Gianetti and Oboodi latest WPT Champions

This past week not one but two World poker Tour tournaments were taking place. The Main part of the WPT tour was in Atlantic City for the prestigious WPT Borgata Poker Open, while the island nation of Malta was busy hosting their first WPT event.

At the Borgata Poker Open a new attendance record was set as 1,312 players registered over the two starting days of the tournament, including 142 players who took advantage of the re-entry format and played on both Day 1a and Day 1b.

In the end it was poker pro, and New Jersey native, Bobby Oboodi who would take home the title and nearly $1 million in prize-money after triumphing over the largest WPT field in the tour’s 10-year history. Here is a look at the final table payouts from the 2011 WPT Borgata Poker Open:

1.       Bobby Oboodi - $922,441

2.       Jin Hwang - $554,303

3.       Daniel Buzgon - $335,433

4.       Fred Goldberg - $280,925

5.       Darren Elias - $230,610

6.       Ricky Hale - $186,585

Over in Malta the field was far smaller, with only 240 total entrants, but there was perhaps even more in the way of big name Poker Pros, thanks to all of the major tournaments taking place in Europe before and after the inaugural WPT Malta.

Among the entrants were Tony G (who suffered a horrific beat after a very deep run in the tournament), Phil Hellmuth, November Niner Matt Gianetti, new Malta residents Ike Haxton and Justin Bonomo, as well as the usual suspects in terms of European Poker Pros.

Malta’s champion ended up being one of these well-known players, as 2011 WSOP November Niner Matt Giannetti took homed the top honors, winning $273,000 as he prepares for the WSOP Main Event final table in November -where upwards of $9 million in prize-money will be on the line.

Here is a look at how the final table fared at the 2011 WPT Malta Main Event:

1.       Matt Giannetti — $273,200

2.       Cecilia Pescaglini — $159,412

3.       Filippo Bianchini — $104,936

4.       Simon Trumper — $72,985

5.       Tristan Clemencon — $54,381

6.       Fabien Sartoris — $41,977

7.       Christofer Williamson — $31,486

8.       Mats Karlson — $22,894

The WPT’s next stop will be in Connecticut for the WPT World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, although many of the top tournament pros might stay in  Europe to take part in the upcoming EPT London tournament series as well as the World Series of Poker Europe that will be held for the first time in Cannes, France.