Eli Elezra's Excellent Summer Continues With Third Career Bracelet

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Eli Elezra

Eli Elezra made his third final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker, and this time he finished the job, taking down Event #48: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud for $112,591 against a 237-player field.

��Winning the bracelet in stud, the old-school game nobody plays any more �C it means so much to me,�� he said. ��I feel really good.��

This marks Elezra's third bracelet, joining the ones he won in Event #24: $3,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low in 2007 for $198,984 and Event #59: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball in 2013 for $173,236.

Elezra is likely most well known in the poker world for TV appearances on shows like High Stakes Poker, where he was a regular in the big cash game. He still considers himself primarily a cash game player, but he takes a break from his cash action to give it a run at the WSOP every summer, something he said earns him considerable ribbing among the other cash game regulars.

��Every day I go to Aria and Bellagio and they ask, 'Why do you keep doing it?'�� he said. ��I tell them I'm trying to be famous. No, I just love the competition and the action.��

Those cash games, which are generally of the mixed-game variety, have definitely prepared Elezra for his fantastic summer. He has also made final tables in Event #9: $1,500 Razz andEvent #29: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship, where he finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Elezra last cashed in a straight no-limit hold'em event back in May 2012, and a decision to focus on his strengths in non-hold'em games has been reflected in his recent success.

Running good doesn't hurt, either.

��I feel I'm running much better than I have in the past,�� Elezra said. ��Not only running good, but playing the right games. No-limit has become so advanced �C all those young kids are much better than me. I better stick to what I'm good at.��

Elezra had to overcome about a 3-1 chip deficit heads up against Benjamin Lazer after Allen Cunningham bowed out of the tournament in third. Elezra needed close to two hours to turn that 10-big bet stack into his third bracelet. He got the last of it when he ran down Lazer's wired queens with 6?K?/5?4?6?, running a straight with 7? and 8? to leave Lazer's unimproved queens dead before he could even squeeze out seventh street.

Elezra's third bracelet was special because he had a first-time guest watching �C his 21-year-old son, who just graduated from college.

��He has no idea if an ace beats a king,�� Elezra said with a laugh. ��It's the first time he's seen me win a bracelet. That really feels good.��

Three final tables and a bracelet apparently isn't enough to satisfy Elezra, who predicted he will make one more final table before the series is in the books. He revealed he's been playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, ever since the 25K fantasy draft.

��They got me for only $1 in fantasy,�� he said with a wide grin. ��I'm going to show them that I'm worth more than that.��

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Eli ElezraHenderson, NV$112,591
2Benjamin LazerKingston, NY$69,532
3Allen CunninghamLas Vegas, NV$44,846
4Gylbert DroletSaint-Nicholas, Canada$32,495
5Kenn WittockGilbert, AZ$23,891
6Byron ZiebellHales Corners, WI$17,821
7Jean GaspardEvanston, IL$13,486
8Matt GrapenthienChicago, IL$10,352

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