WSOP had a World Cup-like feel on Sunday when 25-year-old Alexandre Gomes became the first Brazilian to win a WSOP gold bracelet at the end of a $2,000 unlimited hold-up event. In fact, no South American player has won a WSOP event before in WSOP’s 39-year history.
Gomes, who pocketed a whopping $774,448 dollars, received tremendous support from Brazilians gathered around the last table. As Gomes’ victory became more obvious, they waved green and blue flags and chanted slogans in Portuguese.
Gomes is sure to get a hero’s welcome home, which will inevitably lead to more poker games in Brazil, and more South Americans joining the WSOP for years to come. There are currently many poker websites and publications in the poker market. A poker strategy book has also been published in Portuguese. 슬롯머신
“I have something to say to all my fellow Brazilians,” Gomes said after the win. “Poker is not an easy way to live. You have to study hard. You have to be ready. You can’t rush things. You have to take one step at a time.”
Before Gomes won, the only Brazilian poker player who had much of an impact at WSOP was Giovanni Nervo, who has four caches to date at WSOP this year.
Two other items to watch at the event were Russia’s Nikolay Evdakov, who set a new record for “the most WSOP cash of the year” with nine when he finished in 158th place. Surprisingly, Evdakov raised $658,100 with seven cash, but he only earned $203,458 from those nine events. Neither player won the competition.
Blair Rodman, who also ranked 136th, became the first champion to win last year in 48 competitions this year. Rodman won $2,000 for the third time last year, which is the competition.