Press release from the recent LAPT event win by Ryan Fee from PokerStars:
POKERSTARS LAPT SEASON TWO KICKS OFF WITH AMERICAN RYAN FEE WINNING SAN
JOSE CHAMPIONSHIP AND $285,773
2008 Latin American Poker Tour –
NOVEMBER 7, 2008 -- A former college student turned poker pro won his
first major tournament today. Ryan Fee, a 20-year-old online poker player from
Philadelphia, PA won one of Costa Rica’s biggest poker events ever. The
international poker tournament, which attracted players from five different
continents and 33 different countries, was the first event of Season
Two on the Latin American Poker Tour sponsored by PokerStars.net.
Fee topped a
highly-competitive field of 219 players and won the top cash prize of more than
a quarter million dollars. The tournament which cost $3,700 to enter was
one of the highest buy-in events ever held in the Latin America. In fact, this
year’s entry fee was $1,000 more than last year – which served as the inaugural
LAPT offering. Nonetheless, Fee – who plays poker regularly at PokerStars and
who admitted he had very little live tournament experience – won a most
impressive victory.
The three-day event was held at the Ramada
Plaza Herradura Conference Centre in San Jose. Adorned in Costa Rican flags and
PokerStars banners, the tournament room provided the flavor of an international
sporting event. The tournament's final hand was typical of three exciting
days of poker action. Fee was dealt A-10. His opponent Joel Micka was
dealt 4-4 and was out-chipped by a small margin. It appeared Micka might
win the big hand until the fateful river card was dealt -- an ace which gave Fee
the Costa Rican poker championship. The final board showed K-Q-7-8-A,
giving Fee a winning pair of aces.
Fee says that he plans to play
in more upcoming LAPT tournaments, including next month's tournament in Nuevo
Vallarta, Mexico. But first, Fee will return to his home in
Philadelphia. "I want to be home for Thanksgiving," Fee
said. "But after that, I am going to play as many LAPT events as I can.
This victory feels just great."
Based on yet another successful
LAPT event, poker in Latin America is here to stay. "We are extremely excited to
have launched LAPT Season 2, by returning here to San Jose, surrounded by the
beautiful tropics of Costa Rica,” said Glenn Cademartori, LAPT President. “We
were fortunate enough to host such a great tournament in a spectacular venue for
our Latin American players, as well as players from 33 countries around the
globe."
“Ryan Fee is a great young champion and was quite taken
aback having won our biggest first prize to date. He is a sharp guy and has
certainly made his mark in the poker industry with this win. We look forward to
seeing him in Mexico next month,” Cademartori added. “We are quite pleased with
how smoothly the tournament ran and received plenty of praise from our satisfied
players. Many of them will be joining us for our next stop in Nuevo Vallarta,
Mexico, December 5-7. We’re breaking new ground in Mexico, just as we did in
Brazil last Season. We have created the new standard for the Latin American
poker experience.”
Last year’s LAPT Season One attracted 1,063
players in just three events. Season 2, will include as many as six events and
promises to be considerably bigger with tournaments planned for Mexico, Chile,
Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Satellites for the LAPT Neuvo
Vallarta event are available daily at PokerStars. Players have the chance to win
a prize package which includes a main event buy-in, accommodation for four
nights, and spending money for expenses. Please visit http://www.lapt.com/
for more information and updates on the tour dates and how to qualify.
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