Born May 18, 1969, Layne Flack hailed from Rapid City, South Dakota before working as a poker dealer in small card clubs in Montana. Eventually, he found his way to Nevada and learned under poker greats like Johnny Chan and Ted Forrest.
"At 24, he and his girlfriend moved to Reno, Nevada and by 1995, when his daughter Hailey was born, Layne was a full-time professional poker player," Al Moe previously wrote in this PokerNews profile.
The piece continued: "His first big score came at the Horseshoe, where he won a Hall of Fame $1500 no-limit hold'em event, and pocketed $68,000. Other tournament wins followed, and so did some high-limit live action. Layne's ability didn't go unnoticed by poker's best players, and when he went through a few bad sessions, Johnny Chan was more than willing to back his play."
Career Highlights
In May 1999, Flack won his first gold bracelet in the WSOP $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em event for $224,400. In August of that same year, he won the Legends of Poker $330 7-Card Stud tournament for $15,600 and the following day took down the $330 Limit Hold’em Shootout for $19,320. The back-to-back victories earned him the nickname “Back-to-Back” Flack, which would be reinforced when he won two gold bracelets in both 2002 and 2003.
According to The Hendon Mob, Flack had just over $5 million in lifetime earnings dating back to 1994 including a career-best $577,725 for his last bracelet victory, which came at the 2008 WSOP in Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha.
Other highlights on his poker résumé include $500,000 for finishing runner-up to Eric Brenes in the 2004 WPT Aruba, $225,190 for placing fourth in the 2016 WinStar River Poker Series Main Event, and $186,900 for finishing second to Howard Lederer in the 2002 WPT World Poker Finals.
Poker Hall of Fame
Flack passed away unexpectedly on July 19, 2021, at the age of 52. In 2022, he was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the sole inductee in the Class of 2022.
Flack’s dear friend and WSOP bracelet winner, Derick “Tex” Barch, offered a few words in honor of Flack’s induction into the Poker Hall of Fame.
“He (Flack) was an amazing friend, more like a brother. Through good, bad and all his mischief - Layne had your back!” said Barch. “Layne was close to my children. He would come and spend weeks at our house. Always entertaining them, taking them places and making sure it was all about them. When my daughter died this past January, one thing that brought comfort to me was to know that Layne would be there to greet her, and they could laugh together, in eternity.”
Layne Flack’s WSOP Bracelets
| Year | Tournament | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Event #12: $3,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em | $224,000 |
| 2002 | Event #4: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em | $303,880 |
| 2002 | Event #19: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em | $268,020 |
| 2003 | Event #18: $2,500 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo | $119,260 |
| 2003 | Event #25: $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout | $120,000 |
| 2008 | Event #34: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha | $577,725 |
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