As of Friday morning Argentia’s Fabian Ortiz has become two things; first, he’s $141,426 richer and second, he’s the first ever Latin American poker player to win a Latin American Poker Tour title event after he bested a field of 216 poker players to win the LAPT Vina Del Mar in Chile at the EnjoyVina del Mar Casino and Resort.

Ortiz eliminated Vincenzo Gianelli of Venuzuela to win the title. Gianelli took home $78,570 for finishing as the runner-up. The final table at actually had all nine players from Latin America with local favourite Jyries Saba finishing seventh for $18,330. Saba was one of 50 players from Chile to play in the event.

“Fabian Ortiz’s win demonstrates the growth of poker as a Latin American sport”, said LAPT President Glenn Cademartori. “This is our first event where the majority of the field was made up of Latin American players. We expect many more local champions as this sport continues to grow in popularity in the region.”

The next LAPT stop is the Punta del Este scheduled for the Mantra Resort Spa Casino in Uruguay this March.

LAPT Vina Del Mar Final Table Payouts

1. Fabian Ortiz - $141,426
2. Vincenzo Gianelli - $78,570
3. Damian Salas - $52,380
4. Leandro Balotin - $39,285
5. Hernan Villa - $28,809
6. Fabio Escobar - $23,571
7. Jyries Saba - $18,330
8. Eduardo Camia - $13,095
9. Jaime Ateneloff - $10,476

Related posts:

1. Season 3 LAPT Schedule Includes New Home for Caribbean Adventure The PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour announced its schedule for...
2. German High Schooler Wins LAPT Grand Final in Mar Del Plata With a second season now officially in the books, the...
3. Scandinavian Student Conquers LAPT Punta del Este Karl Evroy took home the LAPT Punta Del Este...
4. PokerStars Concludes LAPT Mexico, Signs Maridu Maria Mayrinck has joined Team PokerStars Pro after signing...
5. LAPT: Ryan Fee Wins First Event of Season 2 Ryan Fee, a 20-year-old poker pro from Philadelphia, came out...