With one more day to go in the Merit Poker Dolce Vita Series, there is still plenty to play for at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. Perhaps appropriately, four Italians have reached the final table of the $2,200 La Notte Degli Assi, with Fausto Tantillo leading the way.
The final day begins at 1 p.m. local time, where the final nine contenders will return to battle for the trophy and the top prize of $355,000.
Tantillo bagged 65 big blinds on Day 4, finishing with a total of 25,875,000 chips for a healthy advantage over start-of-day chip leader Dashinka (17,000,000).
The Italian pro boasts more than $1,000,000 in live tournament earnings, with many of those results coming right here in Northern Cyprus. That includes a win this spring in the 2024 Mediterranean Poker Party $15,000 Super High Roller for $231,800, along with six other final table finishes at Merit since the start of 2023.
However, this run to the Day 5 chip lead would not have happened without some luck along the way. Tantillo caught an ace to crack kings, but even that would not have been good if Denis Stoma didn’t let go of his pocket sevens that would have sent Tantillo to the rail.
He’s joined by fellow Italians Raffaele Castro (16,100,000), WSOP bracelet winner Simone Andrian (13,875,000) and Day 2 leader Ermanno Pacini (10,425,000), who all sit in the top six on the leaderboard.
Day 4 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | 25,875,000 | 65 |
| 2 | Dashinka | Israel | 17,000,000 | 43 |
| 3 | Raffaele Castro | Italy | 16,100,000 | 40 |
| 4 | Simone Andrian | Italy | 13,875,000 | 35 |
| 5 | Fouad Toujani | France | 11,200,000 | 28 |
| 6 | Ermanno Pacini | Italy | 10,425,000 | 26 |
| 7 | Kirill Burtin | Russian Federation | 7,150,000 | 18 |
| 8 | Mohamad El-Sayed | Lebanon | 5,850,000 | 15 |
| 9 | Denis Stoma | Belarus | 5,700,000 | 14 |
Day 4 began with 41 players returning to action, with ten knocked out in the first two hours of play. From there, a steady stream to the payout desk continued as the dramatic action saw Tantillo take control in the final two tables.
While Dashinka held the lead at the feature table after scoring a knockout with aces, Castro brought an end to the night by sending Anthony Khouzami to the rail in 10th place.
That saw all nine lock up at least $34,450, with a $10,550 pay jump looming with the next elimination and the largest pieces of the $2,084,720 prize pool still to be decided.
Others still in contention include Fouad Toujani (11,200,000), Kirill Burtin (7,150,000), Mohamad El-Sayed (5,850, 000) while Stoma (5,700,000) returns as the short stack with 14 big blinds.
$2,200 La Notte Degli Assi Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $355,000 |
| 2 | $240,000 |
| 3 | $160,000 |
| 4 | $115,000 |
| 5 | $90,000 |
| 6 | $72,000 |
| 7 | $57,700 |
| 8 | $45,000 |
| 9 | $34,450 |
Action will resume at 1 p.m. local time with 29:42 remaining on the clock in Level 35, and blinds of 200,000/400,000 along with a 400,000 big blind ante. You can catch the final table on the Merit Poker YouTube channel at 2 p.m. local time.
Catch all of the final day action, as the PokerNews live reporting team provides full coverage as the newest Merit Poker champion will be crowned.
