From novice to poker star in under a year!
The results of the LAPT Grande Finale that played out this weekend, came as a total surprise, as a newcomer to the poker scene, Jose Miguel Espinar claimed the victory! Jose outplayed a strong field of players, including pro’s such as Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein; Vanessa Rousso and Alexander Gomes, to walk away with a prize of $241,735! Illustrating some impressive poker muscle for such a newbie, Espinar was caught up in a grueling heads-up battle with Alex Brenes for several hours, starting off with 1,993,000 chips versus the 1,528,000 of Brenes. Finally, in a very close call, he managed to cripple Brenes’ stack with an A-10 vs A-9. Brenes then moved all-in with the next hand, holding AH 10C. Espinar wasn’t ruffled and called with his KC 3C . The flop turned out in Espinar’s favour with KD 7C. His advantage continued as the turn brought 4S on the turn, and the board finally rivered 9S . Brenes was sent packing with a handsome second prize of $126,625. Espinar only started playing poker in December 2007, which is less than a year ago. His phenomenal achievement just proves once again, that you don’t have to be a pro to succeed in the game of poker!
