WSOP Finalist Andoni Larrabe Declares: ‘I am Going to Win!’
When the final table for the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event reconvenes next month in Las Vegas at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino, the youngest player at the table will be 22-year-old Andoni Larrabe of Spain.
Don't confuse his young age with a lack of experience though.
According to official tournament records, he's already won more than $340,000 in his career playing live tournament poker.
Among his accomplishments are cashes in three previous WSOP events and winning a big tournament in the Bahamas that earned him just over $218,000.
At the final table, Larrabe will have almost 23 million dollars worth of chips, giving him the fourth-biggest stack at the table.
Can he parlay that into a WSOP Main Event title?
If history repeats, he can.
The last Spaniard to make a WSOP Main Event final table was Carlos (The Matador) Mortensen, in 2001.
And he went on to win the championship.
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Gambling 911 last week caught up with Andoni Larrabe, who now lives in London, England (where he can play more poker), and asked him, among other things, how he's preparing for the resumption of the tournament, who he fears most among his final-table foes and whether he wagers on bullfighting.
Here is a transcript of that interview:
Gambling 911: What has been the reaction from friends, relatives, co-workers and others to your making the final table of the 2014 WSOP? Have you heard from people you don't know or haven't heard from in a long time?
Andoni Larrabe: I've heard from a lot of people, yes. Especially when I went to play in the European Poker Tour's Barcelona stop. A lot of them I didn't know before, obviously. Everybody seems pretty excited about having a Spanish player in to the November Nine.
G9: Did you meet any celebrities or top pros at the recent WSOP, and if so, who?
AL: Greg Merson and Ryan Reiss.
G9: Have you gotten any sponsorship or endorsement deals since you made the November Nine, and if so, with who?
AL: Not yet.
G9: How are you preparing for the resumption of the tournament? Are you studying the tendencies and nuances of your November Nine opponents, or are you just doing your best to improve your own game and not worry about the opposition?
AL: I am playing some tournaments and studying some live tell stuff.
G9: Which November Nine opponent or opponents do you see as your main competition for the title?
AL: Mark Newhouse.
G9: Do you think you're going to win the WSOP Main Event title? Assess your chances.
AL: Yes. I think if I run decently, there is a high chance that I will win it.
G9: What other forms of gambling do you enjoy? Do you like to bet on sports?
AL: I don't like any other forms of gambling. Poker is more than enough.
G9: What are some of your other hobbies or pastimes you enjoy in addition to poker?
AL: I enjoy meditation, reading and partying.
G9: Please give us some basic biographical infomation about yourself, such as occupation, where born and went to school, family, etc.
AL: I work in Internet marketing. Poker is also an income source. I was born in Vitoria, Spain, and grew up in Arrasate, Spain. I went to the San Viator school for most of my lifetime. I have lived with my family for most of my life in Arrasate.
G9: Tell us something about you that you would like your fans to know that you've never been asked about?
AL: I was going to say that I am going to win the title. But I guess they already know that. Hahaha!
(This is the latest in a series of Gambling911.com interviews with the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event final table members--the so-called "November Nine." Interviews with other "November Nine" members will run periodically until the WSOP Main Event resumes. Previous "November Nine" Gambling911.com interviews can be accessed via the THOMAS SOMACH link on the left side of the Gambling911.com home page.)
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
