The Montecasino complex in Johannesburg played host to the first South African Poker Open last week. The tournament was well attended by veteran players and poker fans that qualified for the event playing at international online poker sites. Among the latter was Ryan S, an American poker fan who won an all expenses paid trip to Africa after gaining entry to the event through an online qualifier.

The tournament included 105 of the best poker players in Africa competing for the two million rands prize pool. The top ten shared the prize pool, which translated to approximately 280 607.47 US dollars. In the last rounds, an eight hour battle between All African runner-up Jaime Vilela and maverick Danny K decided the winner. Vilela won the title after a nail-biting finish which was televised across the country.

The All Africa Poker Champs was widely seen as a successful first tournament for South Africa. And although Ryan S was eliminated in the final table before the heads up, there was no denying that the American had had the trip of a lifetime.

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