Want to know why Punta Cana really was the best poker experience of my life? Keep reading. I’ll admit, I document a lot of things. So let me share my memories of the amazing people I met and the beautiful things I saw in Punta Cana during the Caribbean Poker Party.
The 2017 Punta Cana Poker Classic attracted 382 entries to the beautiful five-star Melia Caribe Tropical Hotel Resort on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic. The $1,650 buy-in tournament sported a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000 which was easily surpassed by the strong turnout. In the end $555,810 in total prize money was awarded to the top 45 finishers in this event, with the largest share going to eventual champion Roberto Carvallo from Chile.
“The final table was tough, I started the day with only a few chips and had the luck to win some flips,” Carvallo said in a video interview on sponsor Americas Cardroom’s YouTube channel.ACR ran online satellites to the event which awarded $4,900 packages to the tournament, including airfare, six-nights accommodations, food and beverage packages, entry into the tournament and much more.
Carvallo, who won a live satellite into the main event, entered the nine-handed final table in sixth chip position with 448,000. The chip leader to start the day was Santiago Soriano with 3,945,000. Soriano was ultimately eliminated in third place when he called an all-in shove from Carvallo. Soriano was ahead with the A4 but failed to hold up against Carvallo’s KJ on a 1052KQ board. Soriano earned $50,025 as the third-place finisher and Carvallo entered heads-up play at a slight chip disadvantage to American Jamin Stokes.
Carvallo and Stokes battled it out for a while, with a number of lead changes. At one point the two drew relatively level in chips, with Carvallo holding a slight advantage and the two agreed to chop the remaining prize pool for $97,590 each. They then went all-in on the next hand to determine who would be the official winner of the title and the trophy. Carvallo was dealt the 103 and found himself up against the 98 of Stokes. The board ran out 63237 and Carvallo made trips to secure the pot and the title.
Carvallo followed in the footsteps of 2016 champion Eduards Kudrjavcevs, 2015 winner Luis Yepez and notable poker pro Ari Engel, who took home the title in 2014.
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Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) |
| 1 | Roberto Carvallo | $97,590 |
| 2 | Jamin Stokes | $97,590 |
| 3 | Santiago Soriano | $50,025 |
| 4 | Benjamin Craig | $39,185 |
| 5 | Julian Kaplan | $29,180 |
| 6 | Lucas Smith | $23,620 |
| 7 | Cristopher Cardinale | $18,900 |
| 8 | Kalman Dohany | $14,730 |
| 9 | James Casement | $11,395 |
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You can check out the winner interview with Carvallo below: