‘It just never worked out for me’: KIRO hosts get personal about gambling after Spokane native wins World Series of Poker

Spokane native Lucas Jumalon is $10 million richer after winning the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas last week.

Spike O’Neill, co-host of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, discussed Jumalon’s win with KIRO fill-in host Greg Tomlin, a self-described former card counter, who offered perspective on both the mathematics and the emotion behind high-stakes poker.

6 men in black suits carrying briefcases full of cash set the stage

Spike was struck by the theatrical presentation of the final table, where security personnel delivered the prize money in front of the two remaining players.

“Six gentlemen in black suits, carrying a briefcase in each hand, walked into the venue,” Spike said. “They took out of those briefcases $10 million in cash, and they stacked it on the table in a pyramid, so the two players could stare at it throughout the competition. That is great.”

The moment set the stage for a decisive final hand. Jumalon held a king-six against Saaskilahti’s ace-seven, and both players went all in before the flop. Jumalon made trip sixes on the turn to clinch the title.

Tomlin explains what it means to go ‘on tilt’

The conversation turned personal as both hosts compared their relationships with gambling. Tomlin said his card-counting background gave him an edge at blackjack, but poker was a different story.

“With poker, I would always get so emotionally invested that I would go on tilt,” Tomlin said. “You just start playing crazy because your emotions are getting the best of you. You’re chasing your losses. I’d feel like I want to take vengeance against that guy who just bluffed me, and it just never worked out for me.”

Spike acknowledged his own addictive tendencies as the reason he stays away from the table entirely.

“I’ve told the story many times of me betting football games with a bookie and getting underwater,” Spike said. “And literally coming to a moment in my life where I was about to lose rent on a Sunday night after a bad weekend, and I’m trying to catch up.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.