WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley

Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by Bala Kumar

Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California, is one of the busiest stops on the World Series of Poker Circuit. It hosts two Circuit series a year, and its $1,700 Main Event regularly draws more than 700 players and a seven-figure prize pool.

In 2026, the Circuit visited Thunder Valley in January, when Jaime Haletky won his second Main Event title at the venue, and it is back again this fall. This page covers the live fall series, the complete January results, all past Main Event champions and everything you need to know about the stop.

Fall 2026 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley: Live Now

The fall stop kicked off on September 24 and runs through October 5, 2026, with 16 official ring events.

The series opened with a $400 Seniors event (50+), a $400 Freezeout and the $400 Opener with a $250,000 guarantee. The schedule also includes a $600 Pot-Limit Omaha, a $400 Mirror Mystery Bounty, $600 H.O.R.S.E., a $400 Knockout with $100 bounties and a $400 Monster Stack with a $200,000 guarantee. Mixed-game players also get $600 Omaha 8 and $600 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw.

After the Main Event, three more ring events remain: a $400 NLH and a $1,100 Knockout with $500 bounties on October 4, then the $400 Series Finale on October 5. The first fall ring has already been awarded: Greg Meder won Event #2, the Freezeout.

Every 2026 ring winner earns a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package. It includes a seat in the $2,750 WSOP Circuit Championship Mystery Bounty at WSOP Paradise 2026, plus hotel accommodation in the Bahamas. WSOP Paradise runs December 2–17 at Baha Mar in Nassau.

We’ll update this section with the fall Main Event champion and all ring winners once the series ends on October 5.

January 2026 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley: Quick Facts

January 2026 Schedule & Results: All 16 Events

Entries, ITM and prize pools are from the official WSOP schedule; winner payouts are from WSOP’s results announcement. Full results for each event are available on the official WSOP event page.

WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event (January 2026)

The $1,700 Main Event drew 764 entries, building a $1,157,460 prize pool that was paid to the top 116 players. The champion collected $205,460, about 18% of the prize pool.

How Jaime Haletky Won

Haletky, from Walnut Creek, California, started the final table second in chips. He stayed patient early as the other players knocked each other out, then took control once the table was down to five.

He eliminated Don Landwirth in fifth by check-raising all in with a straight and flush draw, then completing the flush on the turn. Next, he shoved nine-six offsuit from the small blind and ran into Julius Roque’s pocket tens, but rivered a flush to knock Roque out in fourth.

Another rivered flush gave him the chip lead over Casey Sandretto, whom he eliminated in third shortly after. Heads-up against Franklin Chavez lasted less than two hours. Chavez won an early double-up, but the final hand came when he moved all in on the turn with top pair and ran into Haletky’s flopped two pair.

The win made Haletky a two-time Thunder Valley Main Event champion. He first won the event in January 2020.

Main Event Final Table Results

Biggest Events & Prize Pools (January 2026)

The $400 Opener drew more players than the Main Event, which is typical for Thunder Valley, where the low buy-in NLH events attract huge Northern California crowds.

Past WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event Champions

A few stories stand out. In January 2020, Haletky, a 42-year-old mathematician at the time, won the event for what was then the biggest score of his career. Travis Egbert’s October 2024 win was his third ring, and his first two had also come at Thunder Valley earlier that year. In fall 2025, German pro Rayo Kniep won at what he called his home casino.

Thunder Valley WSOP Circuit Records

Based on the Main Events listed above:

Thunder Valley has also produced notable ring milestones. In fall 2025, Jarod Minghini won the $600 Pot-Limit Omaha for his seventh WSOP Circuit ring.

Note: Earlier Thunder Valley series (before 2020 and in 2021–2023) are not included here yet. We’ll add them as we verify the official results.

Venue: Thunder Valley Casino Resort

Thunder Valley Casino Resort is in Lincoln, California, in the Sacramento area of Northern California. Its poker room hosts two WSOP Circuit series each year, usually in January and in the fall, along with RunGood Poker Series events and its own tournament series. Recent Circuit schedules have featured a mix of low buy-in NLH events, mixed games like H.O.R.S.E., Omaha 8 and Triple Draw, bounty events, a High Roller and the $1,700 Main Event.

For room details, schedules and hotel information, visit the Thunder Valley poker room.

How the WSOP Circuit Works

What is the WSOP Circuit? It’s the World Series of Poker’s year-round tour of regional stops. Each stop runs a set of official ring events, usually 12 to 18, with buy-ins mostly between $400 and $1,700.

What is a WSOP Circuit ring? It’s the gold ring awarded to the winner of each official Circuit event, the Circuit’s version of a WSOP bracelet.

What is the Main Event? Every stop’s flagship tournament, usually a $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em event with multiple starting flights.

What is a Casino Champion? The player who earns the most points across a stop’s ring events. Main Event winners and Casino Champions have traditionally earned seats in the Circuit’s season-ending championship.

What do 2026 ring winners get? Every 2026 ring winner receives a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package, which includes entry into the $2,750 Circuit Championship Mystery Bounty in the Bahamas. That event has a $5 million guarantee, and more than 1,000 ring winners are expected to take part.

For more tournament guides, see our poker tournaments hub and our World Poker Tour guide.

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