Chess star and social media influencer Alexandra Botez cashed in her first appearance at the World Series of Poker Main Event on Monday.
But she might remember her exit from the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship even more.
Botez finished in 1,040th place and took home $17,500 after a painful runout against Allen Chang on Day 4 of the tournament.
Busted with KK vs KJo all in pre-flop 😭 (Non poker friends, my odds were 89% to win before the cards came out, and then 98% once the first three did). Still an incredible experience and cashed $17,500 😊
Expect MUCH more poker to come pic.twitter.com/EGaOEOUiUX
— Alexandra Botez (@alexandrabotez) July 10, 2023
Botez went all-in before the flop for her final 87,000 chips with pocket kings, and Chang called with king-jack offsuit. The flop of ace-seven-five looked safe for Botez, but the 10 on the turn brought the sweat and gave Chang outs.
When the queen hit on the river to give Chang the winning straight, Botez tapped the table and said, “Ouch!” as she scrunched her face in disbelief.
Botez earned the title of Woman FIDE Master with the International Chess Federation in 2013. She and her sister Andrea have 1.35 million subscribers on their chess YouTube channel.
Contact David Schoen at [email protected] or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
