Anthony Ruberto Snares WPT Jacksonville, $325K; Lisa Hamilton third

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 23 November 2011 / Leave a Comment

Anthony Ruberto with the winning hand at WPT Jacksonville (Photo: World Poker Tour)

The win is the largest by far in Ruberto's career, his previous biggest cash being for $84,549 after final tabling a $2,500 no-limit hold'em 6-max. event at this summer's WSOP.

Yesterday's six-handed World Poker Tour final table at the Jacksonville Poker Room began with Anthony Ruberto in the chip lead, and that's how it ended as the Floridian outlasted everyone, including Lisa Hamilton in third, to take the WPT title and $325,928 first prize.

After three days of poker, just six were left from a starting field of 393 in this $3,500 buy-in event, with Ruberto having built a stack of 4.5 million, about 38% of the remaining chips in play. Vitor Coehlo of Tampa, Florida was closest with 2.57 million, followed by Lisa Hamilton of Hawaii with just over 1.9 mllion. Hamilton was looking to become the first ever woman to win a WPT title.

Meanwhile, Darryll Fish entered the final table as the short stack with 641,000. Fish stayed afloat for 50 hands, though couldn't add to his stack. Finally he pushed all in for 575,000 with 3s-3s but ran into Hamilton's 7c-7s. The board brought no help to Fish who went out in sixth.

About three orbits later Hamilton would take care of the next elimination in Artie Rodriguez. After being crippled in an A-J-vs.-A-Q hand against Sam Soverel, Rodriguez was soon all in against Hamilton with 9d-7s against the latter's Kc-4d. The board came Jh-5d-2s-4h-8d, and they were down to four.

Thanks in part to that hand against Rodriguez, Soverel soon moved into the lead, although all four of the remaining players were relatively close to one another in chips.

Ruberto would eventually move back out in front, however, and was leading when Coelho pushed all in for 1.85 million from UTG and Ruberto called from the big blind. Coelho had 4s-4s, but Ruberto had Ad-Ah, and five cards later Coelho was gone in fourth.

It wasn't long after that when Ruberto opened for a 2.5x raise to 200,000 from the button and Hamilton called from the big blind. The flop came As-9s-2d and Hamilton checked. Ruberto continued for 400,000, Hamilton made it 800,000, Ruberto pushed, and Hamilton called.

Hamilton had Ah-3h for top pair, but Ruberto's Ad-Kc gave him the same pair with a better kicker. The turn was the 5s and river the Jd, and Hamilton had fallen in third.

That left Ruberto with a commanding lead to start heads-up play, with 9.745 million to Soverel's 2.1 million. The pair would play exactly 19 hands after which the stack sizes were still essentially the same. Then on the 20th hand between the two the end finally came.

In the last hand, the blinds were still 40k/80k when Ruberto opened with a raise to 200,000 from the small blind/button. Soverel responded by reraising all in for just over 2.15 million, and Ruberto called.

Ruberto held Kc-Jh, a good hand to have versus Soverel's Kh-7h. The flop came Qc-Js-10c, pairing Ruberto but providing an open-ended straight to each. The turn was the 5d, and Soverel still needed help. But the 7d river, though pairing Soverel, wasn't enough, and Ruberto had won.

WPT Jacksonville final table payouts:
1st: Anthony Ruberto -- $325,928

2nd: Sam Soverel -- $187,762

3rd: Lisa Hamilton -- $112,657

4th: Vitor Coelho -- $75,105

5th: Artie Rodriguez -- $55,077

6th: Darryll Fish -- $46,315

The win is the largest by far in Ruberto's career, his previous biggest cash being for $84,549 after final tabling a $2,500 no-limit hold'em 6-max. event at this summer's World Series of Poker where he finished sixth.

From here the WPT trips over to the Casino de Marrakech in Morocco (Nov. 24-27), then to the Corinthia Casino in Prague (Dec. 1-5) before the big Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas (Dec. 6-11).

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