Tony Ruberto Gets There in Jacksonville

When asked what the secret to WPT success is, "Boston" Tony Ruberto simply said: "You gotta get there."  There were 393 people who tried to get to a title at the WPT’s first-ever trip to Jacksonville for a Main Event, but Ruberto was he only one to succeed, winning his first WPT title as well as $325,928 in cash and prizes.

When the final table began, it was Ruberto who was in the driver’s seat.  The way he got to the final table was impressive enough.  The young pro amassed a giant stack with two tables remaining and managed to come into final table play with a more than 2 million-chip advantage over his next closest competitor.

One of Ruberto’s biggest threats at the table was Darryll Fish, who has experience playing in the WPT spotlight after finishing sixth in Season IX’s LA Poker Classic.  He came in as the short stack, but with experience on his side, he was not to be discounted.  Fish found a good spot to double early, but he couldn’t make the magic happen again.  He ran [3c3s] into Lisa Hamilton’s [7c7s] to match his finish at the Commerce: sixth place.

The next player to fall was ClubWPT.com’s Artie Rodriguez.  Ecstatic just to make the final table, the qualifier managed to hang right in there at a table of pros, despite a significant gap in live experience. Rodriguez called an all-in from an evenly-stacked Sam Soverel holding [AcJc] to Soverel’s [AsQd].  Rodriguez could not get there and was eliminated two hands later, but his performance does put him in the pantheon of great ClubWPT players like Leron Washington and Andy Whetstone.

After doubling thru Rodriguez, Soverel put himself in a three-way tie for second with Hamilton and Vitor Coelho while Ruberto remained out front.  For the next fifty hands or so, the race grew tighter and tighter though.  At one point, it was basically a four-way tie for first, and each player took a turn serving as the chip leader.

As the action progressed though, both Soverel and Coelho found themselves short on chips.  Down to around 20 big blinds, Coelho open shoved all-in with [4c4s] only to run into Ruberto’s [AdAh]. Coelho exited in fourth place, while Ruberto resumed his status as chip leader by a comfortable margin.

That margin grew even bigger when he tangled with Hamilton in a big pot post-flop.  The two went heads-up on a board of [As9s2d]. Hamilton checked from the big blind and Ruberto continuation bet. Hamilton check-raised and Ruberto decided to up the stakes. "Alright, I’m all-in," he told her.

Hamilton thought a while, then called with [Ah3h] for a pair of aces, but Ruberto had her bested with [AdKc] for a pair of aces with a bigger kicker.  Hamilton didn’t improve, exited in third place, and suddenly, Ruberto was heads-up with Soverel holding a more than 4-1 chip lead.

Soverel narrowed the gap early when he doubled up with [QsQd] to Ruberto’s [Ac8h], but it only took Ruberto 13 hands to grind his opponent back down to where he started heads-up action.  On the final hand of play, Soverel shoved all-in over the top of a raise from Ruberto holding [Kh7h] and Rubert called with [KcJh].

The flop came [QcJs10c], pairing up Ruberto and giving them both a straight draw.  The [5d] on the turn was a safe card for Ruberto.  The [7d] on the river meant Ruberto got there.  He became the first-ever WPT champ from the Orange Park Kennel Club, earned $300,428 in cash, and a chance to pick up title number two at the $25,500 WPT World Championship event at Bellagio in the spring.

Here are the complete final table results from the WPT Jacksonville Fall Series Main Event:

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