Kamil Isabekov Wins PartyPoker EAPT Kazakhstan Main Event For $68,320

The weekend saw a big cash in CashVille for Russian Kamil Isabekov when he took down the The PartyPoker EAPT Kazakhstan Main Event fending off a strong field dominated by his Eurasian counterparts, with a couple of Mediterranean interlopers finding themselves deep in the money as well.

Kazakhstan might not be on most people’s poker bucket lists, but the luxurious CashVille Casino on the shores of Lake Shchuchie in the awe-inspiring Burabay National Park, an 85,000 hectare area known for its exotic rocks and gorgeous mountains, proved to be a popular choice for those who made the trip.

The 341 entries to the $½ million guaranteed, $1000 buy-in Main Event saw quite a large overlay for PartyPoker and the Eurasian Poker Tour, but their recent drive to bring live poker to a wider market will certainly have been worth it – poker in Asia and the east of Europe booming in general, particularly online – with PartyPoker’s Russian ambassador Andrei Filatov capturing some of the action…

Isabekov, originally from Ekaterinburg in Russia, seems to like the Kazakh hospitality, all of his cashes coming in the former Soviet republic, and his $68,320 scoop this weekend was his biggest live win – and remarkably he followed it up the next day with a 2nd place and $17,155 in the $2k High Roller event – narrowly missing a unique double when he lost heads-up against fellow Russian Mikhail Surin.

The Main Event itself saw a 4-way deal which guaranteed them all a $50k+ payday, local player Allmas Umarov taking third ahead of Greek player Vangelis, and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan’s Rakaev battling it out with Isabekov for the title – eventually going the Russian’s way.

With PartyPoker challenging for 2nd spot in the online stakes, the addition of their live offerings may yet see them become the most popular overall company in the market, with John Duthie open to suggestions as to where they might head next year…

EAPT Kazakhstan Main Event results