return to Caesars New Orleans at the end of September. However, before that, the rest of the 2025 WSOP New Orleans is on tap, and Lowery expects to be here for the long haul, thanks in part to the competition between himself, Engel, and Hawkins in the race to 20 rings.
“Ari and I had talked once upon a time and said one of us should be number one, and at the time we were both three or four rings behind Maurice,” Lowery said of a fateful conversation that led him to once again start to play more circuit events.
“It's volume; if you play enough and get yourself in good positions, you are going to win a few, and [Ari and I] lit it up after that. That brought Maurice to another level.”
Lowery would go on to praise a pair of other players he thinks have a shot to get to twenty, one being Preston McEwen, who just picked up his ninth ring in Cherokee earlier this month. The other is 16-time winner Josh Reichard, who happened to be on the rail 12 years ago when Lowrey captured his first ring.
“In my opinion, out of everyone we are talking about, and I have said this for years, Reichard is the best player on the circuit. When he shows up, he wins,” Lowery said of his longtime friend.
“I will tell you what’s funny, and I have the picture somewhere, but when I won the first ring, Josh was on the rail, and he probably didn’t even have three cashes at that point.”
PokerOrg is on the floor at WSOPC New Orleans, bringing you all the biggest moments as they happen.
