Event #34: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw

Andrey Zaichenko is the newest member of poker’s gold bracelet club.

The 38-year-old sales and marketing executive from Moscow, Russia won the $1,500 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Triple-Draw Limit Lowball tournament, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded on the at the Rio in Las Vegas. 

Zaichenko collected $117,947 in prize money, making this one of the biggest wins of his career.  He became the 11^th Russian gold bracelet winner in history, and 13^th overall (two Russians have two wins each).  He also became the second Russian winner this year, two days after Viatcheslav Ortynskiy won the $3,000 buy-in Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha title.

“In Russia, we have so many good players,” Ziachenko said afterward.  “I am just so glad to have my name now up there along with them.”

Zaichenko won his victory by coming out on top at a final table which included an international contingent of players.  Nations among the top eight included – the United States, Russia, Israel, and the Ukraine.  However, the biggest obstacle proved to be Jameson Painter, a Las Vegas poker pro who put up a bitterly tough fight, finishing second.

The chip lead swung back and forth a few times as players realized a short run of cards would probably determine the outcome.  Only about 35 big blinds were on the table when the last hand was dealt.

The moment of triumph came when Zaichenko scooped the final pot of the tournament after two hours of heads up play, holding off yet another big comeback by Painter.  In deference to the runner up, after losing most of his chips early in the day, he put up quite a fight and still managed to move several places up the money ladder after being very low on chips.

“I was so happy to win against (Painter).  There were so many good players in this tournament, but to win the way I did against him makes me very happy,” Zaichenko.  “He really knew what was going on, since he called my bluffs and he won so many hands when he had to.”

Back in Moscow, Ziachenko primarily plays in private (home) games, which have become increasingly common there.  In fact, many of his friends were present for the victory, having made the trip all the way from Moscow to Las Vegas. 

“The bracelet is the goal which I wanted.  This is so emotional for me.  I cannot express what this means,” Ziachenko said.

This tourney attracted 358 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $483,300.  The top 54 finishers collected prize money.

Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table:

Second Place:  Jameson Painter, from Las Vegas, finished as the runner up.      $72,878.  This was his 18^th time to cash at the series, and fifth final table appearance.  His WSOP resume now includes a 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th, 7^th, and 8^th.

Third Place:  Guy Hareuveni became the highest finish at this year’s WSOP from Israel by coming in third.  He pocketed $46,992.  This was the software engineer from Haifa’s second time to cash in an event here after making the money in last year’s Ten-Game Mix.

Fourth Place:  Alexsandr Vinskii, from St. Petersburg, Russia cashed for the fourth time at the WSOP which this deep run.  He earned $31,099.

Fifth Place:  Adam Spiegelberg, from Las Vegas, NV cashed for the fifth time at the WSOP and made his second final table appearance.  The former attorney settled for $21,139.

Sixth Place:  Andril Nadieliaiev, from the Ukraine, finished in sixth place, which was his fourth time to cash at the WSOP.  He was paid $14,769.

Seventh Place:  Andrew “A.J.” Kelsall, from Tampa, FL finished in seventh place, which was his 20^th time to cash at the series.  He earned $10,614.  He’s also a WSOP Circuit gold ring winner.  Kelsall was formally a golf pro.

Eighth Place:  Daniel Zack, from Princeton, NJ was the first player eliminated off the official final table of eight.  This was his seventh time to cash at the series, earning him $10,614.