“My only advice to all players playing these things is just to never give up,” he says “I was the short stack nearly the whole tournament but here I am.” The family man with two kids held over $100,000 in lifetime earnings and a prior career high of over $38,168 was overjoyed in taking down his first mid-major career title. The Minnesota native has been playing the game recreationally for over 20 years and turned to tournaments within the past three years. “I just feel elated right now,” said an exhausted Dennehey, “I just played my hands.” Mcelhaney took second place for $133,058. After 13 hours of play in the $1,110 buy-in Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) 2022 Ohio State Poker championship at JACK Casino Cleveland, it was Minnesota native John Dennehey who ended up striking a deal heads-up with Dustin Mcelhaney for $155,933 and the title.