When almost $150,000 is up for grabs, people sure do seem to pay attention. In this case, it was at the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Vina del Mar event that took place in Chile recently. A huge assortment of players who have built up their skills at online casinos came in from some 27 countries to get in on the hit and fierce poker action.

An Argentine man named Fabia Ortiz ended up walking away from the competition as the big winner. In doing so, he became the very first Latin American champion in the history of the LAPT. He is originally from a rural province in Argentina called Chaco. While the action at online casinos can be intense and thrilling, sometimes nothing can compare to the magic of a real live international poker event to really get the blood pumping.

With a buy-in of $2,700 for the main event at Vina del Mar and a special second-chance tournament that came with a steep $1,100 entry fee, this was one of the top casino events of the year so far. The total amount up for grabs in this competition was a cool $141,426. It turns out that this was the first tournament the LAPT had decided to schedule since things ended rather negatively in Mexico in the later part of 2008 when the casino event received a visit from some federal agents. About 50 Chileans entered into the ruckus this time and, although they made a strong showing, it was Ortiz of Argentina who was able to get the best of everybody. All that practice while playing on online casinos must have paid off.