Lon McEachern has been one of the voices of the WSOP for two decades, alongside esteemed Poker Hall of Fame nominated broadcaster and longtime colleague Norman Chad.
For the past ten years, Norman Chad has had a leg up on McEachern when it came to the most noteworthy accomplishment as a poker player, having made a WSOP final table in the 2012 $2,500 buy-in Omaha and seven-card stud eight-or-better mixed event. Late on McEachern became the first of the legendary commentary duo to capture a poker tournament title.
McEachern defeated a field of 181 entries in the 2023 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley $400 no-limit hold’em seniors event late on Thursday, Jan. 12, earning $15,008 and his first WSOPC gold ring for the win.
“Norman Chad doesn’t have one of these. That’s all I need to say,” said McEachern in a post-win video interview with Thunder Valley Director of Poker Operations Ben Erwin. “It felt easy almost. The tables were great. The senior event is such a great atmosphere.”
“There were a couple of huge hands at the final table,” McEachern also noted. “I flopped the world against the guy who’d been my nemesis all day, I had ace-king of diamonds and he had pocket fives. He had been the chip leader most of the day, and I flopped an ace and two diamonds, got the diamond, and took about 95 percent of his stack and that really helped out.”
McEachern came into the final table in fifth chip position, but managed to chip up as the field continued to thin. He entered heads-up play with 1,600,000 to the 2,000,000 of Calvin Norman. He was able to overtake the lead and then extend his own chip advantage. In the final hand, Norman got all-in with ADiamond Suit4Club Suit trailing the ASpade Suit8Heart Suit of McEachern. The board ran out JDiamond Suit9Spade Suit5Spade Suit2Club SuitKDiamond Suit to lock up the pot and the title for McEachern.
With this victory, McEachern qualified for the 2023 WSOP Tournament of Champions, where he will look to add to his collection of poker trophies.
WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Event #1: $400 Seniors Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lon McEachern | $15,008 |
| 2 | Calvin Norman | $9,276 |
| 3 | Michael Peters | $6,485 |
| 4 | Anthony Banuelos | $4,633 |
| 5 | Nathan Fitzgerald | $3,835 |
| 6 | Gregory Agren | $2,530 |
| 7 | Jena Venturini | $1,935 |
| 8 | Paul Richardson | $1,516 |
| 9 | Ronald Henry Jr. | $1,110 |
| 10 | Jeff Rosen | $1,109 |
