Two phenomenal poker performances from Ioannis Angelou-Konstas and Hermilo Vargas as they win for the second time in the WPTDeepStacks and World Series of Poker Circuit respectively.
Jarvis Cocker once sang, “Do you remember the first time?”
What about the second time?
I was 14 the first time I tasted blueberry pie. I knew I was crap. I wasn’t even sure it went in. Our friends waited outside for us to fill in the blanks.
The second time I thought I was a destitute. Then someone told me that the word ‘destitute’ isn’t a description of a male gigolo. Shame aside, I thought I was a pro. Nearly three decades later I still don’t have a clue what to do when the pulse starts quickening.
They say three’s the charm.
It’s not.
Two is the charm, especially in poker, because it helps the argument that you’re nothing but a lucky fucker who always ends up smoking a cigar the size of a rolled-up carpet full of fleas.
Ioannis Angelou-Konstas is a two-time WPTDeepStacks Main Event champion. The pro from Greece became only the second player to achieve the feat (Rex Clinkscales won two titles in 2017), and the only person to pop his cherry twice on European wood and felt.
Angelou-Konstas’s first victory came in Oct 2017 when he beat 251 entrants to bank the first prize of €56,806 after beating Tobias Peters in heads-up action. The repeat performance came in the €1,200 WPTDeepStacks Brussels Main Event at the Grand Casino Brussels Viage where he bested a field of 315 entrants to take the €75,000 first prize.
The double-winner entered the final table with the chip lead and only lost it briefly, before turning his domination into a result. The win propels Angelou-Konstas’s all-time live tournament earnings over the $800,000 mark. Sandwiched in between his two WPTDeepStacks wins is a €41,700 win in a PokerStars Championship Prague side event. He also finished 4/8120 in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Crazy Eights competition for $257,888 last summer.
Here are the final table results:
1. Ioannis Angelou-Konstas – €75,000
2. Martin Kaya – €52,050
3. Milan Rabsz – €33,510
4. Gianluca Bucchino – €24,805
5. Michael Lech – €18,620
6. Roland Rozel – €14,990
7. Mourad Tounnouti – €12,370
8. Miguel Coussement – €9,915
9. Amin Charef – €7,445
The next European stop on the WPTDeepStacks tour is the Netherlands. The Arctic lorries pull into the Holland Casino in Amsterdam – April 13 – 21, where Angelou-Konstas will try and defend his title.
Hermilo Vargas Wins Back-to-Back Monster Stack Events
If you thought Angelou-Konstas’s feats were impressive, check this out.
A Mexican immigrant called Hermilo Vargas won his second World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold ring, after successfully retaining his $365 buy-in Monster Stack title.
In December, Vargas beat 1,150 entrants to win the $71,195 first prize. A few days ago, he entered amongst 1,317 entrants and once again won, this time for $86,270.
“I just had to wait for people to kill each other,” Vargas told reporters about his short-stack final table play.
The taxi-driver turned pro poker player did the business at the Bicycle Casino in Belle Gardens, California where he is a regular on the tournament tables.
The man known as “Taxi” has had an excellent start to the year making two final tables at the WPT LA Poker Classic at the Commerce finishing fourth and third in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo and Omaha Hi-Lo/Stud events.
Final Table Results
1. Hermilo Vargas – $86,270
2. Michael Itaev – $54,450
3. Alexander Farahi – $40,000
4. Greg Gibson – $30,150
5. Chen Yu Hung – $22,840
6. Jose Marcal – $17,515
7. Jason Nguyen – $13,560
8. Romik Vartzar – $10,600
9. Jon Peck – $8,370
The other main story at the Bike was that of Ari Engel winning his ninth gold ring in an Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better event where the actor James Woods finished third.
