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Hello and welcome back to our coverage of the PokerStars.net LAPT Punta del Este. The room is being prepared for action as a swarm of staff is scurrying around setting up cameras, tables, chips, lights, and clocks.
The staff has informed us that play will be delayed by one hour again today as there is still much to do before we can get rolling. Don't wander too far, we'll be back at 1:00pm sharp for the start of our final table!
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Sidney Chreem
Sidney Chreem is 38 years old and is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Playing under the moniker "flintstom" on PokerStars, Sidney is primarily a tournament player who enjoys playing both live and online. His final table today counts as his best live tournament finish.
Sidney began his gaming career as a backgammon player, but found poker to be a more lucrative venture. In his real life, he runs a chain of clothing stores back in Rio. He is happily married to his wife Silvia who is back home caring for their two children -- Laura and Gustavo. "We talk every day though so I can tell her I'm getting on," he says. "I'm in this tournament to win so I expect to do well today."
Chreem will begin the day on the short stack, sitting with 93,000 chips, and poised to fight the uphill battle in front of him.
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Alexandre Gomes
Just two years ago, Alexandre Gomes was engulfed in pursuit of a career as a lawyer. He played poker casually but was a partner in a corporate law firm and had his secular goals clearly in the forefront. Once he started playing poker seriously, though, he found himself winning big money almost immediately. He had to make a big decision about his future path and now says he has no regrets about taking on his new profession.
The last six weeks have brought great success for Gomes. At the WSOP, he managed to take down the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, pocketing $770,540 and a shiny gold bracelet. PokerStars signed him on to their team, and they are proud to have him representing them at the final table today.
Recreationally, Gomes enjoys sports of all kinds, particularly soccer, which he plays regularly. Online, he is known as "Allingomes", but he is quickly becoming equally well-known for his live tournament ventures. He will begin play today with the chip lead, sitting on 763,000 chips.
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Jose Miguel Espinar
Jose Miguel began playing poker in December 2007 but took to the game instantly. Only a month later, he found himself at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. A friend convinced him to leave his job and dedicate himself to poker.
It was a good decision.
Jose Miguel came 44th at the PCA, winning $24,000. Following that, he played all the rest of the European Poker Tour Season 4 events. He came to LAPT Punta del Este with a bunch of Spanish friends but has been the only one to make the money. He reached the final table courtesy of busting Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, who came 10th. Vanessa had the misfortune to find pocket 9s against Jose Miguel’s pocket Aces.
Espinar is in fine shape to start play; he is in third place with 675,000 in chips.
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Lisandro Gallo
Lisandro Gallo is a 41-year-old father of three from Argentina. He has been playing poker for about ten years and is primarily a tournament player. By day, he is the manager of a company that specializes in agricultural products.
It has been tough going over the last two days for Gallo. When the tournament broke down to two tables, he was sitting with just 40,000 chips. A run of good cards and a little bit of luck sent him shooting upwards though, and he is back in the healthy range.
Despite his struggles, Gallo is supremely confident that he can win. "When I walked in here the first day, I pointed at the final table and told my friends, 'That table is waiting for me!'" he says. His prophecy has been fulfilled, and he finds himself at said final table, and sitting comfortably with 465,000 in chips.
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Paulo Cesar Ribeiro
Paulo Cesar Ribeiro is 47 years old and comes to us from Belem, Brazil. He began playing poker about a year ago and has already found some good success. Online, he plays as "PC PORTUGA" and he also makes sure to set some money aside for live tournaments. He qualified for this tournament in an online satellite.
Ribeiro has played in all three LAPT events so far this year, and has been steadily improving his performance. In Rio de Janeiro, he was eliminated during Day 1, while he managed to make Day 2 of the Costa Rica tournament, busting short of the money. Finally today, he has gotten to the top of the hill, finding himself here on Day 3 at the final table. He sits on 281,000 chips, and hopes to bring the trophy back to Brazil.
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Gylbert Drolet
Gylbert Drolet is just 21 years old and comes to Punta del Este from Quebec City, Quebec in Canada. He has been playing poker since he turned 18 three years ago and is finding some success early in his career. He qualified for this event as well as the LAPT San Jose via the step satellites on PokerStars. He has also won three $100 tournaments online and recently cashed in the Sunday Million.
In school, Drolet is studying technology and plans to expand his focus to include business studies at university. He says, "My parents aren't that keen on me playing poker, but they recognize that I'm pretty good at it." He added some thoughts about this event today: "I had a really good feeling about this tournament. It started very badly though. In the first hour, I was dealt but ran into aces, which took me down to 6,000. Despite that setback, I always felt very confident, however."
Drolet has reason to be confident. He comes into today in second place, working with 691,000 chips.
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Alex Brenes
Alex Brenes, the 44-year-old brother of Humberto Brenes, is with us today from San Jose, Costa Rica. Alex used to watch Humberto and his other brother, Eric, play home games and eventually began to play himself. "There was a group of around 30 regulars at the casino. We used to have two tournaments a week, and at the end of the year, the top ten on the leader board would play a final table. I won it every year from 1988 to 1996," he said.
Alex has a fantastic record at the LAPT so far, having made two final tables in the first three events. In the Rio de Janeiro event, he racked up a fourth place finish. If he wins today, it still won't match his best tournament result. Apart from his previous LAPT final table, he's come second in two WSOP events and taken home the title at the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.
Despite that, it's the LAPT title that he wants, and he is aiming for it today. He begins play with 457,000 chips.
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Juan Jose Perez
Juan Jose Perez is a 30-year-old professional poker player who took up the game four years ago. He began his career playing online at PokerStars, but quickly expanded to playing in live events as well. He still makes most of his money playing the online 3/6 and 5/10 games.
Perez has only played a few live tournaments, but says he has thoroughly enjoyed the LAPT. Though he's short-stacked, Perez says he plans to play aggressively. "My only goal is to win," he says emphatically. He starts play a little bit low on chips, but still has 167,000 to work with.
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"Eye of the Tiger" is being pumped throug the PA system, and the players are being mic'd up for television coverage. They are in their seats, and we will be underway in just a few minutes!
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