News / nono / 23 June 2008 / 1 Comments

The 2008 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha with Re-Buys champion is Layne Flack, from Las Vegas, NV. This was Flack's sixth career WSOP gold bracelet victory.

Flack collected $577,725 for first place, which was his largest poker payday ever. With six gold bracelets, he is now tied with Jay Heimowitz, Men "the Master" Nguyen, and T.J. Cloutier for seventh on the all-time WSOP wins list. All six wins have come within an 11-year span. Flack's lifetime earnings at the WSOP total $2,268,357.

It has been five long years since Flack's last WSOP victory. During his personal and professional abyss, Flack admits to going through many troubles. He now says those troubles are behind him and he has focused on his craft as a poker player.

Flack credits his "life coach" for helping him to recover from his personal problems. His life coach is none other than Ed Walters, who was allegedly the inspiration for the fictional "Fast Eddie" Felson, Paul Newman's legendary character in two classic gambling movies, "The Hustler" and "The Color of Money."

Flack's first (and only) job was once working as a poker dealer at small card clubs in Montana. Many who knew Flack back then say he was one of the best dealers ever seen in the region.

Through the years, Flack's poker nicknames have changed. He has been known as "Heart Attack" Flack for his aggressive playing style. He was also known once as "Back-to-Back" Flack, a label which lost its luster since Flack never actually won back to back events at the WSOP.

Flack's final table record is phenomenal. He has appeared at 12 WSOP final tables during his career, and won half of them (6 wins).

After his victory, Flack conveyed that he had given away his other five WSOP gold bracelets as gifts, mostly to family members. One was stolen, he says.

Flack dismissed inevitable comparisons of his life to the late Stu Ungar's. "I never met Stu Ungar," Flack said. "I don't think I really was in his league either (in terms of) his personal demons or his talent."

Flack invested $33,000 in this tournament, including 21 re-buys. "When we made the money, everybody was cheering," Flack stated. "Everybody was a winner but me. I still had to get to at least 12th place just to get my money back."

"It's not like I outplayed everybody," Flack admitted after his victory. "I mean, I did catch some cards."