Man returns to poker following 9 year absence and wins $200K after his ex said it wasn't an 'acceptable' job
Joseph Altomonte is living proof that you should avoid letting a partner exert any control over your hobbies or interests.
His ex-partner banned him from playing poker because she thought it was beneath him.
"My ex said being a poker player wasn't an acceptable occupation, so I quit for a very long time," he explained to Poker News.
"It's a dream come true, you don't even understand."
Advert
As a result, the professional player stopped playing cards for nine years.
But when his relationship fell apart, the US tournament player decided to try his hand at a game of Omaha Deepstack once again.
Joseph Altomonte strikes gold in the $600 PLO Deepstack to earn his first gold bracelet!
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 7, 2023
The event attracted a massive field of 3,200 entrants making it the largest PLO field in live poker history. pic.twitter.com/NegIIPqQ7j
And, in an ironic twist, he's now laughing all the way to the bank.
If that isn't the feel-good comeback of the year, then we don't know what is.
Despite having zero live poker results from 2014 until this year, Altomonte is crushing it.
He copped an USD$87,000 (AUD$129,576, £69,289) pot in March, a USD$104,000 (AUD$154,915, £82,828) score in April, and, most recently, more than USD$217,000 (AUD$323,284, £172,825) in prize money and a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet.
He claimed the prized winner's bracelet at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Out of a total entries of 3,200 players, he wrestled the win from Michael Holmes in a rather brief showdown to claim the biggest slice of the USD$1,632,000 (AUD$2,431,337, £1,299,757) prize pool.
The face-off lasted for 20 minutes, seizing the win a hand of two pair of Kings, a six of diamonds and a two diamonds.
His opponent Holmes gambled on a getting a flush, revealing a hand containing a two pair of Jacks, the Queen of Spades, and a four of diamonds.
He took home a grand total of USD$217,102 (AUD$323,436, £172,904).
Holmes was denied his victory and wound up taking home the runner up cut of the prize, equating to USD$134,171 (AUD$199,886, £106,856).
Congratulations to Joseph Altomonte of Clifton, NJ who was the winner via heads-up chop in our DCPS Event #16 $800 PLO Bounty $60,000 guarantee on 6.02.23
— Venetian Poker Room (@VenetianPoker) June 3, 2023
Joseph takes home the DeepStack Championship silver coin and $26,500 pic.twitter.com/GOYZ2JwvMW
Not bad for a consolation.
So much for poker being an 'unacceptable' occupation because this is the biggest 'I told you so' in history.
As well as returning to the competition circuit in the flesh, Altomonte has been winning it big online.
So far he has cashed in on four World Series of Poker online events, and in one game scored a first-place finish in the USD$3,200 (AUD$4,767, £2,548) High Roller competition, taking home an impressive USD$87,676 (AUD$130,628, £69,833).
Rachel Lang