Event #26: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha

A total of 986 entries showed up for Event #26: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. When the final curtain came down it was Filippos Stavrakis taking home the prestigious World Series of Poker bracelet and an astounding $169,842 first place cash prize. Devrakis bested Jordan Siegel heads-up, Brazilian star Felipe Ramos came in third.

Stavrakis came into the final day of the tournament as the chipleader with 14 players remaining. He was the shortest stack at one point during four-handed play, but rallied back to win it all.

"My wife is very superstitious. She always thinks she brings bad luck and she is actually quite the opposite for me," Stavrakis said as he looked at her and smiled.

It wasn't just about the comeback, though. Behind all the Pot-Limit Omaha battles at the felt, there was a deeper story lurking. One that became clear in the winner's photo, which showed a piece of paper with a few words on it that said it all:

"For Jimmy. Love & miss you bro."

"A couple years ago we lost my brother prematurely and I always said that if I was fortunate enough to win a bracelet I would dedicate it to him. It felt like he was with me all day," Stavrakis said after claiming the gold.

Final Table Results

Final Day Action

Just a few moments after the 22nd level started it was Arthur Morris that would be the official final table bubble. Morris ended up all in before the flop and was called by Georgios Karavokyris who would turn a flush to eliminate Morris in tenth place. The 22nd level also had another bust out in Robert Cowen who found himself all in versus Stavrakis. Cowen was leading after the flop with two pair but Stavrakis would complete his flush on the turn. Cowen could not fill up on the river and was eliminated in ninth place.

It was the Greek native Karavokyris who would be next to hit the rail as he ran into Siegel's aces. The flop came down with a pair of jacks for Karavokyris, but the rest of the board ran in favor of Siegel and Karavokyris was eliminated in 8th place. Thayer Rasmussen found himself all in before any cards were dealt in the big blind after losing a hand to Clinton Monfort that left him with less than a small blind. Rasmussen would be eliminated in 7th to Kleins flopped set of threes.

Pascal Damois started the day third in chips and was quiet for most of it until he got it all in against Stavrakis. He was ahead with his aces but Stavrakis flopped two pair and held on to eliminate Damois in sixth. The fifth-place finisher was Peter Klein who grinded out the whole day and patiently picked good spots to move his chips around. Klein moved all in on a queen high board with kings and Siegel made the call with his flopped set of queens to eliminate Klein.

After a grueling three hours of four-handed play, it was Monfort that was the first to succumb and head for payout desk. After a raise from Ramos, Monfort moved all in with his kings. Ramos called and would end up with a flush by the time all the cards hit the felt, eliminating Monfort in fourth.

Well-known Brazilian Ramos had a whole cheering section railing him for the final table, who even got moved further away from the table for being too boisterous. However, when Ramos called all in for his tournament life against Stavrakis on the river, they all dropped silent as Stavrakis tabled a straight. Ramos had the smaller straight and was eliminated by Stavrakis.

It was close to the end of level 29 when Siegel found himself all in with a flush draw and straight draw. Stavrakis called with a set and higher straight draw, the board ran out with no help for Siegel. He finished second place for a six-figure payday and congratulated the winner on his way to the payout desk.

The $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event is now in the books but Omaha aficionados don't have to wait long as Event #35: Mixed $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha is coming up on June 16th. PokerNews will be there again to cover the next Omaha event from start to finish.

Filippos Stavrakis extended his lead by taking down the first big pot of the heads-up battle. Stavrakis limped his small blind and Jordan Siegel checked his option.

The flop came down     and Siegel check-called a bet of 125,000. On the   turn Siegel check-called another bet, but this time the bet was 325,000.

The river was the   and Siegel checked a final time, before seeing Stavrakis put in a bet of 700,000. Siegel folded within a couple seconds.

Filippos Stavrakis	3,595,000	310,000
Jordan Siegel	1,300,000	-310,000

Filippos Stavrakis raised to 200,000 from the button and Felipe Ramos called.

The flop was     and both players checked to see the   turn appear. Ramos checked and Stavrakis bet 300,000. Ramos counted out the chips for a call and pushed them forward.

The river was the   and Ramos checked again. This time Stavrakia bet out for effectively 400,000, putting Ramos all-in. Ramos took a minute to figure out what to do and made the call.

Filippos Stavrakis:     
Felipe Ramos:     

Ramos got eliminated in 3rd place, cashing for $73,989 but missing out on his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Filippos Stavrakis	3,170,000	1,640,000
Jordan Siegel	1,750,000	-720,000
Felipe Ramos	0	-965,000

Felipe Ramos opened to 210,000 from the cutoff and Jordan Siegel moved all in from the big blind. Ramos called and both player flipped over their hands.

Felipe Ramos:     
Jordan Siegel:     

The flop came down     and Ramos picked up a flush draw. The turn was the   and Siegel would need to dodge a diamond for a split. The river was the   and the players chopped the pot.

Jordan Siegel	2,470,000	470,000
Filippos Stavrakis	1,530,000	-40,000
Clinton Monfort	475,000	-260,000
Felipe Ramos	460,000	-50,000

Filippos Stavrakis opened to 150,000 from the small blind and Clinton Monfort then three-bet to 450,000 from the big blind.

Stavrakis thought for a moment before making the fold and continuing the bet-fold action that has been going on throughout the final four.

Filippos Stavrakis	935,000	-105,000
Clinton Monfort	735,000	105,000

Felipe Ramos limped from the small blind and Filippos Stavrakis checked his option.

The players saw the     flop and both checked. Ramos bet 55,000 on the   turn and Stavrakis called to see the   river complete the board.

Ramos put in a bet of 175,000 on the river, but Stavrakis folded. Ramos showed   .

Felipe Ramos	735,000	105,000
Filippos Stavrakis	480,000	-105,000

Jordan Siegel opened to 125,000 from the button and was called my Felipe Ramos in the small blind. Filippos Stavrakis called as well from the big blind and the flop came    .

All three players checked and the turn came the  . Action checked to Stavrakis who bet 375,000 and Siegel thought for several minutes before making the call. Ramos took a few moments before he threw his cards in the middle.

The river came the   and Stavrakis put is last 135,000 in the middle. Siegel snap-called and players then revealed their hands. Stavrakis showed      for two pair and Siegel then tabled      for the same two pair. Players split the pot and the tournament is still four handed near the end of level 27.

Jordan Siegel	2,375,000	55,000
Felipe Ramos	630,000	-70,000
Filippos Stavrakis	585,000	55,000

Clinton Monfort opened to 110,000 from the cutoff and Filippos Stavrakis made the call from the big blind. The flop came     and action checked to Monfort who bet 115,000.

Stavrakis moved all in and Monfort snap-called. The players then revealed their hands, Monfort tabled      for top set and Stavrakis showed      for a pair with a straight draw.

The turn came the  , completing the straight for Stavrakis. Monfort had a lot of outs going to the river and the   that landed was one of them. He caught his flush and took down the pot for a double through Stavrakis.

Clinton Monfort	1,320,000	800,000
Filippos Stavrakis	492,000	-688,000