Layne Flack (May 18, 1969 – July 19, 2021) was an American professional
poker
Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
player from
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...
, residing in
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
.
Poker career
Flack started playing cards with his grandparents, but became engrossed in the game while working at a
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
. He would regularly go to another casino after work to play poker. Despite becoming the night manager in his job, he quit as he was spending too much time on poker to continue working full-time as well.
Flack met up with
Johnny Chan, who helped him improve his game and, following a big loss, encouraged Flack to ensure he had a lot of rest before a
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
.
Ted Forrest then took him under his wing, eventually playing in the biggest games in the world.
Flack had lifetime live tournament play winnings of over $5,000,000. His 43 cashes at the
WSOP accounted for $2,740,892 of his live tournament winnings.
World Series of Poker
Flack won six bracelets at the WSOP. He got the nickname "Back to Back Flack" after winning two consecutive Legends of Poker events in August 1999. He would accomplish the same feat three years later at the
2002 and the
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
WSOP series.
World Series of Poker Bracelets
World Poker Tour
Flack made numerous appearances on the
World Poker Tour and captured one WPT title.
* 2002 World Poker Finals - 2nd place ($186,900)
* WPT Invitational Tournament - Winner ($125,000)
* 2004 UltimateBet.Com Poker Classic - 2nd place ($500,000)
* 2008 Legends of Poker - 8th place ($105,620)
Death
It was announced on July 19, 2021, that Flack was found dead. According to Clark County coroner Melanie Rouse, the cause of death was listed as fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine intoxication. He was 52.
Flack was inducted into the
Poker Hall of Fame posthumously in 2022.
References
External links
Card Player articleCard player profileHendon Mob profilePokerNews profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flack, Layne
1969 births
2021 deaths
American poker players
Sportspeople from Rapid City, South Dakota
World Poker Tour winners
World Series of Poker bracelet winners
Cocaine-related deaths in Nevada
Poker Hall of Fame inductees