From Working at In-N-Out Burger to Crushing Poker; Rick Alvarado Triumphs in WSOP Crazy Eights for $888,888
Sometimes, it takes more than one attempt to succeed. And there's always one more chance in an unlimited re-entry tournament.
"I'm stoked. It's quite unbelievable. I'm thrilled. This is my biggest cash."
Rick Alvarado needed to bust six times before he finally converted his number seven into something special. His relentlessness more than paid off.
Alvarado would eventually come out on top in 888poker's Event #64: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em, beating a 10,185-entry field to claim the $888,888 top-prize and his first WSOP bracelet.
"I'm stoked. It's quite unbelievable. I'm thrilled. This is my biggest cash," Alvarado said.
$888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Alvarado | United States | $888,888 |
| 2 | Mark Radoja | Canada | $548,888 |
| 3 | Thomas Drivas | United States | $409,888 |
| 4 | Vivian Saliba | Brazil | $308,888 |
| 5 | Aleksandras Rusinovas | Lithuania | $233,888 |
| 6 | Patrick Clarke | Ireland | $177,888 |
| 7 | Vlad Darie | Romania | $136,888 |
| 8 | Mario Hofler | Austria | $105,888 |
| 9 | Uselis Gediminas | Lithuania | $82,130 |
| 10 | Keun Kwak | United States | $82,130 |
If coolers and bad beats are cornerstones of any poker tournament in the world; the Crazy Eights event lived up to its name. It's been an incredible ride full of sick hands, and Alvarado was in the epicenter of it.
He came to the final day with one of the shorter stacks among the remaining ten, and there was only one way for him to rise through the standings.
"You know that you're gonna have to take big risks and I just hoped that the first risk I take pays off. And it did."
"You know that you're gonna have to take big risks and I just hoped that the first risk I take pays off. And it did."
Alvarado wasn't scared to put his chips in play on the unofficial nine-handed final table, and his king-ten found help against pocket tens.
"After that, it was kind of smooth sailing," Alvarado said.
He was able to solidify himself among the big stacks, but the chips were flying all around the table. Patrick Clarke got the worst of it, getting two-outed by Mark Radoja and then three-outed by Vivian Saliba. While Clarke's promising run ended in sixth place following the nasty streak of tough beats, Radoja and Saliba made it to the final four.
That's where coolers and bad beats made for the storyline. Saliba was knocked out by Thomas Drivas with queens against aces.
While Alvarado remained very active, Drivas had an excellent opportunity to put Alvarado's aggression to bed. But in the crucial hand of the tournament, Alvarado simply got there. He went for a substantial four-bet shove in a blind-versus-blind spot which started with Drivas' limp. With almost three-quarters of all chips in the pot, the winner was destined to be a tremendous favorite to win the bracelet.
Alvarado had queen-jack suited, and he ran into pocket kings, but he hit the most expensive flush in Drivas' career.
"I'm never gonna live this one down. It was quite a misstep that turned out to be a great suckout," Alvarado said.
Alvarado revealed that he thought Drivas was tired of being bullied around. That's why he decided to go for it, thinking that this was the hand where Drivas was trying to stand up to the aggression without a real hand.
"And I was wrong, but that's how you win tournaments," Alvarado laughed.7
"I'm never gonna live this one down. It was quite a misstep that turned out to be a great suckout."
It is entirely fitting that even the last hand of the tournament didn't leave the better starting hand ahead. Fortunately for Alvarado, he was able to river his three-outer against Radoja, to win the tournament in possibly the best time anyone could. Just when his mom arrived in the Amazon Room.
"I told my mom not to worry about coming for the final ten because I was a short stack," Alvarado said. But then he scored that first double, and his mom booked a flight from California.
"She was running through the airport to catch it. Then she got here and saw maybe three hands, and I won it," Alvarado said. "I couldn't be happier. Everything just worked out today."
With such a scenario, Alvarado knew that the script was sublime today. But it may also be called compensation. Poker has presented Alvarado with some rough moments in the past.
He worked at In-N-Out Burger for around six years between two spells, first quitting to pursue a poker career. Then, Black Friday struck and he had to return.
"She was running through the airport to catch it. Then she got here and saw maybe three hands, and I won it."
But that experience didn't leave any mark on Alvarado's approach to the game. Playing the biggest final table of his life, Alvarado wasn't interested in pure laddering up.
"To be honest, I never really looked at the pay jumps too much. After I doubled up at the start of the day, I was just focused on that number one, going for the first place."
Now with $888,888 and a bracelet locked up, Alvarado knows that his shifts at the fast food joint will remain just a memory of the tough times he's overcome. He's made it.
