Andrew Szabelan is a 61-year-old master plumber based in Michigan who plays online poker under the name Zulran or Zzulran.

In 2021 when online poker was legalized in Michigan, Andrew started playing at BetMGM and became one of the winningest players of the year for profit despite only playing on the weekends. With the winnings, he took his wife, Vickie, on a long vacation. 

In 2022, he continued to dominate with two WSOP rings and a trip to Las Vegas for the BetMGM Poker Championship. 

However, it would all come to a pause. Andrew was diagnosed with a heart murmur. In May 2022, his heart had gone into atrial fibrillation which required open heart surgery to repair. 

Andrew’s health crisis occurred a few weeks before the summer’s BetMGM Championship and a month before the Tournament. When Andrew won his seat in the Championship, BetMGM credited his account with the $3,500 tournament buy-in since he was medically unable to travel and play in the event.

Andrew is recovering and rebuilding his poker bankroll. He qualified for “The Return: A Borgata Championship Event” which runs from January 4-8 in Atlantic City. It made him the ONLY player from Michigan who has qualified for both the ARIA BetMGM Championship (June) and Borgata’s “The Return.” 

“The Return” will feature a guaranteed prize pool of $3 million with players competing for a guaranteed $1 million first-place prize. 

For Andrew, the “King of Hearts,” it represents “the return” to live poker action.