Alex Balandin is an American professional poker player from New York, United States.
He stepped into the poker circuit in the year 2000, when he competed with 211 American poker players in the U.S. Poker Championship. He took part in Event 7 – No-Limit Hold'em that was held at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Atlantic City and completed sixth to take home $3,692 as cash prize. After an interval of four years, Alex Balandin made a major comeback, when he participated in the 2005 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure – World Poker Tour (WPT) Event Season 3. He completed second in the WPT No-Limit Hold'em event and prize money worth $484,700 was added to his bankroll. In July the same year, Alex Balandin outperformed most of the entrants to finish fifth in Event 37 –No-Limit Hold'em of the 36th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) and pocketed $141,000 in prize money. In the same tournament, he also took part in Event 20 - WSOP Pot-Limit Hold'em and walked away with $15,725 cash prize.
In 2006, Alex Balandin made a landmark winning in the No-Limit Hold'em Tournament. He participated in the No-Limit Hold'em event held at the Bellagio casino, Las Vegas and made an impressive first-place finish. In the final table, he played against Russell Rosenblum, a poker pro from Las Vegas, Nevada and walked away with the championship and $30,505 in prize money. In the same event held on 15th July 2006, he was the runner-up and earned $36,280 cash prize. Alex Balandin increased his bankroll by adding $16,382 in prize money, when he took part in Event 34 - WSOP No-Limit Hold'em event of the 37th Annual World Series of Poker, 2006. In the same tournament, Alex Balandin entered Event #39 - WSOP No-Limit Hold'em Championship WSOP Final and bagged cash prize worth $51,129.
The year 2007 took off well for Alex Balandin, when he cashed in the Borgata Poker Classic/WPT Event Season V Tournament. He outlasted most of the entrants of Event 10 - WPT No-Limit Hold'em Championship and bagged $72,003. Later in June 2007, Alex Balandin participated in the 38th Annual World Series of Poker held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. He played in Event 12 - WSOP No-Limit Hold'em Short Handed and took home $14,804 in prize money. He also participated in two other No-Limit Hold'em events at the same tournament and bagged $17,233. As of 2008, Alex Balandin has total winnings of $927,054.
