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Poker Community Mourns Loss of Layne Flack at 52

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
Jennifer Newell

Back-to-back Flack. It’s difficult to find people in the poker world who don’t know to whom that nickname refers. One could also refer to him by his first name only. Layne Flack was one of the best poker players of the past 25 years.

He was certainly one of the best players in his heyday, which happened to start before the poker boom and last until very recently. In fact, he was still cashing in tournaments until mid-pandemic by playing online in the summer of last year.

Flack died at his home on Monday, July 19. He reportedly died in his sleep, though a cause of death is not yet known. He was 52 years old.

A Long List of Poker Accomplishments

His Hendon Mob listing began in 1994. Long before some of today’s new poker players were even born, Flack was winning poker tournaments in poker rooms from Billings to Las Vegas, making final tables from a Card Player Cruise to Lake Elsinore. He went where the poker took him.

Mostly, Flack traveled back and forth from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, playing tournaments in the Los Angeles area card rooms like the Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino and hitting Vegas for World Series of Poker action each summer. Of course, he traveled to other poker rooms, too. In 2000 alone, he accumulated final tables in Tunica, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City.

The WSOP was one of his favorite tournament series. His first WSOP result was second place in a $2K No Limit Hold’em event in 1998 for $133K. Flack’s love for the WSOP was evident in his results:

1998: $2K NLHE = 2nd place for $133K

1999: $1,500 LHE = 8th place for $18,270

1999: $3K PLHE = 1st place for $224,400

2000: $5K Omaha Hi-Lo = 3rd place: for $59,400

2001: $2K NLHE = 3rd place: for $81,270

2001: $5K Seven-Card Stud = 11th place for $7,565

2002: $2K NLHE = 1st place: for $303,880

2002: $1,500 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball = 14th place for $1,560

2002: $1,500 NLHE = 1st place for $268,020

2003: $5K NLHE = 9th place for $11,800

2003: $2,500 Omaha Hi-Lo = 1st place for $119,260

2003: $1,500 LHE Shootout = 1st place for $120K

2005: $1,500 PLHE = 2nd place for $185,855

2005: $5K NLHE Short-Handed = 4th place for $99,030

2005: $1K NLHE = 70th place for $4,230

2005: $10K NLHE Main Event = 194th place for $39,075

2006: $2K NLHE Shootout = 62nd place for $4,805

2007: $5K NLHE Heads-Up Championship = 33rd place for $9,212

2008: $1,500 PLO = 1st place for $577,725

2009: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo = 44th place for $5,651

2009: $2,500 NL 2-7 Draw = 8th place for $8,452

2009: $2,500 NLHE 6-Handed = 68th place for $5,404

2009: $2,500 Mixed = 7th place for $30,673

By that point, Flack had accumulated six WSOP gold bracelets. He went on to final table numerous World Series events in the decade that followed.

Outside of the WSOP, he racked up six-figure scores with a 2000 Legends of Poker win for $114K, 2002 WPT World Poker Finals Main Event second-place finish for $186,900, 2003 WPT Invitational win for $125K, 2004 UltimateBet Poker Classic second-place finish for $500K, 2008 Legends of Poker Main Event eighth-place for $105,620, and 2016 River Poker Series Main Event win for $225,190.

In his career, Flack earned $5,081,152 in poker tournament winnings alone, not including most online poker action.

More than that, he showed a proficiency in a wide variety of poker games.

Even more than that, Flack always showed that he loved the game. He enjoyed playing. He played everything from a $500 to $10K buy-in, though he veered toward more conservative buy-ins. It wasn’t the high-roller notoriety he wanted, nor the jet-setting lifestyle. He simply wanted to play poker…and play it well.

Legend to Many

Flack hailed from South Dakota, grew up there and in Montana, and began working as a poker dealer in his early 20s. A few years later, he and a girlfriend moved to Reno, and Flack soon became a professional poker player.

According to a detailed 2005 bio from PokerNews, Flack didn’t always sail from win to win, but others recognized his talent and backed him during the downswings. Johnny Chan was one of those backers. Others who became friends in poker through the years backed him as well.

In 1995, he and his aforementioned girlfriend had his daughter, Hailey. Flack moved to Las Vegas soon within a few years to play poker more regularly, and he was in and out of Hailey’s life for many years. While she held his heart, some demons worked against him in many respects. By all accounts, he struggled with addiction for much of his adult life.

Poker players from across the spectrum called Flack a legend in the game.

Hopefully, his family knew how much he meant to the poker community, a place he spent much of his time and where he always belonged. His niece, Kayla, has been on Twitter since her uncle’s death, following the tributes. Maybe she knows.

https://twitter.com/KaylaFlack/status/1417324722606559234?s=20

https://twitter.com/KaylaFlack/status/1417324281357381652?s=20

There are two Twitter threads that deserve particular attention, in that they are poignant and reflective. Click on the tweets to go to the thread, and scroll down to read them in full.

Many, many poker players and fans expressed their condolences and shared their memories on Twitter this week. Here are a select few.

 

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