Richard Sklar: XxXx/6♣6♥3♥8♠/Xx
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/3♠J♦10♣3♣/Xx
Richard Sklar bet on fourth street and Arash Ghaneian called. Sklar bet again on fifth street and Ghaneian again called. Sklar then checked on sixth street and called a bet from Ghaneian.
Sklar checked again on seventh street and called a final bet from Ghaneian, who showed K♦J♠7♦ for jacks and threes to beat out the sixes and threes of his opponent who showed Q♣5♥3♦.
Over the last few hands, Richard Sklar regained the lead, dragging in several pots at the expense of Arash Ghaneian.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/7♥4♣6♣
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/A♥2♠Q♣ - folded on fifth street
Sklar brought in and called when Ghaneian completed. Sklar called a bet on fourth street, before betting and folding out his opponent on fifth street.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/7♠A♣7♣A♠
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/2♦5♦2♠10♣ - folded on sixth street
Ghaneian brought in and Sklar called. Ghaneian called bets on fourth and fifth street before conceding the pot on sixth street, with Sklar's aces up showing.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/Q♦6♥A♣
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/5♦5♠4♥ - folded on fifth street
Again Ghaneian brought in and Sklar called. Sklar called a bet on fourth street. Sklar folded out Ghaneian's pair of fives on fifth street with a bet.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/4♠J♠3♣
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/K♥8♣J♥ - folded on fifth street
Ghaneian raised and Sklar called. Sklar called again on fourth street and like the hand before, Sklar led out on fifth street, folding out Ghaneian.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/[6♦J♦7♠ - folded fifth street
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/8♣A♠8♥
Arash Ghaneian completed and Richard Sklar called. Ghaneian bet on fourth street and Sklar called. Ghaneian bet again on fifth street and Sklar opted to fold.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/K♠10♠A♠8♦/Xx
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/10♣9♥K♥6♣/Xx
Arash Ghaneian brought in and called when Richard Sklar raised. Ghaneian called bets on fourth, fifth and sixth street before seventh street checked through to showdown.
Sklar sheepishly showed a pair of tens, which wasn't good enough as Ghaneian tabled K♣Q♠4♥ for a pair of kings to take a commanding lead.
Richard Sklar received a crucial double as he made a straight on seventh street and Arash Ghaneian missed his low.
A few hands later, Ghaneian completed and Sklar called. Sklar checked on fourth street and Ghaneian bet. Sklar called. Sklar checked on fifth street and opted to fold when faced with another bet. Ghaneian was kind enough to show he had it with A♠A♥.
Richard Sklar: XxXx/6♣8♣6♠A♦/Xx
Arash Ghaneian: XxXx/4♥10♣5♦4♠/Xx
Arash Ghaneian brought in and Richard Sklar called. Ghaneian called bets on fourth and fifth street before sixth street checked through to seventh street.
Sklar bet, Ghaneian raised and Sklar put in his last 200,000
"Wheel!" exclaimed Ghaneian as he tabled A♥2♠3♠, rising out of his chair in celebration. Sklar put down his no good Q♦3♥2♣ before shaking hands with Ghaneian.
"It was honor, you're a tough , tough man," said Ghaneian to Sklar as the former's rail began a rendition of "AG is the OG."
It took an extra day and countless hours trading back-and-forth pots, but Arash Ghaneian won his second World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and $376,476 in Event #74: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship after a heads-up battle for the ages against golf betting mogul Richard Sklar.
Ghaneian, a Las Vegas finance broker whose first bracelet dates back to 2015 in $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., came out on top after navigating a formidable final table featuring the likes of high-stakes pro Michael Rocco, Poker Hall of Famer Todd Brunson and Eric Wasserson, who spent the unscheduled Day 4 on the rail coaching and cheering on Sklar.
"We came in today, we battled," Ghaneian told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "When the limits went that high, you know, I talked to him right after dinner and said, 'Hey, this could go either way.' And the cards fell my way at the end, and I'm grateful to win the second one."
Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Arash Ghaneian
United States
$376,476
2
Richard Sklar
United States
$250,984
3
Thomas Taylor
Canada
$173,533
4
Todd Brunson
United States
$122,663
5
Eric Wasserson
United States
$88,686
6
Dario Alioto
Italy
$65,620
7
Andrey Zhigalov
Russia
$49,715
8
Michael Rocco
United States
$38,589
Getting to Enjoy the Moment
Ghaneian won his second bracelet under better circumstances than the first time around. When he fought for his first bracelet in 2015, his wife, Liz, faced serious health complications while pregnant with two of their children.
"She was carrying twins, and she almost lost the twins," said Ghaneian. "Right after we won it, we went to the hospital. That was really, we didn't get to enjoy it. Right now, we literally get to enjoy this moment because these stresses [aren't] there."
Arash Ghaneian
"We thought we were going to lose them and we had like 12 hours. So it was play the final table and drive right to the hospital. That was insane. So this one is just amazing to not have that stress of stuff. We get to go eat with them and hang out with the kids, take them to dinner, celebrate the Fourth of July tomorrow, great to be an American. F***in' love it. I'm grateful, man, I'm very grateful."
Nine years later, Liz was on the rail throughout the final table in a custom "AG is the OG" t-shirt and cheered as her husband dragged pots over seven hours of heads-up play on Day 4.
"I had a really, really nice rail just rooting me on. It was wonderful. I'm grateful for all of them."
Arash Ghaneian and his rail
Ghaneian Takes on "The Best Rail in the F***ing History of the World"
Sklar, a notorious golf bettor who has won millions betting with the likes of Phil Ivey, had his own rail cheering him on and it included some of the game's biggest crushers like Wasserson, six-time bracelet winner Jason Mercier and WSOP Player of the Year frontrunner Scott Seiver.
"You've got the real bracelet winners over there!" Ghaneian told Sklar as he laughed that he was playing against "the best rail in the f***ing history of the world."
Ghaneian and Sklar traded pots and leads back and forth for several hours before Ghaneian gained momentum as he scooped with a full house and picked up a few decent pots to chip away at his heads-up nemesis.
Sklar got down to two bets before managing a small double with a straight on seventh street, but he couldn't overcome Ghaneian. Sklar got his final chips in with a pair and eight-six low as he ran into a wheel, and Ghaneian stood in triumph.
Ghaneian, who noted that he is "not a tournament player by any means," acknowledged Sklar as a great player and tough opponent.
Richard Sklar
"I've never considered myself a tournament player, but I enjoy the competition," he said. "It's nice to compete with these guys. The best in the world play this, and it's nice to come out on top. It feels great."
And even though he isn't a tournament player, make no mistake that he wanted the WSOP hardware.
"The money is great. I love the money, but I definitely wanted the bracelet ... I would almost want to get second-place money and get the bracelet as well because it's just that important."
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, but be sure to check out the 2024 WSOP live reporting portal for coverage of other events.
