Arkadiy “Kamsky” Tsinis became the latest Ukrainian World Series of Poker champion when he won the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em championship, held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, for $540,136.

Tsinis overcame a huge field size totaling 2,192 players en route to his first gold bracelet victory. This marks the third WSOP event won this year by a player of Ukrainian origin. Eugene Katchalov ($1,500 Seven-Card Stud) and Oleksii Kovalchuk ($2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em) were the first two.

What’s remarkable about another Ukrainian winning is that prior to this year, no Ukrainian in history had ever won a gold bracelet. Zero. Now, suddenly – there are three.

To be quite clear – Tsinis now lives in Las Vegas. He resided for many years in New York, where he hung out with many fellow expert gamesmen, including Ylon Schwartz who watched the final table from the rail. But like so many people originally from that region of the world, there seems to be something in the DNA of those from the former Soviet Republics which creates extraordinary talent in all games – most notably chess, backgammon and now poker.

Like the Ukraine, Russia was also in position to crown its own third WSOP champion in 2011. The runner up to Tsinis was Michael Blanovsky, who is originally from Vladivostok, Russia. The heads-up match between the two Eastern Europeans lasted more than three hours and stretched into an unscheduled fourth day of play.

It’s becoming clearly apparent there is a seismic shift going on in the poker world. While the United States enjoys enormous advantages in terms of overall WSOP numbers due to being the host nation, the fact is other nations are disproportionally ahead of all the rest in terms of accomplishments. It’s also now clear that the Ukraine is one of those nations which continues to mature as a poker market.

That’s a scary prospect – unless you happen to be Ukrainian.

Tsinis is a 34-year-old self-described game player, poker player and financial analyst.
Tsinis immigrated to the U.S. with his parents at the age of 16. His family settled down in New York City.

Tsinis graduated from Baruch College, which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY). He earned his degree in finance and economics.

Tsinis’ parents were initially not happy with his pursuit of game playing. His father is an engineer. His mother is a doctor. But they have since come to support his career decision and dedication to gaming.

Prior to playing poker professionally, Tsinis was ranked in the top 40 of the best backgammon players in the world. He competed in both tournaments and for money.
Tsinis is a master chess player and backgammon player. He believes both games provided him with an excellent foundation on which to build his poker skills.

Tsinis almost did not play in this tournament. He was not even registered until three hours after the tournament started. Schwartz talked Tsinis into playing and coming in late. When Tsinis sat down, he had about 30 big blinds remaining. His late arrival certainly did not impair Tsinis in any way.

Tsinis was cheered on to victory by several supporters, mostly from New York. In his entourage was “Falafel,” (a.k.a. Michael Natanzon) who is the top ranked backgammon player in the world.

Tsinis made a bold political decision following his victory. When given the choice as to which national anthem to play for his gold bracelet ceremony, Tsinis stated he preferred not to have the American anthem, opting instead to have the Ukrainian anthem played. Tsinis made things very clear he meant no disrespect toward the U.S., where he now resides. But he was adamant that the U.S. government’s stance against online poker made him want to use his influence to shed light on this issue and to make it clear he was not in favor of representing an authority which has been a detriment to many people within the poker community.

“I am very proud of my country, now that I live here,” said Tsinis. “But with the state of online poker and the way it is right now – I think at these poker events we should all boycott (the U.S. anthem), not to show disrespect in any way — but to show the politicians and point that with regards to poker, they should do something about this issue. Another reason for this decision is because when I first came to the U.S. and people would ask where I am from, more than half of them did not even know where the Ukraine is. So, I want to put Ukraine back on the map. We had two other Ukrainian people win (at the WSOP). So this is a year when we are going to do big things.”

The heads-up match between Tsinis and Blanovsky was a supreme test for both players. Tsinis enjoyed the chip lead most of the way. In fact, he had a 7-to-1 chip advantage when play was suspended and players were forced to return for a fourth day. But Blanovsky fought back and not only took the chip lead, he had a 2-to-1 advantage at one point. Tsinis was all in for his tournament life with pocket sevens versus two overcards. He survived, doubled-up and went on to win the tournament.

Blanovsky, who is originally from Russia but now lives in Staten Island, N.Y., won $336,253 for second.

Randolph Lanosga, Jr., a 56-year-old realter from Colorado Springs, Colo., finished third for $233,732. Pietermichae DeGoede, from Reims, France, was fourth for $168,334, and Paul Nash, a 38-year-old online poker pro from Kingsbury Tamworth, U.K., was fifth for $123,028.

Perry Lin, a recreational player from Hoboken, N.J., was sixth, David Rounick, a 36-year-old invester from Harberth, Pa., was seventh, Ryan LaPlante, a 21-year-old poker pro from Brainerd, Minn., was eighth, and Christopher Homan, a 24-year-old medical student from Augusta, Ga., was ninth.

The top 216 finishers collected prize money. Former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this tournament included: Robert Cheong (12th), Jordan Smith (54th) and Kenny Tran (55th).