GCU graduate Lucas Jumalon leading final table in World Series of Poker Main Event

A Grand Canyon University graduate has made it through to the World Series of Poker Main Event final table, leading the group of nine players with more than double the chips of second place.

Lucas Jumalon, 22, recently graduated with a degree in business administration and data analytics from GCU and is already becoming a young phenom in the sport.

Entering the Main Event tournament, his previous biggest single cash prize was $22,945 ($180,888 in career earnings). He’s already netted $1 million in guaranteed prize money this time around and could come away with 10 times that.

His 194 million chips entering the final table stand tall above the 79 million belonging to second-place Rami Hammoud. No other players have more than 56 million chips.

Jumalon nearly saw his run ended on the penultimate day of competition so far, but a late strong hand propelled him to the solid finish.

“I certainly know there was some spots that I really played poorly today, but the poker gods shined down upon me today,” Jumalon told PokerOrg. “I was pretty nitty for several days there, but when the money’s on the line, I’ve never been scared to go for it.

“I know people are feeling the pressure, and I don’t have any of that.”

Jumalon will test his luck against the other eight players when the final table is held Aug. 3-5 on ESPN.

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