For the last four years, PokerOrg Player Advisory Board member and content creator Frankie Cucchiara has been all-in on winning a first World Series of Poker bracelet.
On September 27, the start date of the domestic 2026 WSOP Online series, he took to social media to announce that he would be creating a content series built around his bracelet chase. With 33 bracelets up for grabs across the 44-day schedule, Cucchiara was determined to get his hands on one of them – and the geo-fenced series, available only to players in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, was as good an opportunity as any.
"The bracelet chase is officially an ongoing series on my channel," he wrote. "And I’m not stopping until there’s one on my wrist."
On Tuesday, he accomplished his goal by winning Event #17: NL Hold'em Mega Stack. The $333 buy-in drew a field of 674 entrants to generate a prize pool of $202,200.
Cucchiara posted to Instagram in the wake of his win, showing the final two hands of the heads-up clash with 'MagicJohnson' and his reaction.
In the first, he secured a full double with 
on a 
board and took a commanding chip lead – nearly 100 big blinds to his opponent's two.
The very next hand, he sealed the win as his 
held up against his opponent's rags and a dream years in the making came to fruition.
Along with the bracelet, he also took home the $38,890 first-place prize.
PokerOrg's Craig Tapscott spoke to the newly-minted bracelet winner to hear all about the milestone victory.
'I was in the perfect mindset'
How exciting was it to make the final table and make that run to the gold?
This is something I’ve wanted for a very long time. You can go to my YouTube channel right now, and it’s the first thing you see: I want to win a bracelet. When you want something that badly, it brings a lot of pressure.
But yesterday, I felt like I was in the perfect mindset. For the first half, I was doing some work on the side and playing on my phone. Whenever a spot came up, I trusted my gut and wasn’t scared to make a play. Then I looked up, and suddenly I was in first place with 30 players left. That’s when I really locked in.
I wasn’t putting pressure on myself or going in with expectations. That lack of nerves and trying to force a win allowed me to play confidently and cruise my way to heads-up. Then I ran hot, the cards went my way, and my bet sizing was on point. To close it out felt truly special.
Frankie Cucchiara has one more reason to smile after winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet. What does winning your first bracelet mean at this point in your career?
I just turned 27, and now I’ve got my first bracelet. Being young and having so much ahead of me is a blessing. This is a long game. If I can keep winning bracelets over the years, imagine where I could be by the time I’m 50. That excites me a lot.
My next goal is simple: win another one. Now I have just as many bracelets as a lot of people I love and respect, and more than some people I love and respect. That means a lot to me.
Do you have aspirations to win many more bracelets and focus on tournament poker?
Absolutely. I feel honored to have joined so many great players who have one bracelet, but I’m ready to pass that mark. I have a strong desire to win more, and I’m going to continue firing and playing.
Most importantly, I’m going to enjoy the journey. If I’d been the GOAT at 21, I don’t think this moment would mean as much. I’ve been trying to win this for so long, and so many people stayed on my livestream supporting me until the very end. That made it even more special.
My YouTube followers already know this is going to be a banger. It’s going to be one of my best videos ever. Stay tuned, you’re about to watch the journey to my first bracelet.
If you want to see Frankie Cucchiara's full ride to a first World Series of Poker bracelet, keep an eye out for a video on his YouTube channel.
