Fabian Ortiz Wins PokerStars LAPT Chile

The first ever PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) was held in Vina del Mar, Chile and 216 players from 27 different countries made their way to the South American casino to enter the $2,500 + $200 Main Event No Limit Hold’em Texas Hold’em.

It was the 39 year old former disco owner from Chaco, Argentina, Fabian Ortiz who outlasted the large field of tournament players and won first place at the second annual LAPT, which earned him $141,426.

The Argentinean met a Venezuelan, Vincenzo Giannelli heads up with Giannelli having over a 2-1 chip lead. Although, this didn’t last long as Ortiz nearly doubled up when he flopped trip aces and 15 minutes later he turned a gut shot straight to take the chip lead. It didn’t take long after this for both players to get all their money in preflop, which they did with Ortiz holding As-Jc to Gianelli’s Ah-Td, the board ran 7c-4d-Qc-8c-6c, giving Ortiz the title.

“Fabian Ortiz’s win demonstrates the growth of poker as a Latin American sport. This is our first event where the majority of the field was made up of Latin American players. We expect many more local champions as this sport continues to grow in popularity in the region.” said LAPT President Glenn Cademartori.

Tournament stats:

Buy-in: $2,500 + $200
Number of Entries: 216
Total Prize Pool: $523,800
First-Place Prize: $141,426
Places Paid: 27

Final table places and payouts:

1st Place: Fabian Ortiz – Argentina – $141,426
2nd Place: Vincenzo Gianelli – Venezuela – $78,570
3rd Place: Damian Salas – Argentina – $52,380
4th Place: Leandro Balotin – Brazil – $39,285
5th Place: Hernan Villa – Colombia – $28,809
6th Place: Fabio Escobar – Brazil – $23,571
7th Place: Jyries Saba – Chile – $18,330
8th Place: Eduardo Camia – Argentina – $13,095
9th Place: Jaime Ateneloff – Uruguay – $10,476

The next stop for season 2 of the LAPT is in Punta del Este, Uruguay at the Mantra Resort Spa and Casino. The main event here will have a $3,700 entry fee and first events will start on March 18th. This tournament will be much larger as the event is capped at 500 entrants. If you’re interested in playing this event PokerStars is offering prize packages that are worth $6,500, which includes event buy-in, hotel and travel accommodation along with spending money.