Robert Gianquitti Wins WSOP Circuit Pompano Beach Main Event for $248,632

AI-generated image of Robert Gianquitti celebrating his 2026 WSOP Circuit Pompano Beach Main Event victory, displaying a championship ring at the poker table.

By Sandra Gaweda | October 15, 2026 | 4 min read

Robert Gianquitti won the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Main Event at Harrah’s Pompano Beach on October 12, 2026, for $248,632 and his first ring.
The event drew 1,011 entries and beat its $1 million guarantee by $531,665.
Gianquitti began the final day as the shortest of seven stacks and beat Nagui Yassa heads-up.

Robert Gianquitti won the 2026 WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Pompano Beach $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event on Monday, October 12. He walked away with $248,632 and his first WSOP Circuit ring. The South Florida player started the final day with the shortest stack of the seven left and closed it out by beating Nagui Yassa heads-up.

The field of 1,011 entries built a $1,531,665 prize pool, and cleared the $1 million guarantee by $531,665. Yassa took $165,725 for second. For Gianquitti, it’s the largest live score of his career, coming more than 16 years after his first major cash.

How the Shortest Stack Won the Final Day

Seven players returned on Monday, and Gianquitti had the fewest chips, about 15 big blinds according to PokerTube. That means his stack was worth roughly 15 times the big blind, the larger of the two forced bets. At that depth, a player has little room to wait for premium hands.

Ruslan Abusev was the first to go, taking $32,728 for seventh.
Gianquitti then picked up pocket kings against Marc Evanier’s pocket tens and doubled up. John Morris followed in sixth for $43,765 after his ace-king ran into Joseph Duchman’s pocket aces.

Gianquitti then sent Duchman out in fifth. Duchman’s queen-jack faced Gianquitti’s pocket kings, and Gianquitti flopped a set. Duchman earned $59,539.

Matthew Zarcadoolas started the day as chip leader but finished fourth for $82,379 after an ace-queen versus jack-six hand. He still won a ring at this stop, having taken down the $400 Double Stack Opener earlier in the series. Evanier went out in third for $115,891 when ace-king and pocket jacks collided.

Nearly Two Hours of Heads-Up Play Against Nagui Yassa

The heads-up match lasted nearly two hours, and Yassa held the lead for a stretch. In one key pot, pocket tens held against ace-king.

On the final hand, Yassa’s king-queen of diamonds met Gianquitti’s ace-king. The board ran 10-9-6-K-4, giving both players a pair of kings on the turn. Gianquitti’s ace kicker took the pot, and Yassa collected $165,725 for second.

Pompano Beach Main Event Top Nine Payouts

Place	Player	Payout
1	Robert Gianquitti	$248,632
2	Nagui Yassa	$165,725
3	Marc Evanier	$115,891
4	Matthew Zarcadoolas	$82,379
5	Joseph Duchman	$59,539
6	John Morris	$43,765
7	Ruslan Abusev	$32,728
8	Hugh Membrino	$24,907
9	Ricky Landais	$19,295

Who Is Robert Gianquitti?

Gianquitti works as a commercial painting sales rep in South Florida. Before this week, his best live result was seventh place in the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event for $154,185. His lifetime live cashes total more than $901,000.

The title also earned him 960 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points, his first qualifying score on that leaderboard.

Pompano Beach Main Event Turnout in Context

The 1,011 entries made this the largest Pompano Beach Main Event since February 2023, when the field reached 1,015. The February 2026 edition drew 925, and the event a year earlier drew 820. That puts this year’s field 191 entries ahead of the same event in 2025.

Pompano Beach also outdrew the Thunder Valley Main Event, which attracted 599 entries earlier this month. For a longer view, the 2022 Pompano Beach Main Event at Isle of Capri drew 726 entries, and Mike Chiappetta won it for $200,196.

Why This Result Matters for Florida Players

Florida has no state-regulated online poker, and live poker in the state runs at tribal casinos and pari-mutuel cardrooms. Circuit stops like Pompano Beach give local players a way to compete in WSOP events close to home.

The guarantee matters too. A guarantee is the minimum prize pool the organizer promises. This field beat it by more than half a million dollars, so the organizer did not need to add money to reach it.

From Short Stack to WSOP Circuit Champion

Gianquitti’s victory highlights how quickly a tournament can turn around. Starting the final day with just 15 big blinds, he recovered from the shortest stack to claim his first WSOP Circuit ring and the largest live cash of his career.

With 1,011 entries and a prize pool exceeding $1.5 million, the Pompano Beach Main Event also demonstrated strong turnout for live tournament poker in South Florida.

Sandra is a content writer and editor specializing in online poker and iGaming. She covers poker sites, game formats, industry news, and US online poker laws for Legal US Poker Sites.