"ElkY" Takes Down WPT Festa al Lago Title!

Last night at the Bellagio in Las Vegas Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier took down the $15,400 buy-in World Poker Tour Festa al Lago event besting a field of 368 players to take home the first prize of over $1.41 million and join Roland De Wolfe and Gavin Griffin as the third player to hold both a World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour Title.

2008 has been very successful for ElkY after claiming the $2 million first prize in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure EPT Event, he has gone on to add six further cashes including two WSOP cashes and a second place in the Festa al Lago $2,500 No-Limit Holdem preliminary event just days before his main event triumph.

Entering the final table as chip leader Grospellier single-handedly eliminated all five of the final table participants, but relinquished the chip lead three-handed before eventually regaining it heading into heads up play with a 15 to 1 chip lead over Nam Le.

Fresh off his victory in the APPT Macau High Rollers Event for close to $US500,000 Le, a veteran on the WPT circuit, would find two early double ups putting the pressure on Grospellier. However Le would be unable to find a third when he limp shoved with over Grospellier’s with the eventual board running out .

After five hours of play Grospellier would be crowned champion and consequently surpass David Benyamine as the leader of the French all-time tournament money list with over $4.1 million in lifetime tournament cashes.

Grospellier is now headed to the inaugural EPT Budapest before making his way to our shores as part of Team PokerStars for the APPT Grand Final in Sydney from December 2^nd to the 7^th.