Mike Takayama Wins Philippines First Ever WSOP Bracelet, Poker Market To Receive A Boost

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Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018 | Written by Lucy Brown

It has been a while in the coming, but the Philippines has finally made an indelible mark at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) after Mike Takayama captured the country’s first ever gold bracelet.

It was the 28 year-old pro’s inaugural visit to the world’s most prestigious poker tournament series in Las Vegas, with Takayama booking a 32nd place cash at $1,000 NLHE Double Stack for $17,814, before eventually claiming victory at Event #59: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty for $198,568.

As a result, Takayama now further consolidates his number three position on Philippines ‘All Time Money List’ with $852,907 in winnings, behind Noli Francisco ($1,350,550), and John Tech ($1,087,604), and as he later explained:

“I had two specific hands were I got the suckout. I got a hefty stack after that, and I just kept on building it up. I’m very happy because winning the bracelet is everyone’s dream. I’m the first Filipino to win a bracelet, so I’m really, really, really happy about that.”

$1k NLHE Super Turbo Bounty

The $1k NLHE Super Turbo Bounty event drew 2,065 players to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, or 198 more than entered the tournament last year, resulting in a prize pool of $1,858,500. Amongst the recognizable pros seeing a return on their investment was Taylor Wilson in 122nd ($1,471), Greg Raymer in 120th ($1,471), Jordan Polk in 71st ($2,497), Jaspal Brar in 48th ($3,490), Jake Bazeley in 33rd ($5,103), Pablo Mariz in 32nd ($5,103), and Michael Moore in 24th ($6,275).

After the final table of had been set, Takayama then proceeded to eliminate seven of his eight remaining opponents, bringing him a total of 16 bounty eliminations along the way, worth $300 a piece.

Takayama’s last victim was Italy’s Lorenc Puka, who following a fast and furious heads-up battle called Takayama’s (K-J) all-in preflop shove holding A-4. The 5-4-K-10-J board that ensued subsequently made two pair for Takayama to hand him the famous victory.

Final Table Results

1: Mike Takayama $198,568
2: Lorenc Puka $122,627
3: Matthew Smith $88,938
4: Steve Jelinek $65,145
5: Spencer Baker $48,196
6: Kavish Shabbir $36,019
7: Elizabeth Montizanti $27,193
8: Jack Duong $20,743
9: Oliver Rusing $15,988

Takayama’s Impressive Rise

Mike Takayama used to be a competitive billiards player before turning his attention to poker in 2010, with the player explaining:

“I was a great billiards player, but I didn’t get any money out of billiards, so I shifted to poker.”

In 2014, he won the Macau Poker Cup Six Max event for $15,096, before a few weeks later taking down the APT Manila Main Event for $79,041. In April 2017, Takayama then overcame a field of 442 players at the $1,100 APT Philippines Main Event to claim a top prize of $105,530, representing his biggest score to date at that time.

This year, however, Takayama has enjoyed his most successful year ever, having cashed in at 22 events for $404,369, and winning three of them, in the process increasing his total live earnings to $852,907.

A Win for Poker In The Philippines

The Philippines‘ poker scene has grown at a steady rate over the past few years, with known brands such as PokerStars and Poker King Club holding events in the country’s capital of Manila each year. Amongst the tours which now make a regular stop off in Manila are the APPT, APT, World Poker Tour National Philippines, and PokerStars Live Manila.

Mike Takayama is well known around the poker circuit in the Philippines, too, and can regularly be seen playing at many of the top events in Manila. His WSOP bracelet win in Sin City, however, will elevate his reputation to a whole new level, and is now sure to inspire a new generations of young Filipinos to take up the game.

Philippine Casino Industry

Gambling in the Philippines is a valuable source of income for the government, and last year the industry generated an impressive $2.92 billion in revenue, up by 13.8% versus the previous year, according to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), a government-owned entity that regulates casinos in the country, as well as acting as the industry regulator.

This year, PAGCOR has forecast the market to grow to $3.57 billion, helped along by the corporations privatization program that should see 17 of its casinos sold off in 2018. The government has now decided that PAGCOR should focus its attention more on regulation rather than its gaming activities, thus allowing the private sector to elevate the industry to new heights. As Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III announced last August:

“It’s not going to happen overnight and the deals are quite complex so we have to piece it out and see what is the best deal for the government.”