Matt Giannetti wins Lucky Hearts Poker Open

With a star-studded final table the World Poker Tour (WPT) Lucky Hearts Poker Open did not disappoint, as 2011 World Series of Poker November Niner Matt Giannetti did the honors, picking up the top prize of $323,804. Along with Giannetti, the final table included poker pros Darryll Fish and Matt Salsberg, as well as Lily Kiletto; Kiletto was looking to make history by becoming the first female winner on the WPT.

Giannetti came into the final table as the chip-leader, and used those chips to sail to three-handed play, where he found himself in a virtual three-way tie along with Kiletto and Fish at one point. After the elimination of Fish, Kiletto, a former dealer who was participating in just her fourth WPT tournament would see her shot at history end in second-place, as Giannetti closed out the tournament. This is Giannetti’s second WPT victory, and in a strange bit of irony Giannetti found himself heads-up for the title and just like his 2011 WPT Malta victory he took on a woman for the WPT title.

Here is a look at the final table seating assignments and chip counts:

• Seat 1: Matt Giannetti – 3,005,000
• Seat 2: Lily Kiletto – 860,000
• Seat 3: Darryll Fish – 2,660,000
• Seat 4: Matt Salsberg – 980,000
• Seat 5: Hayden Fortini – 1,620,000
• Seat 6: Danny Shiff – 1,930,000

With his victory, Giannetti now joins a very short, very exclusive, list of players with at least two WPT titles: Carlos Mortensen (three titles), Gus Hansen (three titles), Michael Mizrachi, Daniel Negreanu, and Antonio Esfandiari.

Kiletto joins an equally short-list of female players who have finished as the runner-up in a WPT tournament: JJ Liu, Gigi Gagne, and Kathy Liebert.

On another note, Matt Salsberg was appearing at his second straight WPT final table (coming off a 6^th place finish at the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open) but he would once again finish in 6^th place; his dreams of his own second WPT title dashed.

Here is a look at the final table payouts from the event:

• 1^st place: Matt Giannetti – $323,804 (includes $25,500 seat in WPT World Championship)
• 2^nd place: Lily Kiletto – $191,880
• 3^rd place: Darryll Fish – $125,921
• 4^th place: Danny Shiff – $86,946
• 5^th place: Hayden Fortini – $64,160
• 6^th place: Matt Salsberg – $50,968

The next stop for the World Poker Tour will be in Baden, Austria before moving on to the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles for the WPT LA Poker Classic, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the tour. The WPT Baden will take place from February 19-24, while the WPT LA Poker Classic is scheduled for February 23-28.