WSOP Finalist Bruno Politano Guarantees Victory
It's a hot time in Brazil right now.
The sultry South American nation recently hosted the World Cup, soccer's premier event.
It will also host the next Summer Olympics, the world's biggest sporting event.
And now Brazil finds itself in the middle of the world's biggest poker event, the World Series of Poker.
Native son Bruno Politano, 31, is the first Brazilian in history to make the final table of the WSOP Main Event, the so-called "November Nine."
When WSOP Main Event play--suspended in July--resumes in November, Politano will have the shortest chip stack at the table and the longest odds.
With just over 12 million chips, he has less than a third as many as the table chip-leader, who has just over 38 million chips.
But that's hasn't gotten the bouncy Brazilian down--he's convinced he's going to win it all!
And why not, he's done plenty of winning already.
According to official tournament records, he's won just over $100,000 in his career playing live tournament poker.
He's also won just over $300,000 playing tournament poker online.
So with almost half a million dollars already earned from the game of poker, this boy from Brazil has all the optimism in the world that he's going to become the world's first WSOP champ from Brazil.
Gambling 911 last week caught up with Politano and asked him how's he's being received in his homeland, who he's hobnobbing with now and how he's preparing to compete for the title.
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? And have you heard from people you don't know or haven't heard from in a long time?
Bruno Politano: The reaction has been wonderful. Everybody is excited about my results in the tournament. A lot of people are talking to me. In Brazil everybody is very excited, too much excited, about November 9th. It's amazing.
G9: Did you meet any celebrities or top pros at the recent WSOP, and if so, who?
BP: Yeah, I met Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Selbst.
G9: Have you gotten any sponsorship or endorsement deals since you made the November Nine, and if so, with who?
BP: Yes! Now I'm an 888.com team pro.
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?
BP: I'm studying my opponents and I hired a coach. It is Ariel Bahia, one of the best poker players in Brazil and my friend.
G9: Which November Nine opponent or opponents do you see as your main competition for the title?
BP: Martin Jacobson.
G9: Do you think you're going to win the WSOP Main Event title? Assess your chances.
BP: Yeah, I believe that. I really believe. It's my time and my chance of winning is 100 per cent. I believe!
G9: What other forms of gambling do you enjoy? Do you like to bet on sports?
BP: I don't like any other forms of gambling. Do you believe me? ! I just play poker. Only poker and nothing more. I love to play poker and I have been playing for more than 10 years.
G9: What are some of your other hobbies or pastimes you enjoy in addition to poker?
BP: I love playing soccer and going to movies and restaurants with my girlfriend. I love Jack Johnson also.
G9: Please give us some basic biographical infomation, such as occupation, where born and went to school, family, etc.
BP: I was born in 1982 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I went to university and business school. I'm single and have no children. I have a job in a store that sells women's apparel like purses, belts, wallets and shoes. And I'm a professional poker player too. I have the best family the world. My father and my mother are incredible people.
G9: Tell us something about you that you would like your fans to know that you've never been asked about?
BP: Really? Let me think. I'm a very happy guy. I'm very enthusiastic. And I'm very grateful for everything I have in life. Thank-you.
(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
