Robert Gianquitti is the new WSOP Circuit Pompano Beach Main Event champion. The South Florida local won the $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event at Harrah's Pompano Beach on October 12, 2026, collecting $248,632 and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring. The tournament drew 1,011 entries and beat its $1 million guarantee by more than $531,000, according to Card Player's report. It is the largest live score of Gianquitti's career and a textbook example of how a short stack can win a big field.
We previewed this series in our WSOP Circuit Pompano Beach guide, which flagged the $1 million guarantee and the $5,000 WSOP Paradise packages on offer. Now we know how the Main Event played out.
The field and the prize pool
A $1 million guarantee on a $1,700 buy-in implies a target field of roughly 600 to 700 entries once fees are accounted for. The event nearly doubled that, with 1,011 entries. Card Player says the prize pool exceeded the guarantee by more than $531,000, and that the top 104 finishers were paid. That is about ten percent of the field, a fairly standard payout ratio for a large live event.
If you do the arithmetic, 1,011 entries at $1,700 is about $1.72 million in gross buy-ins. Subtracting the reported overage puts the prize pool at roughly $1.53 million. That implies around 11 percent of buy-ins went to fees and staff, though that figure is our own inference from the reported numbers rather than a number the casino published. First place at $248,632 works out to about 16 percent of the prize pool.
Who is Robert Gianquitti?
Gianquitti works as a commercial painting sales representative and is based in South Florida. This is a big step up for a player whose previous best was seventh place in the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open main event for $154,185. His first in-the-money finish in a major event came more than 16 years ago, and his lifetime cashes now exceed $901,000.
That history is encouraging for any recreational or semi-professional player. Gianquitti is not a touring pro with a sponsor patch. He is a regional player who has been showing up for events like this for years, and who finally got the run that matters. Card Player's report includes no direct quotes from him.
How the final day played out
Seven players returned for the final day, and Gianquitti started it as the short stack. That alone makes his win notable. The sequence of hands Card Player describes reads like a lesson in short-stack tournament poker:
- He doubled up early with pocket kings.
- Joseph Duchman went out in fifth when his queen-jack ran into Gianquitti's kings, which flopped top set.
- Matthew Zarcadoolas, who began the day as chip leader, was eliminated in fourth when his ace-queen lost to Gianquitti's jack-six, which won the hand.
- Marc Evanier busted in third when his ace-king lost to Gianquitti's pocket jacks.
Then came heads-up against Nagui Yassa, who would finish second for $165,725. Gianquitti fell behind briefly, then won a flip with pocket tens against ace-king to retake the lead. On the final hand, Yassa's king-queen of diamonds lost to Gianquitti's ace-king. The board ran out 10♠ 9♣ 6♥ K♣ 4♥, and the title was his.
Full final table payouts
| Place | Player | Payout | POY points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Gianquitti | $248,632 | 960 |
| 2 | Nagui Yassa | $165,725 | 800 |
| 3 | Marc Evanier | $115,891 | 640 |
| 4 | Matthew Zarcadoolas | $82,379 | 480 |
| 5 | Joseph Duchman | $59,539 | 400 |
| 6 | John Morris | $43,765 | 320 |
| 7 | Ruslan Abusev | $32,728 | 240 |
| 8 | Hugh Membrino | $24,907 | 160 |
| 9 | Ricky Landais | $19,295 | 80 |
Notice the pay jumps. From ninth to first is a 13-fold increase, and each step up from fifth to first adds tens of thousands. That is why a short stack with fold equity and good timing can gamble up the ladder without much to lose at the start of the day.
The Player of the Year angle
Gianquitti's win also earned him 960 Card Player Player of the Year points, which Card Player notes was his first qualifying score in the CoinPoker-sponsored race. He will not catch the leaders with that alone, but as we covered in our Card Player POY race update, the top three sit within 140 points of each other, so a single WSOP Circuit Main Event is worth a meaningful portion of that gap. Circuit stops are an often overlooked source of points for players chasing the season title.
Three lessons from the final day
Short stacks win more than people expect. In a field of 1,011, the winner started the final day with the fewest chips of the seven remaining players. Tournament poker is structured so that a chip lead is useful but not decisive. A short stack with several well-timed all-ins can leapfrog the field, especially when the blinds and antes are large relative to stacks. If you are short at a final table, pot odds and fold equity matter more than hand purity.
Pocket pairs are the engine of the all-in. Gianquitti's key hands involved kings, jacks and tens. When you are shoving or calling for stacks, pairs have strong equity against most holdings and are ideal in these spots. His jack-six in the fourth-place elimination is a reminder that equity is not the same as winning: the hand that is behind wins often enough to make this game thrilling. For a refresher on how these matchups work, our poker odds guide and equity explainer break down common confrontations.
Pay jumps drive decisions. The gap between each final table position creates real ICM pressure. Players who understand when to avoid marginal confrontations, and when to apply pressure on those who do, gain a significant edge. Chip-leader Zarcadoolas lost with ace-queen to a jack-six that was drawing thin, which is exactly the kind of result that happens when stacks get shoved at the end.
What it means for players
Pompano Beach's Main Event is a useful benchmark for mid-stakes live tournaments. A $1,700 buy-in, a $1 million guarantee and a multi-flight structure produced a field that would be the envy of most regional series. For anyone who plays WSOP Circuit events or similar festivals, the takeaways are practical: enter early flights if you can, because multi-flight events increase your chance of a good table draw, and understand the structure before you commit.
If you are planning a trip to a big live event, a WSOP schedule overview and our tournaments hub are good places to find upcoming stops. And remember that the Pompano Beach ring winner also earned a path toward WSOP Paradise, which runs in the Bahamas in December.
Looking ahead
Gianquitti's win is the type of story that gives the game its appeal. Years of near-misses, a short stack on the final day and a stack of pairs in the right spots produced the biggest score of a long career. For the rest of us, it is a reminder to stay patient, learn the pay structure, and be ready when the cards cooperate. The next Circuit stops will provide more chances for regional players to do the same.