Event #7: $1500 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) has attracted as many as 279 entrants who accumulated a prize pool of $376,650. After two days of play at the Rio in Las Vegas, Ryan D’Angelo emerged victorious to win the first WSOP gold bracelet in his professional poker career as well as $92,338 of the accumulated prize pool.
Right after the victory, D’Angelo told WSOP reporters that it was the perfect tournament. He attributed his success to the fact that he worked on his game and his tilt control and it felt like the cards came his way. The winner also added that he loved the game, but he had never supposed that playing Deuce-to-Seven No-Limit would secure him the first place as he was keen on playing No-Limit Hold’em.
D’Angelo finished Day 1 as a chip leader and he had to defeat tough opponents to get the coveted prize. Some of the big names who also made it to the final table were John Monnette who has collected two bracelets in previous competitions so far. As for the $1500 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit) event, he finished second and had to content himself with the consolation prize of $57,061. Tom Franklin, also known as the 1999 WSOP $2,500 limit Omaha event winner, was the bronze medallist in the event. He scooped the amount of $38,582 for his third place. The fourth place was taken by Daniel Kelly, who has two WSOP bracelets in his collection. He pocketed $26,632 for his efforts.
However, D’Angelo admitted that he regarded Monnette as the most difficult to defeat opponent. The elimination of Tom Franklin gave the start of a heads-up play between D’Angelo and Monnette. D’Angelo’s considerable chip leadership boosted his confidence in the successful outcome.
D’Angelo and his wife Ronit Chamani, will set aside a part of the prize for making a donation to the Food Gardens Foundation charity in South Africa. They are both known for committing time, money and efforts to the cause of providing financial aid to people who need to master the farming techniques and grow their own food.
D’Angelo himself said that this was a great way for turning peoples’ life around and providing them with the opportunity to grow food and ensure a decent living standard for their families by selling some of their harvest on the market.
