If you were in the poker room at the Sheraton WTC São Paulo on Monday and stepped out for a few moments, you might have missed the entire final table of the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Grand Final. In one of the shortest final tables one will ever see in a major event, Germany’s Daniele Nestola rode his big stack from the start of the day all the way to victory, picking up R$289,300 in the process.
It took just four hours for Nestola to collect all the chips at the table, dispatching four of his seven opponents himself. In the end, it came down to him and Venezuela’s Gasperino Nicolas for the first prize of $324,600. Instead, though, the two made a deal, agreeing to each take R$250,000 and battle it out for the title and the remaining R$39,300. It was an interesting deal, considering Nestola had a significant chip lead, 4.405 million to 2.78 million, at the time.
As is frequently the case when a chop is agreed upon, even with some extra money set aside for the winner, the heads-up match lasted only a few hands. In the final hand, the two players saw the flop for the minimum price, and after the dealer laid out 9c-6d-4c, Daniele Nestola led out with a bet of 150,000, which was called by Gasperino Nicolas. On the turn of 3s, Nicolas bet 425,000, Gasperino shoved, and Nicolas instantly called with 7h-5c for the seven-high straight. Nicolas had just 9h-2h, good for top pair and the honor of drawing dead. The river was an inconsequential Ah and Nestola could celebrate.
Daniele Nestola has a number of cashes on his live tournament resume, but the LAPT Grand Final victory is by far his biggest. Prior to this, his largest haul came in February 2010 at the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Deep Stack Extravaganza at the Venetian in Las Vegas, where he placed 19th for $20,089. He has one non-satellite victory and numerous final tables, but they are all in very low buy-in events. Up until now, his total winnings on the live tournament circuit amounted to USD $122,125. The LAPT Grand Final title – the equivalent of USD $168,256 – more than doubles that. It was likely a much needed and welcomed win for Nestola, who had not made the money in a live event since June of 2011, when he placed 2nd in the $230 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship at the 2011 Mega Stack Series at Caesars Palace.
That closes the book on Season 4 of the Latin American Poker Tour. Poker News Daily will be sure to keep you up to date on the LAPT’s Season 5 schedule when it is announced.
2012 Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final – Final Table Standings
1. Daniele Nestola – R$289,300 (adjusted for heads-up deal)
2. Gasperino Nicolas – R$250,000 (adjusted for heads-up deal)
3. Carlos Ibarra – R$148,840
4. Felipe Morbiducci – R$89,570
5. Jonathan Markovits – R$64,540
6. Daniel Negreanu – R$48,730
7. Vitor Torres – R$35,560
8. Juan Gonzalez – R$26,340
