Jack Hill of Hot Springs celebrated his “bad luck” on Oct. 3 after hitting the bad-beat jackpot worth $87,569 in Oaklawn Racing and Gaming’s poker room.
After being dealt pocket aces, Hill went on to nab another ace and two kings giving him a full house with aces over kings. But the queen-high, straight flush of Steven McPherson of Alexander was better. Hill received half the jackpot ($43,785) and McPherson took home $21,892.
“I was there to play in a tournament that filled up and I almost left,” Hill said. “But I decided to play. I had pocket aces and the guy to the right of me came out with a bet around $11, and I thought about raising him, but I waited. We all called and there was a decent pot, so when the flop came and I had trip aces. I put in my last $46 and went all-in.”
When it came time to show the cards, the initial feeling of defeat suddenly changed to victory.
“We all just sat there for a second. It was real quiet,” Hill said. “Then, someone yelled ‘That’s it!’ and it came on the machine and everyone began hollering so loud they said they could hear it across the room.”
The other seven players in the hand received $3,127 apiece.
