Fox leg of Genting Poker Series won by Palm Beach Regular

LONDON (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Fox Poker Club, in the heart of London’s West End, hosted its biggest ever tournament over the weekend when 580 players descended on the club for the second leg of the Genting Poker Series.

Boasting a massive main event prize pool of £232,000 and paying the top 60 players, the winner picked up a very useful £50,160 and a seat in the £200,000 guaranteed Series Grand Final in December.

Proving age is no barrier to success, after three days of poker it was 72-year-old Albert Sapiano, a regular at the tables of the Genting Palm Beach Casino, who chalked up a success for the old guard. The Maidstone bee-keeper was buzzing as he prevailed in a relatively short heads-up battle against Londoner Callum Smith, to take home the £50,160 winners cheque and the title of Genting Poker Series Champion Leg 2 – The Fox Poker Club.

Albert who by his own admission will "play any two cards," started the final table fourth in chips and at one point was chip leader by a considerable margin. However, a near miraculous comeback assault by Smith saw him eliminate three players within an incredible 20-minute period of poker, building his stack from a paltry two big blinds to a 2:1 chip lead against Sapiano by the time the players reached Heads Up (Callum Smith held 10 millon chips compared to Sapiano’s 4.6 million).

The action continued to be frenetic, when the first hand in the heads-up battle saw Smith move All-In with AK, only to be quickly called by Albert’s A7. A hush settled over the Fox before the flop came 7,5,5, to sway things in Albert's favor. Another 7 on the river completed the full house and swayed the chip lead once more.

Just a few hands later and with a QJK flop, Smith went All-In again with his AQ; however, the quiet man from Maidstone was in front courtesy of his KT, and with the turn and river failing to deliver one of the many outs Smith needed, it was all over.

1 Albert Sapiano £48,560 plus £1600 Grand Final Seat
2 Callum Smith £32,940
3 Kirit Patel £23,200
4 Robin Dhinsa £18,560
5 Neil McCulloch £14,500
6 Stephen Hollinshead £11,600
7 Elzbieta Biessek-Piechota £9,280
8 James Thomson £6,960
9 Ghassan Chehbi £4,640