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Toto Leonidas Dominates Bellagio Five-Diamond World Poker Classic

Scores His Ninth Bellagio Final Table of 2008

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Toto LeonidasMost poker players tend to identify with one casino over another for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it's the proximity to the valet, comp dollars per hour, or even the eye candy passing out drinks. But the most obvious reason for claiming a "home casino" remains the amount of success one achieves within it's walls.

Even though Toto Leonidas resides in Los Angeles, it's safe to say that Bellagio is looking more and more like a second home every day. In the past year alone, Leonidas has torn apart the preliminary events at the posh, Italian-inspired casino, making final tables an astounding eight times and winning three times. Just six events into the current Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, Leonidas has already finished second and first for a combined $245,000 in winnings. Leonidas has taken a total of $595,000 from the Fontana Lounge in 2008 alone.

Other notables to go deep thus far in the series include Vivek "psyduck" Rajkumar, Blair Hinkle, Brandon Cantu, Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi, and Amit "amak316" Makhija.

Below are the final table results for events 1-6:

Dao Bac - Fourth PlaceEvent No. 1 -- $500 No-Limit Hold'em by SpadeClub

Entrants: 232
Prize Pool: $112,520

  1. Craig Rudolph — $18,535
  2. Cruz Tijerina — $25,800
  3. Bill Ferrand — $24,460
  4. Dao Bac (pictured at right) — $13,900
  5. Christopher O'Rourke — $6,190
  6. Norbert Holting — $5,065
  7. Mike Markos — $3,375
  8. Angela Gonzalez — $2,250
  9. Lance Oliver — $1,800


Toto Leonidas - Second PlaceEvent No. 2 -- $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Entrants: 205
Prize Pool: $298,275

  1. Christopher Roat — $99,150
  2. Toto Leonidas — $73,650
  3. Henry Antanesian — $34,095
  4. Norbert Holting — $19,080
  5. Phi Nguyen — $15,005
  6. Tom Berg — $12,275
  7. Daniel Donati — $8,185
  8. Richard Schwartz — $5,455
  9. Larry Kenzy — $4,365


Vivek Rajkumar - Second PlaceEvent No. 3 - $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Entrants: 137
Prize Pool: $265,780

  1. Joseph Phanhyaseng — $85,050
  2. Vivek "psyduck" Rajkumar — $58,470
  3. Jacques Zaicik — $33,225
  4. Scott Demoulin — $18,590
  5. Mark Benigno — $14,620
  6. Edward Lawson — $11,960
  7. Aram "AZ" Zerounian — $7,975
  8. Brian Lamkin — $5,315
  9. David Sacksick — $4,250


Sorel Mizzi - WinnerEvent No. 4 -- $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Entrants: 135
Prize Pool: $392,850

  1. Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi — $143,050
  2. Nicolas Fraioli — $80,815
  3. Chris "Bushman" Bush — $45,920
  4. Justin Young — $25,710
  5. Brandon Cantu — $20,205
  6. Courtney Harrington — $16,530
  7. "Crazy" Marco Johnson — $11,020
  8. Kelly Samson — $7,345
  9. Michael Skomac — $5,880


Blair Hinkle - Second PlaceEvent No. 5 -- $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Entrants: 94
Prize Pool: $455,900

  1. Toto Leonidas — $171,835
  2. Blair "blur5f6" Hinkle — $103,295
  3. Kevin Marcotte — $62,410
  4. Amit "amak316" Makhija — $34,430
  5. Soheil Shamseddin — $27,975
  6. Jacobo Fernandez — $21,520
  7. Russell Rosenblum — $15,065
  8. Andrey Zaichenko — $10,760
  9. Va Shon "Julian Verse" Watkins — $8,610


Hunter Frey - Third PlaceEvent No. 6 -- $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Entrants: 280
Prize Pool: $407,400

  1. Sergey Rybachenko — $130,070
  2. Larry Watson — $86,380
  3. Hunter "HEMIpowerSWT" Frey — $45,830
  4. Mike Bass — $26,735
  5. Richard Tatalovich — $21,005
  6. Richard "RonaldKosh" Fohrenbach — $17,185
  7. Amanda "Mandy B" Baker — $11,455
  8. Fabrice Soulier — $7,640
  9. Allen Cunningham — $6,110