The year was 2002. Russell Rosenblum had cashed in exactly one poker tournament in his life, one month prior, when after four days of poker he found himself at the final table of the 2002 World Series of Poker Main Event.
The ESPN cameras were on hand to film the action, and despite none of the hole card cameras that would come into fashion in the year that followed and completely change the game, Rosenblum was on as massive a stage as there was in poker with $2 million awaiting the champion. Rosenblum played his way down until six remained, and then ran 
into Scott Gray’s 
, failing to improve.
After enjoying such success at an early stage of taking poker tournaments seriously, pocketing $150,000 for his sixth place finish, the moment came and went before Rosenblum truly appreciated what had happened.
“It’s a thing that Mike Matusow said to me when I almost busted in 2002, long before making the final table,” Rosenblum said. “He goes, ‘Dude, don’t think it’s gonna be so easy to get back here. Don’t screw it up, and actually cherish the moment.’ And at the time, I couldn’t cherish the moment. It’s was the first $10K I ever played, and it was just so overwhelming, every single moment.”
Rosenblum enjoyed more success in tournament poker in the years that followed. In 2004, Rosenblum made the final table of the Season II WPT World Championship at Bellagio, finishing in fifth for a career-best $332,660 cash. He cashed in four subsequent WSOP Main Events, in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2022, but up until this year finished no better than 169th.
Now, in 2024, Rosenblum’s the closest he’s been since 2002. He’s played through six days of the 2024 WSOP Main Event, and with 59 players left he’s starting to get a taste of what might well turn into another bite at the apple.
“I want to get there,” said Rosenblum. “Believe me, I want to get there. I’m never getting back here again. It’s impossible. But I’m really just cherishing it more – it’s different. I’ll be devastated when I bust, and everybody busts but one man or woman. I’m looking around the room and just thinking, ‘Do I have some shot to get my picture up there?’ But just the fact that I can be here and have a 1% or 2% chance is so cool.”
Rosenblum is the last remaining player in the 2024 WSOP Main Event field to have previously made the final table. If he can play through two more days, Rosenblum would also be claiming a piece of poker history.
Eight players have had gaps of 10 years or more between WSOP Main Event final table appearances. The current record for such a gap is held by Dewey Tomko, who was the runner-up in both the 1982 and 2001 WSOP Main Events. Using the current nine-handed final table standard, Mickey Appleman (13 years), Phil Hellmuth (11 years) and Erik Seidel (11 years) each waited over a decade for a return appearance at the WSOP Main Event final table as well.
As to whether or not that previous experience will serve Rosenblum as he tries to make it back, Rosenblum fairly pointed out the difference between navigating a field of 631 (as it was in 2002) and a field of 10,112. It’s about weathering the storms, putting yourself in as many good spots as possible and then managing your mentality during the tough stretches.
“It’s totally different. It’s a complete minefield,” said Rosenblum. “Day 1, some people say ‘I just want to keep surviving.’ But you can’t do that, you’ll never win the tournament. Yesterday, Adrian Mateos, he’s one of the best players in the world, unquestionably. He gets away from pocket kings against aces, and the very next hand he loses everything with aces versus 
. Doesn’t matter how good you are – there’s an element of luck in this game, which is the reason there’s no big money chess matches. Everybody’s got a shot in this thing, right?
“And you’re always dealing with a psychology about these things. Let’s say you have 5 million in chips and you lose 2 million and you’re down to 3. You feel like you’ve lost your tournament, it’s over. I’ve screwed it all up. Across the table, the other guy had 500,000 and he gets up to 1.5 million, he feels like he’s gonna win, right? You have twice as many chips as him and you feel devastated and he’s on top of the world. You have to manage those highs and lows. I came in yesterday with a lot of chips, and I rarely have a lot of chips. And I came in yesterday not being negative, but just prepared for adversity.”
Rosenblum came into Day 7 sitting 32nd out of 59, with a hope that his chips will take another swing forward. He has steeled himself for the potential pain of an elimination while appreciating every hand and moment that comes his way. As much as the WSOP Main Event has changed in 22 years, so too has Rosenblum’s life. Billed as an attorney living in Bethesda, Maryland during the 2002 ESPN broadcast, making his way as a rising legal star in Washington, D.C.
Rosenblum now serves as the Chairman of the Board for Lexicon Bank in Nevada, which actively courts poker players as clients and customers. That’s the life Rosenblum will be going back to whenever this run comes to an end, be it a finish in the 50s or somewhere at the final table.
The last time Rosenblum was in this position, he was in his early 30s and only had to play four days to reach the final table. Six days in, with two more to go, he’s feeling the effects of 10 hours of poker a day for this many days in a row. But as he puts an eye towards making his way back to the promised land of a WSOP Main Event final table, Rosenblum felt a boost as he watched other players at his table feeling the same way.
“The dealer sat down in the box at the start of the day today and goes, ‘How are y’all doing?’ And a couple of the guys just say, ‘Good.’ ‘Good.’ But one guy, he’s gotta be 26, 27 years old, and he says, ‘Good, but I’m tired as hell. And I looked at him. I go, ‘Wait, I thought it’s just me, the old man. Are you kidding?’ He goes, ‘I’m exhausted. I look around the table. Everyone’s 23, 24 and they’re all like, ‘We’re tired.’ The fatigue is brutal.
“But life is good. I can’t complain. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m gonna bust this thing and go, ‘Oh, that was fun. I’ll be devastated for sure. But just getting back this deep again, [making the final table], that would be really cool. Honestly, it’s impossible.”