Even though Rafi Amit is widely known for his skills in the game of pot-limit Omaha, you can't say that he is just a one-trick pony. Amit bested a field of 209 players in the $1,000 rebuy deuce-to-seven triple draw lowball event to win his second bracelet and $227,005.
The deuce-to-seven triple draw event brought out a stacked field, but Amit was the only recognizable face who managed to survive day two. Other notable players to finish in the money included Joe Cassidy, Chau Giang, Ralph Perry, Brian Haveson, Devon Miller, Steve Zolotow, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, and Andy Bloch, who was the unfortunate player to bubble the final table.
Coming into the final table, the chip counts for the final six were as follows: Jon Shoreman ($518,000), Amit ($374,000), Anthony Lelluoche ($205,000), Eugene Ji ($192,000), Lenny Martin ($133,000), Mark Bartlog ($98,000).
Bartlog was the first player to go when he couldn't beat Martin's J-8-5-4-2 low. Ji was chip leader for most of day two, but his 10-7 low was outdrawn by Lelluoche's 9-7 low. Shoreman fell victim to Martin's 8-6 when he held an 8-7. This pot put Martin over $1 million in chips for the first time. Amit eliminated Lelluoche in third place with an 8-7-6-4-3 low and the final two players were set for heads-up play.
Amit dominated heads-up play despite starting with only $555,000 to Martin's $895,000. He quickly took the lead and never looked back, even after Martin was able to double up near the end. The final hand had Martin's 8-7 low succumbing to Amit's 7-6-4-3-2 after both players stood pat on the third draw.
Amit's first bracelet came in the 2005 $10,000 pot-limit Omaha event. After making the final table again in 2006, and finishing fourth, Amit was heavily favored to make it three for three. But due to a scheduling conflict with day one of the pot-limit Omaha championship, and the final table of the deuce-to-seven triple draw event, Amit was forced to play both events simultaneously. Unfortunately, just after eliminating Martin in second place, Amit rushed back to his other table, where he busted out before the end of the first day.
Here are the final results:
- Rafi Amit - $227,005
- Lenny Martin - $128,120
- Anthony Lelluoche - $84,612
- Jon Shoreman - $57,383
- Eugene Li - $41,504
- Mark Bartlog - $27,068