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In this Series
- 1 Aria Dealer Nicholas Haynes Wins WSOP $500 Casino Employees Event
- 2 Brian Green Cracks Kings, Beats Imsirovic, Wins First WSOP Bracelet
- 3 Derek McMaster Wins 2019 WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $228,228
- 4 Yong 'LuckySpewy1' Kwon Wins WSOP Online Bracelet, Hellmuth Fifth for First Summer Cash
- 5 Dan Zack Claims First Bracelet After Fantastic Comeback in WSOP $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw
- 6 Ben Heath Wins His First Bracelet - Conquers WSOP $50,000 High Roller for $1.48 Million
- 7 Yuval Bronshtein Wins First Bracelet After 10 WSOP Final Table Apperances
- 8 Daniel Strelitz Claims First WSOP Bracelet and $442,385 in Event #11: $5,000 NLHE
- 9 Scott Clements Wins Event #10: $1,500 Dealers Choice ($144,957)
- 10 Jeremy Pekarek Wins Event #9: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack for First Gold Bracelet
- 11 Daniel Park Wins Event #12: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty for $226,243
- 12 Alex Epstein Wins Event #8: $10,000 Short Deck for $296,277
- 13 Femi Fashakin Wins Largest-Ever Poker Tournament; BIG 50 Triumph Earns Him $1,147,449
- 14 Isaac Baron Captures Long-Awaited WSOP Bracelet in Event #16: $1,500 NLH 6-Handed
- 15 Backed by Insane Rail, Murilo Souza Wins $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. ($207,003)
- 16 Sean Swingruber Defeats Ben Yu, Wins First WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 Heads-Up
- 17 Brett Apter Wins First Bracelet in Event #17: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout
- 18 Frankie O'Dell Wins His Third WSOP Omaha Hi-Lo in $10K Championship Event
- 19 Galfond, Bleznick, Zamani Fall Short as Josh "loofa" Pollock Wins Second Bracelet in $600 Online PLO Event
- 20 Eli Elezra Wins Fourth WSOP Bracelet and $93,766 in Event #20: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
- 21 Expecting Father Jorden Fox Conquers Event #22: $1,000 Double Stack to Win $420,693
- 22 Former Main Event Champ Jim Bechtel Wins $10K 2-7 Single-Draw for $253,817
- 23 Rami Boukai Wins 2019 WSOP Event #23: $1,500 8-Game Mix for $177,294
- 24 John Gorsuch Rebounds from 2 Bigs to Win 2019 WSOP Millionaire Maker for $1,344,930
- 25 Andrew Donabedian Turns $600 Into $205,605 Payday at 2019 WSOP
- 26 Michael Mizrachi Wins His Fifth Bracelet!
- 27 Stephen Song Battles To Capture First Bracelet and $341,854 in Event #28: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
- 28 "Silent Assassin" Thomas Cazayous Wins the WSOP $3K Six-Max for $414,766
- 29 Greg Mueller Wins His Third Bracelet, Takes Down WSOP $10,000 H.O.R.S.E.
- 30 Luis Zedan Wins 2019 WSOP Event #30: $1K PLO for $236,673; Will Donate 35% to Charity
- 31 Roman Korenev Wins 2019 WSOP Event #26 for $477,401 After "Marathon" Battle
- 32 Australian Robert Campbell Wins Maiden WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 Limit 2-7
- 33 Upeshka "gomezhamburg" De Silva Wins His Third Bracelet in WSOP Online Event
- 34 Howard Mash Wins First Bracelet and $662,594 in WSOP Seniors Championship
- 35 Adam Friedman Goes Back-to-Back in WSOP $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
- 36 David Lambard Claims First WSOP Bracelet in Event #36: $3,000 NLH Shootout
- 37 Salt Lake's Robert Mitchell Wins Event #37: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack ($297,537)
- 38 Joseph Cheong Breaks Through, Wins $1K Double Stack for $687,782
- 39 Ismael Bojang Wins WSOP Gold Bracelet and $298,507 in 10th 2019 WSOP Cash
- 40 Hennigan Wins Sixth Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud, Negreanu Second
- 41 Dan 'centrfieldr' Lupo Wins $500 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack for $145,274
- 42 Aristeidis Moschonas Turns Chip-and-a-Chair into Event #42: $600 Mixed NLH/PLO Deepstack Win
- 43 Michael Blake Wins Event #39: $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em, Shulman Second
- 44 Loren Klein Wins 4th Bracelet in 4 Years; Claims $127,808 in Event #43: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet
- 45 Asi Moshe Captures Third WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty
- 46 Stephen Chidwick Captures First WSOP Bracelet in Event #45: $25K PLO High Roller for $1,618,417
- 47 Ari Engel Wins His First WSOP Bracelet and $427,399 in Event #48: $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em
- 48 Luke Schwartz Latest To Win First Bracelet, Triumphs in $10K 2-7 Championship
- 49 South Korea's Jiyoung Kim Wins 2019 WSOP Ladies Championship for $167,308
- 50 Jason "TheBigGift" Gooch Does It; Wins $1,000 WSOP.com Online Event!
