As far as celebrity poker players go, Roberto Luongo fared well in this year’s WSOP Main Event. Sponsored by the BCLC’s PlayNow.com, Luongo’s $10 000 was covered by the online gambling site – and he certainly did them proud. While finishing in 642nd place does not sound impressive, he beat out over 6000 of his peers, earning almost $20 000 in prize money.
His exit hand was fairly standard. After doubling up to 185 000 chips, he met his match just after the bubble. Before the flop, he shoved with a pair of fours. His opponent called with a pair of Jacks. As the board played out, there was no opportunity for Luongo’s hand to improve; so, he exited the tournament.
According to PlayNow.com, Luongo will be able to keep his tournament winnings. This is an exceptional deal for the player, as most staking deals require the player to give their sponsor a portion of their tournament profits. This will likely serve as motivation for Luongo to continue playing high stakes poker tournaments under the sponsorship of PlayNow.com.
His brother, Fabio Luongo also made an impressive performace. While Roberto was knocked out early on in Day 4, his brother made it just a little bit further. Fabio busted in 418th place and earned 28 000.
This is a great start to Roberto Luongo’s poker career. Few players can say that they cashed the main event of the World of Poker their first time ever playing it – and Luongo has certainly earned the honour. Many onlookers across Canada did not expect the player to make it very far, being a part-time poker player and full-time hockey player; however, he exceeded expectations.
The BCLC has not yet stated what else is in the cards for Luongo. It appears that he will be focusing on his career at the moment. Luongo is not entirely sure where he will be playing next year , and a trade is on the horizon for the celebrated hockey player.
