Thomas Evans Zanot, better known as Thomas Zanot, might just be the luckiest poker player of all time. Just two years ago, in January 2023, the Arizona-based player hit one of the largest casino jackpots ever of $6.4 million at Flamingo Las Vegas while playing Pai Gow.
He landed a rare seven-card, ace-high straight flush in spades, triggering Caesars Entertainment’s $5 progressive jackpot side bet and boosting his bankroll with a staggering multi-million-dollar win.
Now, Zanot has become a millionaire once again, this time on poker’s biggest stage, the 56th Annual World Series of Poker. During the 2025 WSOP $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Mystery Bounty Tournament, Zanot earned a $25,000 bounty prize before pulling the biggest bounty of the series.
Later in the event, standing next to Jeff Platt, Zanot reached into the draw to reveal another bounty. As he unrolled the slip of paper, he saw six zeros, he had just won the tournament’s second and final $1 million bounty.
It was a stunning moment. Only two $1 million bounty envelopes were available in the entire Mystery Bounty tournament. Tyler Montoya had drawn the first, and now Zanot had claimed the second.
Predicting the Future
Ironically, Zanot had already predicted his big moment. Earlier in the day, he replied to a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “I think I’m gonna pull a one mill bounty today then go home till the Main.”
After drawing the bounty, he turned to Platt and asked, “Is this real?” Cheers and even some boos erupted from the crowd, but Zanot smiled and waved in response.
When asked how it felt, he casually told Platt, “Rather be lucky than good, man,” before heading back to his table.
Thomas Zanot now has over $1.3 million in lifetime poker earnings. His career-best cash prior to this was a $162,300 win in 2017 at the Gardens Poker Classic $565 Main Event.
Keep following PokerProNews for more such exciting updates and results from the WSOP 2025.
