Dario Sammartino (born 5 April 1987) is an Italian professional poker player from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. In 2019 he was runner-up to

Hossein Ensan Hossein Ensan (born 22 May 1964) is an Iranian-German professional poker player from Greven, Germany. In 2019, he won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker for $10,000,000. Ensan was born in Iran and moved to Germany in 1989 at the age o ...

at the

Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

. Sammartino was taught to play 5-Card Draw poker by his father after his grandfather died. He later discovered Texas Hold'em around the time of the Moneymaker Boom. Around 2005, Dario Sammartino started playing in Italy’s newly opened poker clubs. He also registered on PokerStars under the screen name “Madgenius87”. Prior to the 2019 Main Event he had live tournament earnings of more than $8 million and was second on Italy's all-time money list. His largest cash was a third-place finish at the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop at the

2017 WSOP The 2017 World Series of Poker was the 48th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). It took place from May 30 – July 17 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was a record 74 bracelet events including the third edition of ...

, where he earned $1.6 million. Sammartino had eight WSOP final tables, including two in 2019, and finished 43rd in the 2017 Main Event. Playing under the name "Secret_M0d3", Sammartino has won three Spring Championship of Online Poker events, including a $21,000 No Limit Hold'em high roller in May 2016 for $718,000. He also has 12 cashes on the

European Poker Tour The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker Poker tournament, tournaments created by John Duthie (poker player), John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas ...

, making the final table of the Monte Carlo Grand Final in 2016 where he finished in eighth place. He finished fourth in the €100,000 High Roller at the 2015 Grand Final for $782,465 and third in a $25,000 High Roller at the 2017

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is an annual televised poker tournament. History The event was first held in 2004 and was originally co-sponsored by PokerStars and the World Poker Tour. In 2008, the event moved from the WPT to the European ...

for $542,160. Sammartino made the final table of the Main Event at the 2019 WSOP in sixth chip position and got to heads-up with Ensan. On the 301st hand of the final table, he went all-in on the turn with straight and flush draws holding but lost to the pocket kings of Ensan. Sammartino earned $6 million for his runner-up finish. Away from poker, Sammartino runs a company named Rent, Sell, Cars that loans out

Ferraris Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

. As of 2019, Sammartino's live tournament winnings are more than $14 million. On June 27, 2024, Sammartino won his first WSOP bracelet at the 2,500$ Mixed Event.

References

External links

Card Player profileHendon Mob profilePokerNews profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sammartino, Dario 1987 births Living people Italian poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners