Anthony Zinno has achieved what few others have ever managed and won two bracelets during the same World Series of Poker (WSOP). The American pro hit the headlines last week after he titled Phil Hellmuth so much that he threatened to burn down the Rio.
Those efforts weren’t in vain as Zinno went on to win the $10,000 Stud Championship for a cool $182,872. Less than a week later, he was back in the mix again, this time in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event.
Zinno joined 593 other players in the saddle on October 13. All were vying for Mixed Game glory and a bracelet, but Zinno was the one riding a wave of momentum. As it transpired, it was a wave of momentum he was able to ride all the way to the finish line.
Stacked Field but Anthony Zinno Dominates
Despite $1,500 being an affordable buy-in by pro standards, the H.O.R.S.E. event attracted a strong line-up. Indeed, with non-Hold’em tournaments often offering experienced players a greater edge, familiar names such as Barry Greenstein, David Baker, and Jason Somerville were in the mix.
However, by the end of Day 2, it was all about Zinno. He finished the second session with a commanding lead and over 1 million chips more than his closest competitor, Kao Saechao. Despite that, nothing was certain with 18 players left.
Indeed, with the likes of 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen, still in the mix on October 15, anything could happen. The one thing that was clear, however, was that Zinno was having the WSOP of his life. He maintained his lead during the early stages of Day 3 and started the final table as the man to beat.
Anthony Zinno quickly capitalized on his position by scoring the first knockout of the finale. The game was Razz, and he made a six-low. That was enough to beat Michael Rosenburg’s busted seven-low.
Eliminating Rosenburg pushed Zinno’s stack beyond the 4-million-chip mark, which allowed him to take a step back and watch his seven opponents fight for chips. A melee ensued and Zinno dipped in with a few jabs but didn’t put his head too far above the parapet until three remained.
Anthony Zinno Comes Back Swinging
It was at this point he came back into the fray swinging. That led to the demise of Christopher Adams. A Broadway straight during a round of Seven Card Stud was good enough to make Adams muck his hand and retire to the rail in third place.
As it had been since Day 2 of the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, Zinno was in control with two players left. Randy Ohel was still in contention with 5.5 million chips, but Zinno had a comfortable lead with 9.5 million.
The momentum almost swung in Ohel’s favor within a few hands of the start. In fact, a set of queens put Ohel within 1 million chips of drawing even. Unfortunately, that hand was Ohel’s biggest shot of the match.
He wasn’t able to land a knockout blow and Zinno soon recovered. A one-two combination from the Rhode Island native followed and that allowed him to win two significant pots in succession.
A Final Flurry and a Place in WSOP History Beckons
That put things almost beyond doubt and it wasn’t long before Zinno closed out the match. A ten-six-four-trey-ace in the final hand of Razz ended Ohel’s run and put Zinno over the line in first place. With that, he picked up his second bracelet of the series and $160,636.
Event #27: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Final Result
- Anthony Zinno - $160,636
- Randy Ohel - $99,276
- Christopher Adams - $69,585
- Kao Saechao - $49,597
- Darren Kennedy - $35,957
- Paul Holder - $26,523
- Curtis Phelps - $19,911
- Max Pescatori - $11,845
- Michael Rosenberg - $11,845
The American’s WSOP record now stands at four bracelets. However, with a lot more poker left to play at this year’s WSOP, Zinno could pick up another in the coming weeks. Winning three bracelets in a single series would certainly propel him to legendary status.
In the history of the WSOP, only five players have ever won three bracelets during a single series, and no one has ever won four. Therefore, if Zinno can claim another piece of WSOP bling in the next few weeks, he’ll join Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Jeff Lisandro, Puggy Pearson, and Ted Forrest in the triple bracelet club.
Even if he doesn’t, Zinno’s performances in non-Hold’em events have been hugely impressive. That alone could inspire more people to try other variants. Indeed, as Zinno said during his post-win interview, lockdown allowed him to work on the technical aspects of his game.
His time spent studying the nuances of Stud and H.O.R.S.E. has clearly paid off. Not only has he won two bracelets in 2021, he’s also in the running for WSOP Player of the Year. If he can stay ahead in that race, he’ll pick up another trophy and a bonus prize worth $25,000.
It might be too late to catch Zinno in the WSOP Player of the Year race, but there’s still time to win a Main Event seat. GGPoker’s Road to Vegas qualifiers are running right now, which means you could bag yourself an exclusive prize package worth $12,500.
