$1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event goes to Zedan
17 Jun 2019
Name: Luis Zedan
Nationality: El Salvador/U.S.
Birthplace: El Salvador
Current Residence: Miami, Florida
Age: 56
Profession: COO of a family business
Number of WSOP Cashes: 5
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories (with this tournament): 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: 208th in 2017 Crazy Eights
Total WSOP Earnings: $248,362
Luis Zedan just won the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $236,673 and the World Series of Poker gold bracelet. He is the first El Salvadorian to win a WSOP bracelet.
“I believe that anybody can win as long as you commit yourself to playing, to learning,” he said.
“I want to say thank you to Phil Hellmuth, Jonathan Little and Daniel Negreanu for the great information that they selflessly share.”
Zedan says that the information translates well enough to PLO, a game he loves. He entered the day with a large chip lead and he held the lead and made quick work of the remaining players today. He said he took the time this morning to relax, visit the spa, and have a coffee. He says he felt very focused, returning with the chip lead.
“Do I think it was mine to lose? No. I think it was mine to win.”
Zedan was very outgoing and spent the past few days enjoying himself at the table and shaking the hand of any player that was eliminated. He even encouraged the final table to take a selfie before they started to play.
“There is nothing like playing poker with friends. That’s my saying. Whether I take a hit, or I didn’t take a hit, I was smiling and I was having fun. That’s what poker should be,” he said.
“Of course, yeah we want the money, we want the bracelet, and I can die for it. The idea is to have fun and to make the game fun for the whole poker community. Not only about the money.”
Zedan plans on donating 35% of his winnings to charity.
The tournament drew 1,526 entries and a prize pool of $1,374,300.
Five players returned for the final day and Zedan held an almost three-to-one chip lead over the next closest player. Zedan’s previous best finish was a 208th place finish in the 2017 Crazy Eights. He steamrolled the final day of play to claim his first bracelet and his best-ever WSOP finish.
Zedan beat Thida Lin heads up. On the final hand, Lin moved all in and Zedan snap-called.
“Nuts,” Zedan said and then he began celebrating once the board ran out.
Final table payouts:
1) Luis Zedan ($236,673)
2) Thida Lin ($146,196)
3) Sam Razavi ($104,888)
4) Ryan Robinson ($76,101)
5) Ryan Goindoo ($55,845)
6) Greg Donatelli ($41,453)
7) Chris Conrad ($31,130)
8) Stanislav Parkhomenko ($23,654)
9) Erik Wilcke ($18,188)
(Article courtesy of World Series of Poker)