Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) - News
LAPT heads for Uruguay
July 3, 2008
The Latin American Poker Tour heads for its final stop in Season 1 in the beautiful seaside resort of Punta del Este in Uruguay.
More than 100 players have already won seats online at PokerStars and will be joining star players such as Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari from Brazil, Humberto Brenes from Costa Rica plus Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown from the USA.
Over 600 players have already taken part in the first two LAPT events. The winner of LAPT Rio was Dutchman Julien Nuitjen who took home $222,940; LAPT San José was won by Hungarian Valdemar Kwaysser for $274,103.
The three-day LAPT Punta del Este event starts on August 7; satellites continue on PokerStars until July 27.
PokerStars qualifier wins $274,102 at LAPT San José
Valdemar Kwaysser, 24, a professional poker player from Budapest, Hungary, has won the second LAPT event in San José, Costa Rica for $274,102. Kwaysser, who won his seat in a $200 satellite on PokerStars, was playing in only his second major tournament but is an accomplished online player. A year ago, almost to the day, he came 3rd in the PokerStars Sunday Million for $133,000.
In the final hand against 19-year-old American Max Steinberg, Valdemar's Aces held up against J9 on a 889 flop. Max, 19, whose identical twin brother Danny also played in the event, takes home $144,773.
A total of 398 players from 35 countries took part in the three-day sell-out event, including 175 who won their seats online with PokerStars. Six of the nine final table players were PokerStars qualifiers.
The final stop for Season 1 of the LAPT is Punta del Este from August 7-9. Satellites are running now on PokerStars until late July and 15 players have already won seats and will be heading to Uruguay this summer.
See results, players, press release, for more info.
Humberto and PokerStars help LAPT players help the sharks
May 24, 2008
Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes and players at LAPT San José have helped raise over $20k for a vital campaign against shark finning. Dozens pledged to give 1% of their tournament winnings to Pretoma.org, a sum then matched dollar for dollar by Humberto. PokerStars then matched this joint sum, which was in turn being matched by the Avina Foundation - effectively turning every player dollar into a total of eight dollars.
Shark finning is an inhumane practice which involves cutting off a shark's fins and discarding the body. Although illegal in many countries including Costa Rica, it causes the death of over 200 million sharks per year and is responsible for a 90% decline in shark populations worldwide during the last 50 years.
More than 150 players signed up at the start of the tournament and 23 of these made the money, contributing $5,344 and a total of $21,376 for the charity.
Humberto said: "Costa Rica's greatest treasure is its natural resources. I want to thank all the players who contributed winnings or made donations. Their support was great and will encourage us to do this again at future tournaments. I am known as "The Shark" and now - through our LAPT San José campaign, I can help protect the real sharks."
Please click Sharks Costa Rica and Pretoma for further details.
Satellites for LAPT Punta del Este start on PokerStars
May 16, 2008
Satellites for the final LAPT Season 1 tournament in stunning Punta del Este, Uruguay have started now on PokerStars, giving players the chance to win a $5,000 prize package. Daily qualifiers - including Steps satellites - give players the chance to win an LAPT prize package worth $5,000 - which includes the tournament buy-in, four nights' hotel accommodation and spending money to help cover transportation expenses.
The three-day US$2,500 Texas No Limit Hold'em poker tournament takes place at the luxury Mantra Resort Spa Casino in Punta del Este, Uruguay from August 7-9, 2008. Click LAPT Punta del Este for further details.
LAPT San José looks set for success
May 10, 2008
Beautiful Costa Rica is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, attracting over one million visitors a year to its untouched rain forests, palm-lined beaches and numerous national parks. With the advent of LAPT San José it is also set to become a top poker destination, attracting top pros from around the world.
Among the international stars that will taking their seats at the $2,500 buy-in San José event are Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari from Brazil, Victor Ramdin from Guyana, Isabelle Mercier and poker legend Daniel Negreanu from Canada- and Costa Rican Humberto Brenes, playing on home turf. Click Punta del Este for details.
First LAPT a massive success
May 5, 2008
The three-day, $2,500 buy-in event was won by 19-year-old professional Julien Nuijten from Amsterdam, Holland for $222,940. The young player, a friend of Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken, was a dominant force in the tournament from early on and a favourite to win once he arrived at the final table. Despite some bad beats, he eventually bested Vitaly Kovyazin, 47, a construction company manager who moved to the USA from Russia 16 years ago. Vitaly qualified for Rio using PokerStars Frequent Player Points - effectively free-rolling his way to his $117,750 prize for second place.
More than 150 Brazilians took part in the event, alongside players from a further 27 countries. Alex Brenes, younger brother of Team PokerStars Pro Humberto, came 4th for $62,800.
LAPT Rio was the biggest poker tournament ever held in Brazil and attracted top international poker stars including nine members of Team PokerStars Pro - Andre Akkari from Brazil, Humberto Brenes from Costa Rica and as well as Vanessa Rousso, former World Champions Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, Victor Ramdin, Isabelle Mercier, Chad Brown and Gavin Griffin.
Former Indy car racer Guater Salles, sponsored by PokerStars, also played in the tournament surviving until late on Day 2. The players created a record prize pool of $785,000.
See PokerStars blog | results | vblogs | pokerstars.tv | gallery
Team PokerStars Pros on home ground
April 2008
The launch of the LAPT will give Latin American Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari and Humberto Brenes the chance to play in major live poker tournaments on their home soil.
Humberto Brenes - known as the "Godfather of Costa Rican Players" - is a larger-than-life character who has become a global poker star, not just for winning two World Series bracelets, but also for his charisma, generosity and good-natured humour. A qualified industrial engineer, Brenes was already a highly successful businessman before he turned his attention to poker. He has now cashed at more than 40 major tournaments.
Andre Akkari is Brazil's best-known poker player and has numerous results to his name in both online and live events. Born in São Paulo, Akkari was already a keen online player when he went to Las Vegas in 2005. He returned home with several cashes and first place finishes, and then went on to win further live tournaments in Punta Del Este, the Vegas Open in São Paulo, and the Bellagio Cup II. By 2006, age 31, he was ready to turn pro and left his job with an internet software company. Since then he has played in over 43 tournaments in Latin America, Europe and the United States.
