The World Series of Poker Mani Event came down to an international matchup as Germany’s Hossein Ensan won the $10 million top prize after a heads-up showdown with Italy’s Dario Sammartino.
“It was like an Italy-Germany final,” the 32-year-old Sammartino told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “It’s really fun for poker. We need this.”
Ensan topped a field of 8,569 to claim the $10 million first-place prize.
“This is the best feeling I have in all my life. I can’t believe it,” said Ensan, 55, a native of Iran. “I must go to sleep and wake up. Then I know I have bracelet. Maybe it’s a dream. I don’t know.”
Sammartino, from Naples, took home $6 million for second place.
According to the Journal, Ensan is the first champion in the 50-year history of the Main Event to win the final hand on a pair of kings. Sammartino had a straight and flush draw after the turn and went all-in for 140 million in chips. Ensan called with pocket kings. A queen of clubs on the river was no help to Sammartino.
“Dario is a friend of mine. He’s a big name and a very good player,” Ensan said. “Shorthanded, you need cards, you need hands and for sure, luck. And luck and hands were on my side. Otherwise, I was second. I lost a lot of my chips.”
In another matter, player Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim were named to the WSOP’s Poker Hall of Fame.
Money maker started a major poker boom when he won the 2003 WSOP Main Event as an amateur after buying in through an $86 online satellite.
Oppenheim, 46, a cash game professional who resides in Calabasas, California, has earned almost $2 million during his 25-year professional career at the WSOP.
