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Major Events of the CNPTL 2009-12-22

An LTPQ player master of the first Royal Series at the Montreal Casino 2009-12-09

 CONGRATULATIONS to Chadi Taoutel!

Marc Gaudet, Chadi Taoutel, Patrick Malo and Dominic Fugère

By choosing December 7th as the date for their first Royale Series tournament with an entry fee of $1,090, the management of the Montreal Casino knew that the group would consist of professional as well as high stakes players. What they didn’t know however was that the most important tournament in the history of the Montreal Casino’s poker room would be won by Chadi Taoutel, a player in the Quebec Poker Tournament League, who won his seat after playing in a series of free tournaments!

Indeed, Taoutel, a career dental surgeon, went through a group of 85 registered players to finally overcome, shortly after 2am, Daniel Pelletier, a terryfying tournament professional who was also chip leader of the 2006 World Series of Poker’s Main Event for many days.

"I really had fun, said Taoutel who’s been playing Texas Hold’Em for a little more than a year. Since I don’t know the players, who’s a professional and who’s an experienced player, it helped me to get an idea about each one on my own at the table, without prejudice."

Dressed to kill, hidden behind his sunglasses, Taoutel tore through the final table pot after pot. Levon Dedeyan ($2 065), Steven Saab ($2 475), Mike Lafable ($2 890), Domenico Logiudice ($3 715), Stéphane Faucher ($4 535), Mathieu Valade ($5 775), Stephen Toulch ($7 835) et Réjean Lacroix ($9 485) all preceeded Pelletier in Taoutel’s grinder. The finlaist pocketed $15 670 for his second place while Taoutel won more than $30 000 in prizes including $28 035 in cash, a free entry into the $2,500 buy-in next Royale Series tournament which will be held on February 12th and 13th 2010, a cup as well as a champion’s bracelet created exclusively for the Montreal Casino by Birks Jewellers.

Despite his important success, Taoutel doesn’t believe he’ll increase the frequency at which he plays poker.

"I only play poker for the social aspect of the game. I’m not a gambler, in fact, I’m anti-gambling says Taoutel. I started to play during a rainy holiday in the Dominican Republic and I started to like it along with the friends who were there with us. When we came back, we were looking for ways to keep playing and the LTPQ came by just in time. I wouldn’t even see myself make a trip just to play poker. I have a passion for my profession of dental surgeon. I even came very close not to play the tournament. I didn’t want to cancel my day clinic but in the end, it was worth it. I escaped for a day but the next day during my first surgery, I was back on earth, happy to be in my clinic! "

Honorable mention to Marc Chrétien, Gilbert Lahaie and Pierre Martel who finished on the last two tables. We note that Mr. Gilbert Lahaie had qualified a few weeks earlier by finishing in the top winners of the Stage III and IV Championship at the Montreal Congress Centre. He won an entry into the Canadian Stage Championship held in May 2010 for his first victory, Championship which will have $100,000 in guaranteed prizes, and an entry into a $1,000 tournament at the Montreal Casino for his second victory. Mr. Lahaie is the only player who accomplished this feat amongst more than 1,300 players.

Marc Gaudet, André Boyer, Chadi Taoutel, Pierre Martel and Patrick Malo

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