Alexandre Gomes wins WPT Bellagio Cup Main Event

Alexandre Gomes wins WPT Bellagio Cup Main Event

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

Alexandre Gomes has won the Bellagio Cup Main Event. The 26-year-old became the first Brazilian to win a WPT event and in doing so claimed a first prize of $1,187,670.

Gomes outlasted a loaded final table that included Erik Seidel, Justin ‘BoostedJ’ Smith, Swedish pro Christopher Sonesson and Alec Torelli before defeating Faraz Jaka heads up.


The Brazilian, who is a qualified lawyer, sealed the victory after 43 hands of heads up play holding AJ to Jaka’s dominated A7. The board provided no assistance leaving Jaka in second place with a payout of $774,780.


Gomes, who in 2008 became the first Brazilian to win a World Series Of Poker bracelet, thinks that South America could be poker’s next new hotbed. "I think there will be a real boom," he said. "Over the past two years we've seen more and more players coming from Latin America, but this title will be good for them."


The final table positions and payouts were as follows:


1 Alexandre Gomes $1,187,670


2 Faraz Jaka $774,780


3 Justin Smith $464,870


4 Alec Torelli $271,165


5 Christoffer Sonesson $203,385


6 Erik Seidel $164,460



Tags: Poker News, Alexandre, Gomes, wins, WPT, Bellagio, Cup, Main, Event