A Filipino, amateur poker player and veteran PR practitioner, Rommel Orbigo, won a Pokerstars Gold Pass at Pokerstars, one of the world’s largest poker site, after besting the field of more than 640 players from all over the world.
Orbigo won the $10,300 Pokerstars Gold Pass — which entitles him to join the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Paris starting on February 23 with a buy-in of €5,300.
Orbigo also only got the $55 Step 4 satellite ticket through a lucky raffle entry courtesy of the Pokerstars Snowball Challenge.
A Definite First
In an email, the Pokerstars Live Team stated that Orbigo was the first Filipino to play an EPT after using a Gold Pass.
Orbigo, a BS Chemistry and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University, will now head to Paris.
As to his poker credentials, Orbigo has won several small No-Limit and Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments in the Metro Poker Club and Pokerstars Live Manila at its former venue at the City of Dreams Manila. But Orbigo intends to go even further than these small wins.
A Champion’s Next Steps
Orbigo — a consistent Math contest champion in Bulacan during his grade school and high school years — intends to hire a poker coach and a mental coach, among others, to prepare him for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The 2024 winner of the EPT Paris Main Event, for instance, banked more than €1.2 million.
All of these activities, however, entail costs, for which his team are looking to get sponsors and partners. For instance, the Pokerstars package does not include airfare to and from Europe, so Orbigo’s team is busy preparing for the financial challenges and opportunities over the next few weeks.
“Taken altogether, I believe that this is the best way to stay long in the grueling seven-day EPT Main Event and continue waving the Philippine flag in Paris. I hope to make my fellow local poker enthusiasts proud, when I do finally get to join the EPT in Paris or Monte Carlo,” Orbigo said. “I need all the support and good luck I can get, and I hope to make that lucky raffle entry at Pokerstars continue to work wonders.”
