Ireland's Marc Macdonnell Triggers $826K The Deal Jackpot at PokerStars
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Irish grinder Marc "14alonso14" Macdonnell is no stranger to helping himself to large poker tournament scores, having amassed over $1.6 million from online poker events and another $3.3 million in the live arena. However, on September 18, Macdonnell reeled in the second-largest haul of his poker career courtesy of triggering the jackpot in The Deal at PokerStars.
Last week, PokerNews reported that The Deal jackpot had swelled to an all-time high of over $800,000, and that it was only a matter of time before one lucky PokerStars player captured a massive bankroll-boosting score. It turns out that the luck of the Irish phrase is true in Macdonnell's case.
Macdonnell played The Deal progressive jackpot mini-game and progressed to the jackpot round. The final prize wheel was split into eight segments, seven paying $1,000 and one holding the gargantuan jackpot, which tipped the scales at $826,393.67 when Macdonnell set the wheel spinning.
"Oh My God! Oh My God!"
Within ten seconds of The Deal jackpot wheel spinning, it settled on the all-important jackpot section, awarding Macdonnell exactly half of the jackpot amount, or a cool $413,196.83 if you are keeping score.
Macdonnell filmed the winning spin on his phone and let out a simple yet effective "Oh my God! Oh my God!" when he realized more than $400,000 was about to land in his PokerStars account.
While Macdonnell banked $413,196.83 for his winning jackpot spin, any PokerStars players who played The Deal in the 12 hours before the epic victory won an equal share of the remaining $413,196.83.
Macdonnell The Poker Player
Although insanely lucky to win such a massive prize from a mini-game, Macdonnell usually lets his poker skills shine through at the tables. In 2014, Macdonnell finished fourth in the PokerStars Sunday Million for $106,800, his first six-figure prize at the virtual felt.
The popular Irishman has a plethora of big scores on his live poker resume. A runner-up finish in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Hyper Turbo event at the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) netted Macdonnell $155,876. Two years later, Macdonnell finished fifth in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Millionaire Maker for a then career-best $420,805.
Macdonnell raked in the first seven-figure score (exactly $1 million) of his career when he finished third behind Filipe Oliveira and Craig Mason in the 2018 PartyPoker Caribbean Poker Party Main Event.
No doubt, there will be many more substantial paydays for Macdonnell, especially now his bankroll has received a significant boost.
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