An American poker pro won 6.4 million USD in Pai Gow
Thomas Evans Zanot, a poker player from Las Vegas, significantly increased his bankroll after hitting the jackpot in one of the casinos. An American poker pro has won 6.4 million USD in Pai Gow at a famous Las Vegas casino called Flamingo. Although the year has just started, this win is sure to be the biggest of the year in Pai Gow. Last year, the player earned 3.5 million USD at a nearby institution.
Pai Gow is a mixture of poker and Chinese dominoes. There are combinations from poker here, but the division of hands into lower and upper came from dominoes. The players here do not compete with each other but play against the dealer. The player is dealt seven cards; five of them go to the upper hand and the remaining two — to the lower. After that, bets are placed.
The player chooses which cards to send to the lower hand and which ones to leave in the upper hand. The minimum combination in both hands is the highest card. The strongest upper hand is a royal flush, and the lower one is a pair.
After that, the player and the dealer reveal their cards. To win the whole pot, both the player’s upper and lower hands must be stronger than the dealer’s hands. The comparison follows the rules of classic hold’em. If the dealer and the player win 1 hand each, the player gets the bet back.
It is important to note that you can place an additional bet on a seven-card combination. To win the jackpot, you need to break a seven-card straight flush. Anyone who has played poker knows how rare a five-card straight flush is, let alone a seven-card one. This is exactly the combination that Zanot put together. His winning combination included: 8 of spades, 9 of spades, 10 of spades, J of spades, Q of spades, Joker, and A of spades. The Joker, in this case, was instead of K of spades.
The income in live poker is more than 1.1 million USD
On Twitter, Zanot reported that he lost about 375 USD in 11 hours of play and played 300-400 hands before he got the coveted combination. Having placed only 5 USD, the Zanot took 6,443,401 USD.
Thomas Evans Zanot is a frequent participant in live poker events. The income in live poker is more than 1.1 million USD. He rarely takes part in high rollers, although in December, he played at the WPT Championship for 10,400 USD. The American played quite well and took 33rd place, earning 99,600 USD.
Zanot does not miss WSOP tournaments, where he has already won prizes 60 times. The player has not won the bracelet yet. Having won a huge amount in Pai Gow, surely now the player will more often take part in tournaments with high buy-ins, including the World Series of Poker.