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“It's different, really, a different emotion,” said Federal after the victory. “About 10 years ago, even more, I decided that I was going to play poker, to be a professional. During the years 2006 to 2008 I was quite profitable, then I started to fall for the venture side, there was no time. I almost never play seriously; I play for fun. In this tournament it was the same, I entered to play, go all in, but when I got a little big, I started to take it seriously (laughs). It's really cool, because the fields are completely different, the quality and level of the players is much higher than in my time, so I'm really happy, it's a nice feeling.”
In his beginnings in the sport of the mind, which happened along with several of the main names in Brazilian poker, Federal was one of the highlights at the tables. However, the São Paulo native opted for another path, that of an entrepreneur in the game of skill, where he was even more successful. Today, 15 years after that key moment, he explained that he has no regrets about abandoning a possible career as a professional player.
“At some point it comes [in my mind] of me, in some year, 2027 or 28 of my life, spending the year playing the tournaments, something I never managed to do,” explained Trafane. “I was never able to go to Europe for the European season, go to Vegas to take a long straight, I never did that again after 2008. It's been 15 years since I've done that, that's what I'm thinking of doing. But I knew I had made the right decision, which was my path, and life later showed that it was the right path. I don't have that regret, but someday I'll run around the circuit playing.”
Of course, there could be no lack of pride for the BSOP. One of the creators and partners of the largest poker circuit in Latin America, Federal was instrumental in expanding the circuit. If the beginning had improvised tables and chips, few players and a lot of judgment from society, today the level of professionalism, organization and public acceptance is impressive. The players themselves extol the structure of Brazilian poker and the different treatment they receive in relation to other live series around the world.
“I've been proud of this part for some time,” said Federal about the event. “The BSOP was big, well-organized, we're going to play the tournaments in Las Vegas and see how well prepared our dealers are, our registration and registration team. How much better the player is treated here in Brazil than abroad, the level of service, attention, affection, the physical structure,” highlights Federal.
“It's not because we're better than anyone else, but because there are other games there, so poker is a secondary, tertiary, quaternary thing, it's not on their priority list. And here in Brazil, for us, that's everything, right? So we treat the poker player well, the dealers are specialized, the inscriptions, the physical and human structure. It was something I started way back, but today BSOP is the result of so many people working, I am one of the least important today. People have a mania for self-importance, but creation is already much greater than the creature. If I ever die, they'll clap their hands, have a nice ceremony, and the BSOP is there, much bigger than me, it came to be eternal. It makes me so happy to see all of that.”
