“I’ll put it all on black!” joked Jonathan Schiller, moments after pulling the $1,000,000 top bounty on Day 2 of the $1,000 Mystery Millions at the 2026 World Series of Poker.
Out of 22,811 entries (making it the fourth-largest WSOP event in history), only one seven-figure mystery bounty was up for grabs, and it was the 38-year-old recreational player who struck gold.
Catching up with PokerNews once the initial shock had begun to wear off, Schiller confirmed it wouldn’t be the roulette wheel getting his windfall after all, instead he’s got better plans for the dough. First on the agenda: a family vacation to the Most Magical Place on Earth for his wife and children.
A Life-Changing Score
Schiller, who makes a living playing daily fantasy sports, said of his plans for the money, “It’s going to allow me to pay off some debt, pay down part of the mortgage, and get a new car. I probably won’t change much. Honestly, I’ll invest a lot of it. It gives my wife and me some nice security.”
There’ll be time for the fun stuff too, though, “The kids are going to get a great vacation. I mean, they’re going to be pretty ecstatic,” he beams.
When asked if he has anywhere in mind, Schiller says, “We actually have a cruise coming up, but I do know they want to go to the new Isle of Berk at Disney World, so I think that’s probably the first one we’ll book.” A note to Mr. Schiller if you’re reading: it’s actually at Universal Orlando, but there’s still time to sort that out before you book.
Unfortunately, the nature of the bounty pull meant the family wasn’t in town to celebrate, as Schiller says “I was thinking, ‘I’m going to fly you guys in if I make the final table.’ I wasn’t considering hitting the million on the golden chest. That’s insane,” he laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.
And as for tonight? “I do have two bowling buddies here, so I may go hang out with them. It could be a pretty fun night. I mean, I hope so, but I’m dead tired. I’m exhausted.” With the amount of adrenaline still running through his body, that’s hardly a surprise.
Schiller wasn’t the first player at the 2026 WSOP to find a seven-figure mystery bounty envelope. At the start of the summer, Andrew Shelton became a millionaire after finding the $1,000,000 mystery bounty in the debuting Mini Mystery Millions.
That prize doubled the recreational poker player’s net worth, and remains his only cash of the 2026 WSOP.
Poker Player Pulls $100K Mystery Bounty and Donates it to Charity
Eliot Thomas
Editor, Poker & Casino