The playing field is now down to six tables, roped off in a corner of the tournament room and surrounded by side events, press and a team of tournament staff who escort players to the pay-out desk one by one. Their number is decreasing slowly, with three of the nine tables now empty.
It looked for a second as though the next to go would be Team Online’s Luca Moschitta, who was all in from the small blind with queen-ten of hearts against Eric Nhouyvanisvong with jacks and Micah Raskin with aces.
But the piercing scream he performed when he tripled-up on the river , like a man standing on nails, put an end to that idea, and the thought of anyone in the building who felt their bones shake. Moschitta was delighted. Nhouyvanisvong and Raskin were deaf.
Moschitta is one of several Italians left in the field but among four that the Italian press believe are their best hope of a home grown champion. His record is clear, with IPT results aplenty and an online record to envy.
Luca Moschitta
Michele Di Lauro, from Cessna, is also tipped for big things. An established Omaha player, Di Lauro was runner-up in the WSOP Europe €5,000 pot limit Omaha in 2011 and is a frequent finalist on the Italian Poker Tour.
Carmelo Vasta is described as an “old school” player by his countryman, having been a five card draw player before turning to hold’em, with nearly $400,000 in career tournament earnings in the past six years, only and handful of his 35 live cash finishes worth more than $20,000. Vasta is certainly of the old school grinder mould that could yet make history this week.
Then there’s Marco Fantini, the polar opposite of Vasta, a 25-year-old internet player with all the hallmarks of his generation. He looks like a poker player and will do so even more if he’s successful this week. Live results have come for him on Italy’s smaller tournament stage. Now, on Italy’s biggest, it’s his opportunity to step up.
Keep an eye on the live tournament reporting from EPT Sanremo for all the news from the tournament floor.
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