Russian Pro Mikhail Lakhitov Joins GuruPlay Poker

UK online casino GuruPlay has announced the addition of the Russian pro Mikhail Lakhitov to their team of sponsored poker pros.
The 30 year old will now take part in various prestigious live poker  tournaments across the globe as part of his sponsorship duties, as well as plying his unique talents online on the site.
Prior to becoming a poker pro, Mikhail Lakhitov served in the Russian military where he became friends with Kirill Gerasimov, with both officers studying the game in their spare time. Upon his discharge, Mikhail Lakhitov then decided to try a career as a poker pro and in 2010 entered his first live tournament.
Before long, Mikhail Lakhitov was notching up 5 figure wins on the European circuit, cashing 9 times in 2010 for $196,252 in winnings. The following year, the Moscow resident had an equally successfully year which suddenly reached a whole new plateau after he travelled to Las Vegas for the WSOP.
Throughout the competition, Lakhitov went on to cash 5 times earning $851,058 along the way, including a 1st place finish at the $2,500 NL Event for $749,610. Despite having played at the WSOP in 2010, Mikhail Lakhitov admitted to not realising a gold bracelet was part of a WSOP 1st place finish, and as he explains:
“In 2010, I finished near the top in one tournament and came in eighth place ($41,645). I did not know there was such a thing as a gold bracelet. Later, I saw there were pictures with the winner and the bracelet. So, this year on my way to Las Vegas, I promised to my lovely wife that I would win a gold bracelet. That was my motivation.”
So far in 2011, Lakhitov has now earned $907,648 in prize-money, taking his live career winnings to an impressive $1,103,900. The talented player with less than two years live tournament experience to his name has also been hailed as one of Russia’s latest poker stars.