When he left his home in Hollywood, FL, Santino Marko promised his Grandma one thing: he’d bring home the trophy. The Manhattan, NY native won the Main Event of the Palm Beach Poker Classic on Sunday at PBKC. Santino beat a field of 312, which included poker players from all over the country. He’s not only bringing Grandma the hardware, he’s also coming home with over 71k for the win. At only 30, this is his biggest tournament win. The self proclaimed “poker gypsy” is the father of 4, and credits his wife with giving him the opportunity to play in tournaments. Congratulations, Santino!

Rounding out the final table were Yuriy Kozinskiy in second with $43974, Igor Pinheiro in third with $31938, fourth went to Matthew Lambrecht at $23591, Aaron Klausman was fifth with $17710, sixth place went to Michael Serio at $13507, Michael Tait ended up seventh with $10462, eighth was Kevin Blewitt at $8226, and rounding out the final table was the chip leader going into the final day, Kevin Painter with winnings of $6564. The total prize pool was $302640 and the top 33 got paid.

Congratulations to all of our winners! Also, thank you to all of the players that traveled from far and wide to make this such a great tournament!

With the great success of the Spring Palm Beach Poker Classic, we’re already planning our next big tournament. Mark your calendars for the Palm Beach Summer Classic June 2- June 13th, 2021. The heat is on!

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jimmy Sommerfeld and the group from Poker Executives. Jimmy and the crew brought in a great tournament and many new faces to PBKC. Thanks, Jimmy! See you in June!

Story by: Mike Jameson