- 51 Brazil's Yuri Martins Dzivielevski Captures First Bracelet and $213,750!
- 52 WCOOP Winner Jonas Lauck Secures First WSOP Bracelet and $260,335 in $1,500 Turbo Bounty
- 53 Santiago Soriano Wins $371,203 and First Bracelet in the WSOP $800 Deepstack
- 54 Dash Dudley Wins Event #52: $10,000 PLO Championship ($1,086,967)
- 55 Kevin Gerhart Dominates $1,500 Razz Final Table to Win First WSOP Bracelet and $119,054
- 56 Another Day, Another Millionaire; Kainalu McCue-Unciano Wins the WSOP Monster Stack
- 57 Israel's Team Geiger Wins WSOP $1,000 Tag Team Event
- 58 Joe Foresman Wins 2019 WSOP $600 Deepstack Championship for Nearly $400K
- 59 Anthony Zinno Wins 2019 WSOP $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo for 2nd Career Bracelet; Aims for POY
- 60 Phil Hui's Dream Comes True as He Conquers $50K Poker Players Championship for $1,099,311
- 61 Scott Seiver Wins $10,000 Razz Championship for Third WSOP Bracelet
- 62 Anatolii Zyrin Denies Yueqi Zhu Title Defense to Win WSOP $1,500 Omaha Mix Title
- 63 Sejin Park Claims First-Ever Open Event Bracelet for South Korea; Wins 2019 WSOP Colossus for $451,272
- 64 Nicholas "Illari" Baris Wins $303,739 in Massive WSOP.com ONLINE Championship
- 65 Nick Schulman Wins Third Bracelet in Event #65: $10,000 PLO8 or Better Championship
- 66 David “ODB” Baker Steamrolls $1,500 Limit Hold’em to Capture 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 67 Robert Campbell Wins His Second Bracelet of the Summer in $10K Stud Hi-Lo, Grabs POY Lead
- 68 French Pro Jeremy Saderne Wins 2019 WSOP Mini Main Event ($628,654)
- 69 From Working at In-N-Out Burger to Crushing Poker; Rick Alvarado Triumphs in WSOP Crazy Eights for $888,888
- 70 Brandon "DrOctagon" Adams Wins WSOP.com ONLINE High Roller for $411,560
- 71 High Roller Joao Vieira Wins First Bracelet and $758,011 in $5,000 6-Max
- 72 Juha Helppi Finally Does It: Finnish Poker Hero Claims First Bracelet in $10K Limit!
- 73 Susan Faber Wins First Bracelet in Event #71: $500 Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold'em
- 74 Shawn "bucky21" Buchanan Wins His First Bracelets, Takes Down $800 WSOP.com ONLINE 6-Max ($223,119)
- 75 Danny Tang Wins $50,000 Final Fifty for $1,608,406: "I Want to go Down in the History Books"
- 76 Tu Dao Wins WSOP $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max for $133,189
- 77 James Anderson Wins 2019 WSOP Little One for One Drop for $690,686
- 78 Denmark's Maximilian Klostermeier Wins First Bracelet in Event #78: $1,500 PLO Bounty
- 79 Shankar Pillai Takes Down 2019 WSOP $1,500 Bracelet Winners Only Event
- 80 Ivan Deyra's Dream Comes True; Wins Event #79: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($380,090)
- 81 Boyhood Dream Achieved: Jerry Odeen Wins WSOP Bracelet for $304,793
- 82 Keith Tilston Wins 2019 WSOP $100K High Roller; Negreanu Finishes as Runner-Up
- 83 Tom Koral Wins Second Bracelet in Event #82: $1,500 NLH Double Stack ($530,164)
- 84 Taylor "Galactar" Paur Wins his Second Bracelet in $500 WSOP.com ONLINE Summer Saver
- 85 Abhinav Iyer Takes Down The Closer to Win His First Bracelet and $565,346
- 86 Alan Sternberg Wins $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed for First WSOP Bracelet
- 87 Carl Shaw Defeats Tony Dunst to Claim First Bracelet & $606,562, Hellmuth Sixth
- 88 Anuj Agarwal Wins $10K 6-Max on Last Day of 2019 WSOP ($630,747)
- 89 Denis Strebkov Wins His First Bracelet and $206,173 Top-Prize in $3k H.O.R.S.E.
- 90 Hossein Ensan Wins the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000
