Rami Boukai Wins Event #23: $1,500 8-Game Mix ($177,294)
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Rami Boukai has captured his second career WSOP bracelet, closing out the heads-up battle against John Evans in Event #23: $1,500 8-Game Mix and taking home the first-place prize of $177,294. Wednesday’s action lasted just 40 minutes, as Boukai started Day 4 with a commanding chip lead and closed the deal quickly, securing the six-figure payday.
Boukai, whose previous bracelet win came at the 2009 WSOP in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/Hold’em event, said the money is most important thing to him.
“It’s 170 thousand, so yeah, it’s a big deal,” Boukai said. “I’m here for the money.”
The event spilled over into an unscheduled Day 4, with Day 3 play ending in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The tournament restarted at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon with just Boukai and Evans remaining, and Boukai holding a three-to-one chip lead.
By 2:40 p.m., the day was done. Boukai steadily eroded Evans’ stack throughout rounds of no-limit hold’em, seven-card stud and Omaha hi-lo, and sealed the victory on the first limit hold’em hand of the day.
Boukai said the extension into the extra day didn’t play any factor in the way the tournament played out.
“I don’t sleep too well in the city anyway,” Boukai said. “I just didn’t want to [mess] things up. I had a big chip lead, so it was as good of a spot as I could see myself in.”
Mixed-Game Masters at the Final Table
Boukai emerged through a final table that included a number of successful mixed-game players. Philip Long, the defending champion in this event, finished fourth ($49,531), while Allen Kessler ($34,329) came up just short of his first WSOP bracelet.
Chris Klodnicki ($72,933) posted his second top-five finish in a mixed-game event at the 2019 WSOP, finishing third in the $1,500 8-Game Mix on the heels of a fifth-place finish in $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. It looked like Klodnicki would advance to the extra day and make it a three-way fight to the finish on Day 4, but he was eliminated just before the end of play on Day 3.
Evans posted the biggest cash of his career ($109,553), coming in second among the starting field of 612 players. Evans came up short in his quest for the bracelet, and he was up against tough competition in Boukai, who’s a veteran of the 8-game format.
“I’ve been playing 8-game mix for at least 10 years, all the tournaments are the same for the most part,” Boukai said.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rami Boukai | United States | $177,294 |
| 2 | John Evans | United States | $109,553 |
| 3 | Chris Klodnicki | United States | $72,933 |
| 4 | Philip Long | United Kingdom | $49,531 |
| 5 | Allen Kessler | United States | $34,329 |
| 6 | Donny Rubinstein | United States | $24,292 |