Season 5 of the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) kicked off last week with the LAPT Chile National Poker Championship, the third time the LAPT has made a stop in Chile. Held at the Vina del Mar Casino and Resort, the $1,000 + $100 Main Event wrapped up Sunday with Aliro Diaz winning the final hand. Diaz won $76,560 as his reward for outlasting his 650 opponents.
That $76,560 was the product of a six-way deal. The chip leader at the time, Felipe Velasquez, was guaranteed $60,000, while the other five players all got $40,000. From there, the rest of the prize money was to be divvied up based on order of finish. First was to receive $36,560, second $26,000, third $18,000, fourth $14,000, fifth $10,000, and sixth $7,000.
Because of the deal, here is how the payouts looked for the final six players:
1. Aliro Diaz – $76,560
2. Leonardo Olivares – $66,000
3. Joao Lopes – $58,000
4. Felipe Velasquez – $74,000
5. Javier Venegas – $50,000
6. Sergio Escobar – $47,000
And here is what the prize distribution would have been had there been no deal:
1. Aliro Diaz – $129,470
2. Leonardo Olivares – $84,090
3. Joao Lopes – $58,010
4. Felipe Velasquez – $43,540
5. Javier Venegas – $32,460
6. Sergio Escobar – $23,990
Thus, it appears the “losers” of the deal were Diaz and Leonardo Olivares (as would be expected – the top finishers never end up in better shape than they would have been without a deal if the deal is properly structured), whereas the “winners” were Felipe Velasquez, Javier Venegas, and Sergio Escobar. Interestingly, Joao Lopes ended up with almost exactly the same amount of prize money as he would have sans deal. Regardless of who “won” or “lost” the deal, they all agreed to it to ensure themselves an acceptable amount of minimum prize money while not having to worry as much about the luck of the draw as blinds continued to rise.
Going into heads-up play Diaz had double the chips of Olivares, 6.5 million versus 3.2 million. Unlike many tournaments where the trailing player makes a run, there was no comeback to be had for Olivares and it was all over in just seven hands. On the last hand, Diaz raised pre-flop to 185,000, Olivares re-raised to 500,000, and Diaz called. The flop was Jh-9c-9d and Olivares took that as his cue to move all-in. Diaz thought about it for a while, but eventually made the call with Jc-7c, giving him top pair. Olivares held just As-Qd, but his two overcards were live, so he had a shot. The turn 5s was no help and the Js on the river just rubbed salt in Olivares’ wound, as it gave Diaz a full house.
This was the first live tournament cash of Aliro Diaz’s career. He is also the first Chilean to win an LAPT event in Chile and just the second from his country to win on the Latin American Poker Tour.
Latin American Poker Tour Chile National Poker Championship – Final Table Results
1. Aliro Diaz – $76,560 (deal adjusted)
2. Leonardo Olivares – $66,000 (deal adjusted)
3. Joao Lopes – $58,000 (deal adjusted)
4. Felipe Velasquez – $74,000 (deal adjusted)
5. Javier Venegas – $50,000 (deal adjusted)
6. Sergio Escobar – $47,000 (deal adjusted)
7. Halysson Sala – $17,470
8. Nicholas Batt – $13,040
