Giovanni Zanette Hopes to Make Them Play South Africa's Anthem
A year after a deep run in the WSOP Main Event, Giovanni Zanette is back with eyes on becoming the first South African bracelet winner in a generation.
It’s been 35 years since a South African poker player has left Las Vegas with a World Series of Poker bracelet. Hugh Todd made the 10,000 mile journey home from Las Vegas to Johannesburg after winning the $5,000 Seven-card Stud event a year after fellow countrymen Norman Keyser won the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event for the country’s first ever WSOP title.
There have been a few close calls since, but during the 2024 WSOP Main Event Giovanni Zanette had the small but passionate South African poker community on the edge of their seats. He navigated his way through the first six days before running his pocket tens into Diogo Coelho’s pocket aces.
“Last year was amazing. When it happens, you think that;s your one chance in life and you're never getting it again,” Zanette said. “(On Day 1) II was just being smashed with the deck, to be very honest. I seemed to be on the right side of all the coolers and hopefully we can repeat that history and have another go. It'll be very cool.”
He’s been in Las Vegas since early June, playing WSOP events and some of the other events spread around town. He’s picked up a handful of cashes but nothing close to that elusive bracelet. He’s honest about how it’s gone but still hopeful and grateful that he’s in the mix in poker’s biggest event.
“Not very good. But if we run deep in this, I suppose that makes up for everything. So it's not terrible, I can't complain,” Zanette said.
The poker scene back home is built around events spread throughout the country’s roughly 40 casinos. Even with a population of 69 million people, the heart of the poker community remains tiny compared to other countries of similar size.
“We basically have two tours, MJPT and Shuffle Up Poker. It's one series every five to six weeks,” Zanette said. “It's relatively small compared to Vegas, like the whole entire poker community is maybe 300-400 people, but it's good.”
It’s so small in fact that he’s played a fair bit with both Todd and Keyser even though he wasn’t even born yet when they each won their bracelet.
“We pretty much all know each other. I've played with both of them,” Zanette, who turned 32 in April, said. “Norman (Keyser) I used to play cash games with and Hugh Todd plays tournaments still every now and then.”
Zanette believes that a Main Event win by any South African player could have major implications back home similar to what happened in Australia when Joe Hachem claimed victory 20 years ago.
“I think it could make poker in South Africa explode again, and it's not even necessarily just (the Main Event) - if someone here wins any bracelet,” Zanette said. “In the last four years, we've brought out different amounts of people from 20 to 30. Every year seems to be coming more and more.”
“We've had three final tables in the last two years, considering there are only like 20 of us here it’s reasonable. No one's won a bracelet yet.”
There is a third South African bracelet winner, but they did it from the comfort of their own home. When the WSOP had to move online during the COVID pandemic, Michael Clacher won a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event.
After finishing Day 1B with double his starting stack, Zanette knows he’s completed the first step of a marathon. The victory would include not only millions of dollars and the one-of-a-kind bracelet, but an opportunity to take part in a WSOP custom that started long after Todd and Keyser won their respective bracelets.
“I know tons of people that just want to hear the national anthem played,” Zanette said. “So I'd like to be the one to do it, but let's see.”