$853 in Lifetime Earnings, Chip-Leading a $2,200 WSOP Satellite

The Smallest Résumé at the Biggest Table

John Kostelac has earned $853 playing tournament poker — not a typo — and he's chip-leading the $2,200 Landmark Mega Satellite with 20 players remaining. He's sitting on 53,500 chips at the Horseshoe, grinding toward a $10K seat in a WSOP event that costs more than twelve times his entire recorded tournament career.

He's sitting on 53,500 chips at the Horseshoe, grinding toward a $10K seat in a WSOP event that costs more than twelve times his entire recorded tournament career.

Who's in the Field

The satellite isn't short on experience around him. Patrick Eskandar — one WSOP bracelet, one Circuit ring, $1.49M in lifetime cashes, and 31 career final tables — is still in the mix. So is Manish Madan, a Circuit ring holder with $257K in earnings and five final tables. Hao-Shan Huang, who has $119K in lifetime cashes and traveled from Taiwan, is also among the 20.

And then there's Kostelac, the guy whose entire tournament ledger rounds to less than a single rebuy in this event.

Why You Should Flip to This

Satellite bubbles produce the ugliest, most watchable poker on the schedule. Nobody's trying to win — they're trying to survive. Every shove decision carries the weight of a five-figure swing. For Kostelac, that swing dwarfs anything he's ever played for by a factor of ten.

The $2,200 Landmark Mega Satellite (Event #416) is live from the Horseshoe right now with 20 players still in seats.