The $1,650 PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas Main Event concluded Saturday at Resorts World Las Vegas. The final seven players from a field of 1,095 entries returned to compete in a live-streamed final table. After eight hours of play, dealer Sami Bechahed, accompanied by his nine-month pregnant wife, emerged victorious to take home the top prize of $268,945 and the first NAPT Main Event title in 12 years!
"It took a lot of patience. I don't know what to say, I'm really in shock," Bechahed told PokerNews after his victory. "It's surreal for me with this final table with (Sergio) Aido, (Nick) Schulman, (David) Coleman... very good players. I came out on top. It's surreal."
Bechahed began racking up live tournament winnings in July 2018, when the French-born poker dealer moved to the other side of the table. He had already achieved three six-figure results during his five-year career and had $941,234 in tournament winnings before this victory. Two of those wins came from tournaments with buy-ins under $400 in Los Angeles: a second place out of 5,302 entrants and a win out of 3,065 entrants. Additionally, Bechahed earned $274,916 for his victory at the WSOP Circuit Dallas/Oklahoma Main Event last November.
“I came in as chip leader, so I didn’t have to be intimidated by anyone,” he added. "I have a lot of respect for each of them, but I'm here to play poker. I mainly play poker for fun, but I take it very seriously. So I came here to have fun , play my best game, and I was lucky."
