Winner’s Circle -- Alexandre GomesGomes Talks About His Win at the Bellagio Cup V Championship Event |
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The Winner’s Circle takes a look at the biggest wins from the tournament trail by the players who made it happen. This series will look at the big hands, toughest opponents, and paths to victory each player took in their most recent tournament win through their own eyes and words. If you ever wanted to know what it takes to win a major poker tournament, this is a good place to start.
This week features Alexandre Gomes, who defeated a field of 268 players at the World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup V to take home $1,187,670 in prize money and 1,350 Card Player Player of the Year points. Gomes now holds close to $3 million in lifetime winnings and he currently sits in ninth place in the 2009 POY race.
Card Player caught up with Gomes at a post-final table press conference following his victory.
Card Player: You have had a loud crowd behind you all night. How much does that help? Does it give you confidence?
Alexandre Gomes: Yes, for sure. Confidence is the most important thing for poker; when you are really confident, things tend to work out easier. They have always supported me, we talk on the breaks, and I have really good friends. My wife is here with me. She doesn’t talk to me much about poker, but she is always by my side and keeps me calm and confident. Other friends of mine who play with me, we talk about strategy. This is really great for us. Thank God for them.
CP: How much does adding a World Poker Tour title to your World Series of Poker gold bracelet add to the growth of poker in Latin America?
AG: I think it’s going to be a boom to Latin America. In the last two years, we can see how much it has grown with the big tournaments we have hosted down there. I expect to see more of our players coming to Vegas, coming to the WPT events, coming to the biggest tournaments in the world.
CP: How did it feel to come into this final table with a collection of professional players and really play some deep-stack poker?
AG: The Bellagio tournaments on the WPT have the best tournament structure for sure. It’s a very technical tournament; you have to have a lot of patience. When I came into the final table today, I was sixth in chips, but I wasn’t worried about that because I knew I had time. I was calm, confident, and was waiting for the right moment to act.
CP: You were trading the chip lead with Faraz Jaka pretty consistently throughout the late stages of this final table. Did your emotions ever betray you during those swings, or were you able to use the energy that came from your friends in the stands to overcome those big swings?
AG: Actually I was pretty excited after the hands and during the moments that I was all in preflop, but when I’m sitting at the table I try to keep focused on the game, and the reactions of the other players. Faraz was the chip leader for two days of this event, and he really had a big stack at the final table, so I was really focused on him.
CP: The first stretch of play at the final table was slow. Did that play right into your hands coming in with the short stack, or were you a little wary of Erik Seidel during this stretch?
AG: I have a lot of respect for Erik’s game and all the history he has with winnings titles, but when we’re at the table, I’m actually playing with him as I would anyone else. I’m always prepared for anything and play to do my best during any stretch at the final table, no matter who I’m playing.
CP: This win successfully wraps up a very long stretch for you out here in Las Vegas. Are you going to venture back home to Brazil to get some rest before all the major tours start back up?
AG: I’m going back home this week, and I will stay in Brazil for a month to get some good rest. I will then head to Europe to play in the World Series of Poker in London and then some of the EPT events, but until then I need some rest.
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