Evan Ashkarkhizani is sitting on a massive stack of around 270,000 on the second break of Day 1a, but he isn't the one in his family having the best day today at the Downstream Casino Resort.
His father, Mostafa, not only won the One Day event earlier in the day for more than $5,000, but he also won a Flip n' Go during the first break for the chance to chase another ring. Mostafa then joined Day 1a and sat at the same table as his son.
"It's always great. We always play together. It's something we always enjoy doing, and he's a great player. He's been playing for a long time, taught me a lot, so it's always great. Always a great time," Evan said.
Their bond goes deeper than anything on the felt. A few years ago, Mostafa was in need of a kidney transplant. It was his son who stepped in to be his life-saving donor.
"Just like any other kid would do for their parents. When you have an opportunity like that, you take it. Just another kid that loves his dad, and I'm glad it worked out," Evan said.
Evan has been, in the words of one tablemate, "sun-running" so far on Day 1a and has been chip leader almost since the start of the day. "It's been great. My dad ended up getting a ring in the one day tournament and I've been running good. I have a pretty healthy stack. Ask me again at the end of Day 2. So far it's been good," he said.
Evan and his father are regulars on the Tulsa poker scene, but they decided to make the trip to Joplin this week in pursuit of bigger accomplishments. "We play in Tulsa, and the tournaments are, you know, they're good turnouts, but the pots are terrible. We always do good in them, and I always tell him, we need to go play some bigger tournaments and win some real money," he said.
"Hopefully we can get to the final table together. That will be great."
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Evan AshkarkhizaniMostafa Ashkarkhizani
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