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British pro “Velazquez76” has written himself into partypoker’s history books by triumphing in the new look partypoker MILLION. Not only did he get his hands on a cool $152,700 for his victory, he also won a $10,300 seat to the upcoming $20 million guaranteed MILLIONS Online.

We caught up with Velazquez76 the day after his impressive victory and picked his brains on all things poker.

partypoker MILLIONS Final Table Results: Velazquez76 Wins

Place Player Prize
1 Velazquez76 $152,700
2 mickeyMous3 $106,650
3 FlipTheShiip $68,440
4 INvrSnLkThsB4 $44,550
5 Anon1m1 $30,580
6 g0dm0de $20,750
7 QuatreVingCent $14,580
8 Poopernoddle $9,360

As you’re aware, the relaunch of the partypoker MILLION did not go to plan and a technical hiccup resulted in its cancellation and partypoker paying out $1.8 million to the affected players. Velazquez76 wasn’t directly affected but was pleased with how we handled the frustrating situation.

“I did play one of the Day 1s but did not make Day 2 so was not affected. It was such a shame for partypoker but it was handled exceptionally; they went above and beyond to make it right. I was very impressed by that.”

It would be understandable if Velazquez76 decided to give this week’s partypoker MILLION a miss but playing in the $1 million guaranteed tournament was never in doubt for him.

“I was always going to play as it’s such a massive tournament on the weekly schedule now. If anything, Iast week’s issues would have made me want to play even more as I know that if anything went wrong partypoker would have made it right.”

Celebrations Wake Up Girlfriend!

Although he played well throughout the partypoker MILLION, Velazquez76 admitted that he ran well, with one hand in particular standing out from the crowd. A hand that resulted in waking up his girlfriend!

“I ran very well throughout, as you would expect. A hand that is memorable is with around 11 players left. I got it all in with ace-queen against ace-king to go fourth in chips. A queen came on the river giving me the double. I celebrated loudly, forgetting my girlfriend was asleep in the room next door and promptly received a ‘can you keep it down’ on Facebook Messenger!”

Players of Velazquez76’s quality are supremely confident in their ability, but closing out tournaments is not an easy task. You’re going to end up coming short more often than not, but there comes a point where you can practically taste success.

“I believed that I could win but didn’t expect to. Even when you make the final table you’re still only going to win around 10% of the time. It wasn’t until we got three-handed that I started to build up any chips. At that point, I thought I had a really good shot. We tried to make a deal four times but, fortunately for me, discussions broke down every time!”

Velaquez76 wins a MILLIONS Online seat

It was a fortunate set of circumstances because Velazquez76 also got his hands on a $10,300 seat to the upcoming $20 million guaranteed MILLIONS Online in addition to more than $150,000 thanks to a promotion run by partypoker LIVE. Anyone who had their partypoker account linked to their partypoker LIVE account was entered into a free last longer for a MILLIONS Online seat.

“My friend was at Grand Prix Barcelona and shared a picture of a flyer with me. He’ll definitely get a piece of my action as a thank you! I can’t wait for the event itself, $20 million is such an enormous guarantee for an online tournament. I remember how exciting it was railing last year’s MILLIONS Online.

Early Finish in MILLION Is A Major Plus Point

We wanted to create a massive tournament that was player-friendly when we relaunched the partypoker MILLION, making it finish at a time that allows for some sleep for those who have work on Monday morning. Even professional poker players like the new format, as Velazquez76 explains.

“I like the starting days concept and that they are freezeout because a lot of play was already done on Day 1 and this meant the tournament didn’t go on super late. It finished around 3:00 a.m. which is far more civilised than a few Sunday tournaments I’ve played on PokerStars that have gone on until 7:00 a.m. and beyond. The guarantee is fantastic, I really hope that the guarantee starts to get hit and that this tournament can become a permanent fixture. It could be the final nail in the coffin for PokerStars.”

So what does a professional poker player do when they get their hands on a six-figure score? Go on a big splurge? Treat the girlfriend they woke up shouting the night before?

“I try to have a decent amount of money liquid at any time across poker sites and in different currencies to play live tournaments. The money I don’t need as part of my bankroll is invested. This score, like most of the rest of my investments, will be put into the stock market, primarily in index funds. Perhaps I’ll buy some more Bitcoin as well.”

Velazquez76 has some advice for you if you’re sat there reading this interview and wish you could turn $22 into $150,000 or more via our satellites.

“The satellites offer great value, there are so many during the week and they frequently overlay. But if you don’t manage to satellite in and can afford it, have a go because it’s the best tournament of the week online to take a shot in.”

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