It’s been a hard year for Rampage, one of the heroes of an entire generation of poker players who have been coming up in recent years.
A massive downswing that started with some super high-stakes games in late 2023 has seen done serious harm to Ethan’s bankroll and confidence, but the good news is that both have been recovering as of late.
In the latest episode of his popular YouTube vlog, Rampage took us behind the scenes of a high-stakes poker games at the Aria and a charity poker tournament he played in Las Vegas the same day.
Fortunately for rampage, and much to the delight of his fans, Rampage was back on the winning side, doing well in both the cash game and the tournament and booking a significant win.
The relatively modest win counted towards his Road to a Million challenge, which he set up in order to keep himself accountable and attempt to recover the significant losses he incurred over the last 12 months.
Rampage Mixes It Up at Table One
The latest Rampage vlog saw him playing the popular Table One Game at the Aria, notorious for high-stakes action and known as the home office for some of the best poker player in Las Vegas.
He went into the game with the expectation of playing $25/$50 No Limit Hold’em, but the game ended up playing much bigger, with blinds set at $50/$100 and an extra $100 ante in the pot to drive the action.
Not one to back off from a challenge, Rampage bought into the game for a cool $25,000, looking to book a quick win and take a step in the right direction towards his million dollar goal.
Action was fast and furious right off the bat, as Rampage got involved in a few smaller pots and won a few thousand without much resistance.
Flopping a top set of Kings some hands later did not hurt, as Ethan continued to build momentum and his chip stack in the process.
The momentum came to a halt when an opponent called his $5k river bluff with just A-high, probably banking on Rampage’s reputation of a loose cannon.
His reputation did him some favors later in the game, however, as he proceeded to win several pots with big hands that no one expected him to have.
After some ups and downs, Rampage quit the session with a $16k win, a decent step in the right direction, before heading off to play in a fun charity poker event hosted nearby.
Rampage Books His First Tournament Win in 2024
If you are only going to win one poker tournament in a year, you probably want it to be one of the bigger buyins you play. Rampage got the very opposite, as he left his cash game session to play a $400 charity poker event hosted at a makeshift poker room in a Las Vegas restaurant.
Hosted by CSOP (Charity Series of Poker), the event benefited the Williams-Marshall Cares Leadership Program and brought together quite a few celebrities from different walks of life.
Among names recognizable to fans of poker were the likes of Mike Matusow, Joey Ingram, Chad Holloway, and Matt Stout, alongside Rampage.
The tournament’s charity nature meant that most of the proceeds went to the cause, while small cash prizes were reserved for the players who reached the final table.
Unlike many of his recent sessions, this one saw Rampage go on a sun-run, making a ton of big hands, winning coin-flips, and cruising all the way to the final table.
Once down to nine, Rampage ran over the table and won every hand he played, easily going all the way and winning the entire tournament.
For his efforts, Ethan won a modest sum of $2,500 in cash, along with a gold medal to remember the event by.
While the win was not very significant in terms of the money won, it was a fun experience for a good cause, but also a boost to Rampage’s confidence, which has been significantly shaken as of late.
What’s Next for Rampage?
The most recent Rampage vlog episode was recorded a few weeks ago, and we have seen him appear in some high-stakes poker games on Hustler Casino Live.
Despite the downswing he experienced earlier in the year, as well as the several reported cases of fraud he fell prey to, Ethan still seems as eager as ever to play poker and get back to winning ways.
The road to success has been covered with thorns, but Rampage has shown incredible resilience in the face of adversity, overcoming everything life has thrown at him.
Considering his affiliation with the World Poker Tour (WPT), and the fact he recently gave away dozens of seats into the upcoming $5,000,000 Freeroll at the Wynn, we can expect to see Rampage in Las Vegas this December, battling it out in the WPT World Championship.
In the meantime, stay tuned for more episodes of his popular vlog, and remember to watch the most recent one right here.
