Poker Pro Now Has 90 World Series Of Poker Cashes, But No BraceletRoland Israelashvili Finishes In The Money 14 Times In 2018 |
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The 2018 World Series of Poker awarded nearly 80 bracelets, bringing the all-time total to nearly 1,500 in the WSOP’s 49-year history.
Poker pro Roland Israelashvili only wants one.
In yet another summer, Israelashvili, who hails from Forest Hills, NY, was among the leaders in bracelet event cashes. He finished “in the money” 14 times this year, bringing his lifetime total in WSOP bracelet events to 90. No one else has more without at least one win.
Israelashvili has been cashing in events on poker’s biggest stage since 2005.
“I keep trying, and almost every year for the past few years I’ve had a lot of cashes,” Israelashvili, a five-time WSOP Circuit ring holder said. “But no bracelet, so I keep trying. It is frustrating. It’s not good. Some of my friends are teasing me.”
Floridian Tony Cousineau is second all-time with 87 cashes and no bracelet. North Dakota’s Tom McCormick is third with 76.
In order to contextualize 90 cashes and no bracelets, one can point to Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey. He has 10 bracelets despite only 59 lifetime WSOP cashes. Also Phil Hellmuth, who has a record 15 bracelets and a record 137 lifetime cashes.
Israelashvili has won about $1.8 million in WSOP events over the years, but at this point the money isn’t what matters the most.
“The bracelet is more important than the money, for sure,” he said.
He said that he altered his playing schedule this summer to give him a better shot at sitting in the winner’s circle, but it was to no avail. “I played a little less this year,” Israelashvili said. “I concentrated more on the 3 o’clock mixed game events, so I missed a lot of morning events that get thousands of people. But still no bracelet. I still played plenty of events.”
His best attempt was back in 2013 when he finished third in the $1,111 buy-in Little One for One Drop for $295,433. He also finished fifth in the 2012 $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship for $317,882. Additionally, he has two ninth-place finishes in bracelet events. He’s had much closer calls than Cousineau, whose best finish at the WSOP was a fourth place in 2001.
Israelashvili’s top performance this summer was a 15th place in the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Eight-or-Better Championship for a $16,439 payday.
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