A man awaiting trial for attempting to murder his wife won a World Series of Poker bracelet online in Michigan.
A recent WSOP bracelet winner is awaiting trial for murder in Michigan. (Image: WSOP.com)
Rudy Gavaldon of Travers City won the $500 NL Hold’em Turbo 6-Max bracelet for $20,193 on June 18. A man with that same name was arraigned in the 86th District Court on Aug. 1, 2022 on a charge of assault with intent to commit murder, according to Yahoo! News.
Gavaldon is a repeat offender who spent 11 months in jail and three years on probation after pleading guilty of breaking into people’s houses to steal prescription drugs in 2011.
While it’s difficult to confirm with 100% certain that the Rudy Gavaldon who won the bracelet playing under the name “Flyheim86” is the same man who is accused of attacking his wife so violently that she nearly lost her life along with her right eye, there are several clues that he is (hat tip to Jon Sofen of PokerNews, who broke this story).
Sofen confirmed with the Grand Traverse Correctional Correctional Facility that Gavaldon hasn’t ben incarcerated since last August. Michigan’s inmate inquiry website also doesn’t list Gavaldon as a prisoner.
His “Flyheim86” username offers another clue. Gavaldon was born in 1986 and the only other “Rudy Gavaldon” listed in the White Pages is in his 70s.
“Flyheim86” also nearly won a WSOP.com Circuit ring a week before he got a bracelet, but stalled in third, winning $2,858. He started his mini run the first Sunday of June with a tenth-place finish in the $500 Bankroll Builder event for $1,242.
A terrible night
The police account of what Gavaldon is accused of doing to his wife, Lara, a little after midnight on July 29, 2022 is brutal and stomach-churning.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office say neighbors called deputies after Gavaldon knocked on their on doors and told people he was dying. He was carrying his 9-month-old baby when officers arrived. Police say Gavaldon said it was his wife that was dying and needed help. A 9-year-old was also present, but the children were physically unharmed.
According to Up North Live, a “woman could be heard yelling for help and approached the deputy walking down the road….The deputy saw the 28-year-old woman had significant injuries to her face and called for an ambulance.”
Gavaldon was arrested and charged while Lara had to be airlifted to a bigger hospital because of the severity of the injuries to her face and head.
Gofundme for Lara
Before the attack, Lara worked as a family medicine physician assistant, but she hasn’t been able to work since.
According to a GoFundMe page that was set up last September to help her and her children get through this tragedy, the injuries she sustained caused her to have her right eye removed. She also had to have several stages of nasal reconstruction surgery and a titanium plate placed to stabilize her orbital bone and sinus area.
The fundraiser is still $20,884 short of making its goal of $50,000. “Flyheim86” won $24,293 on WSOP.com Michigan playing in ring and bracelet events in June. He’s still passing time playing poker on the account, competing in seven tourneys yesterday alone.
A date for the trial has not been set.
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