The Hand I'll Never Forget: Elezra��s Straight Flush & Celine Dion Prank

Sean Chaffin Contributor

Jun 19, 2018 4 min read

It��s the hand that put you over the top. Or the two cards you held that time you were rivered for a monster pot. Everyone has ��the hand,�� that one that you remember no matter how many more tournaments or cash games played. PokerNews takes a look at those hands that stick with players and relive the glory, or misery, depending on the results.

Throughout the 2000s, Eli Elezra was a mainstay on televised big money cash games. Never afraid to mix it up, he��s accumulated $3.4 million in tournament wins. That doesn��t include cash game winnings.

With three cashes already this summer, Elezra is hoping for his third bracelet. He came close already, finishing runner-up in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship for $258,297. He��s also currently having his autobiography ��Pulling the Trigger,�� translated into English for a release hopefully in the next year. The title refers to his poker life as well as his time as an Israeli army commando.

As the $50,000 Poker Players Championship played out in the Rio, Elezra looked back a couple hands that meant a lot to him. One brought a big win �C and one brought a big laugh.

Hitting Hearts

A few years back, Elezra was in a big cash game with stakes of $4,000/$8,000. The game was no limit with a cap of $200,000 per hand for each player. Other players in the game included Lyle Berman, Gus Hansen, Doyle Brunson, and a few more.

Elezra picked up 9?10? in the big blind. Hansen raised in early position, and Berman re-raised. Hansen called and Elezra called for about $60,000 in the pot already.

"I will never forget it because there was about $680,000 in the pot and they were both drawing dead."

The flop brought 7?8?Kx and Berman led out with a bet and Hansen raised. The action was up to about another $60,000, and Elezra and Berman called with the open-ended straight flush draw.

The turn then brought the 6?, completing the straight flush. Hansen then capped the action to $200,000, and Berman and Elezra both called.

��Gus had flopped three eights,�� Elezra says. ��Lyle had A?K? for the flush. I will never forget it because there was about $680,000 in the pot and they were both drawing dead. And Gus even filled up a full house with a 6x on the river.��

The six-figure score is still a great memory and he smiles as he retells the hand. Elezra adds laughing: ��Since then I never let go of 9?10?.��

Pranking Celine Dion

Celine Dion is a Vegas regular with nightly shows at Caesar��s Palace. Elezra was playing poker with her husband, the late music producer Ren�� Ang��lil, a few years before his passing in 2016 at age 73.

While playing with Elezra in a $1,000/$2,000 cash game, Ang��lil decided he would have a little fun with Celine.

��My wife is coming because it��s my birthday,�� he said to the other players. ��She��s never sweated me in poker and I want to set something up. I want to see what she will do if I lose a big pot.��

The other players were happy to assist and went about staging an upcoming hand with a big pot.

��What we did, we got everything ready,�� Elezra says. ��I got a half million chips next to me and David Grey was playing, Ralph Perry was playing, Jennifer Harman was playing, and Ren�� told us the exact time so we knew when she would be there.��

The Canadian singing superstar showed up at the proper time complete with three bodyguards and introduced herself to everyone.

��The very next hand, we played the big hand,�� Elezra says.

Ren�� Ang��lil: ��Honey I just lost a $1 million pot,��
Celine Dion: ��So what?��

As the hand played out, there was a ton of ��action.�� Ang��lil raised and then Elezra re-raised. Ang��lil raised again and they both eventually got all the chips in the pot.

��Celine is sitting right behind him the whole time,�� Elezra says. ��Then, of course, I won the $1 million pot, and the dealer pushed me the chips.��

After losing such a massive pot, the idea was to let Celine know what had just happened and see what would surely be a shocked reaction.

��He turned around and looked at her and said, ��Honey I just lost a $1 million pot,�� Elezra says.

��She said, ��So what?�� It was literally like that, it was so funny. She didn��t even pay attention.��

The reaction was not quite what everyone was expecting. A few hands later the players let her in on the joke and she simply responded with a laugh: ��I��m gonna get you Eli!��

Rene Angelil — Ren�� Ang��lil atthe WSOP before his passing in 2016

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions. He is also the host of the True Gambling Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and TrueGamblingStories.com.

Share this article

Sean Chaffin Contributor

Follow on