8-Ball: A Look at the History of 888poker's Crazy Eights WSOP Tournament
The $888 Crazy Eights has become a big event on the WSOP schedule and by mid-morning 800 players had already registered to play. The event, which is sponsored by 888poker and features an $888,888 top prize, will offer three more starting flights between Saturday and Sunday with unlimited reentries – making for a nice payday in an event that brings in plenty of recreational players.
On Saturday, Hardek Vyas was in from Cincinnati, Ohio, to play his first-ever WSOP event and specifically had the Crazy Eights in mind when he planned his trip.
“It’s a good value for the money and the payouts are great. For an amateur like me, it’s kind of perfect.”
“It’s a great experience,” he told PokerNews during the first break. “It’s a good value for the money, and the payouts are great. For an amateur like me, it’s kind of perfect.”
So far, Vyas’s day hasn’t gone quite as he hoped, but he is staying positive and patient.
“It’s not been good,” he said of his first few levels. “I’ve lost about 50 percent of my stack, but I’m hoping to catch some cards soon.”
Since its inception in 2016, the event has continued to grow in popularity and become one of the livelier events on the schedule. Players from around the world have this title in their sights and make the trip to Vegas seeking out some 888 cash.
After the WSOP held a Lucky Sevens event in 2015 that featured a $777 buy-in and $777,777 first-place payout, 888poker jumped on board a year later to up the ante and add a bit more prestige and interest to the event.
This year, the event is featured as part of the poker site’s Road to Vegas promotion in which players could earn a complete $2,700 tournament package for the event, which includes:
- $888 buy-in entry to the Crazy Eights.
- Three nights (June 30 – July 3) at the Rio Hotel and Casino Las Vegas.
- $1,050 for travel and expenses paid by 888.
- An invitation to the 888 Poker welcome session.
- An 888Live poker kit with some poker swag.
As the Crazy Eights gets underway, here’s a look at the history of the event from the last two years:
2017
| Entries: | 8,120 |
| Prize pool: $6,489,504 |
Romania’s Alexandru Papazian secured his first bracelet with this win after destroying the final table. After eliminating five players, Papazian had 80 percent of the chips when down to three-handed play against Germany’s [Removed:172] and England’s Harry Lodge.
After Kramer eliminated Lodge, the battle for the bracelet commenced heads-up on an extra fourth day of play. Papazian defeated Kramer as he was railed by a large Romanian contingent to take home the first-place prize of $888,888.
The win moved Papazian to the top of the Romanian all-time money leaderboard. This summer, he already has two cashes at the WSOP as he seeks out that second bracelet. He also finished fourth-place in the Wynn Summer Classic $1,100 No Limit Hold'em for $28,034.
This event featured more than 1,300 more entries with more than $1 million more going to the prize pool. After his bracelet win, Papazian spoke about how much the title meant and his big run at the fina table.
“I don't care that much about the rankings in my country, but I do care about winning the first bracelet,” he said. “You can't win tournaments without running hot. I waited for my moment and then attacked. It went my way, that is just how it is in tournaments. I ran good, I think I played good.”
2016
| Entries: | 6,761 |
| Prize pool: | $5,403,391 |
Vietnamese immigrant Hung Le took down this inaugural event for the top prize of $888,888. Now living in Dayton, Ohio, the 53-year-old Le is the perfect example of what this kind of money means for a recreational player.
“I have five kids,” he said after the win. “We are a lower middle-class family. We work hard. This is life-changing money for us.”
Amazingly, or crazily in this case, Le had never entered a major tournament before the Crazy Eights much less one at the WSOP. The owner a nail salon with his family, observers of his final table noticed some peculiar calls that seemed baffling. Crazy like a fox, the entrepreneur knew he was outclassed at the table, which included seven others that had impressive poker resumés, and that some unorthodox play and out-of-the-box thinking would be his only chance at winning.
The strategy paid off, and Le found himself heads-up with 26-year-old poker pro Michael Lech, from Alma, Ariz., who has almost $1 million in live tournament winnings and two WSOP Circuit rings. Lech was aggressive and came close a few times to winning the event.
A key hand came late in the evening of heads-up play, when Le was all in for his tournament life with Q♣3♣, Le moved it all in and was called by Lech with A♠10♣. The flop brought K♦8♦6♠ with the 4♣ on the turn.
Lech looked to be in great shape to claim the title, but the miracle 3♥ on the river gave Le a huge double-up. Big pre-flop play was part of his strategy, Le said, hoping to eliminate some of the edge he knew Lech had on him.
“It’s the only way I could beat him – he’s too good for me,” Le said. “He was very aggressive. He knows how to play the flop well. If I try to play the flop with him, I can’t beat him – he’s too good.”
For his efforts, Lech added a nice runner-up total of $401,888 to his bankroll. He’s had a nice start to the summer with two WSOP cashes, but also added a runner-up finish in early-June at the Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series $655 No Limit Hold’em event for $13,620.
As the $888 Crazy Eights starting flight action continues today and Sunday, PokerNews will have every flop and fold, all the crazy bluffs, and the last hand that crowns another champion. Check back for updates throughout this event.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions. He is also the host of the True Gambling Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and TrueGamblingStories.com.
