Brazil’s Josias Santos Wins Tampa Title in WPO Turbo ($4,749)

Below is a recap of Event 3 of the Winter Poker Open, a $150 Deep Stack Turbo event that concluded Sunday, December 4.

2016 Winter Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, FL
Event 3
$150 Deep Stack Turbo No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 184
Prize Pool: $20,430
December 4, 2016

Josias Santos, Event 3 Champion
Josias Santos, Event 3 Champion

Josias Santos broke through and carded another tournament victory at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sunday night during the property’s Winter Poker Open. Santos, a native of Brazil, defeated a field of 184 entries in a $150 Deep Stack Turbo event pocketing $4,749 and a $1,650 seat in the series’ $300,000 guaranteed Championship. The victory is his second at the Seminole Hard Rock, his first coming in 2015 when he carded more than $30,000 in the Deep STack Winter Poker Series.

Event 3 played out in a flash, narrowing from nearly 200 starting entries to the final table of 10 in just about seven hours. The average stack hovered around 10 big blinds and Louis Constant’s 10th-place finish opened the floodgates. Just about 30 minutes after his departure play narrowed to a heads-up battle between Santos and eventual runner-up Jennifer Arojado. Santos owned roughly three-quarters of the chips in play heads up, but that didn’t stop Arojado from trying to negotiate an even chop. Santos was reluctant at first, but obliged after a few minutes of debate. The prize money was split evenly, but Santos’ deal was sweetened with the Championship seat, and of course, the property’s token guitar trophy.

Santos is a 52-year-old business owner who spends as much of his free time on the tournament felt he can. His poker resume boasts 44 cashes totaling nearly $160,000 in career earnings. He experienced some success in Tampa recently as well, finishing fourth in the WPTDeepStacks-Tampa in June for over $18,000.

Event 3 final results:

1st: Josias Santos – $4,749 + $1,650 Championship Seat
2nd: Jennifer Arojado – $4,749
3rd: Kenneth Jensen – $1,941
4th: Myhong Han – $1,634
5th: Michael Scott – $1,226
6th: Eric Buel – $1,022
7th: Moses Clepper – $817
8th: Peter Dalcamo – $613
9th: Mark “Bud” Wiser – $460
10th: Louis Constant – $409
11th: Michael Conner – $409
12th: Matthew Sacks – $409
13th: Paul Huffer – $358
14th: Gerald Silva – $358
15th: Robert Bloom – $358
16th: Jean Hebert – $306
17th: Roerto Polanco – $306
18th: Daniel Pearlman – $306