Chislehurst dad has “fresh start” after winning more than £100,000 in poker tournament

Angelo made it all the way to the final table. Picture: Danny Maxwell Photography Â© Danny Maxwell 2014

A father of three was ecstatic after winning a staggering £143,728 at one of the biggest poker tournaments in the UK.

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Angelo Milioto, 43, of Chislehurst, competed in the PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour Nottingham and made it to second place.

“I was obviously delighted. I didn’t expect to go so far in such a big tournament, so it’s great,” said Angelo.

There were 1,223 entrants in total who arrived at the Dusk Till Dawn Poker and Casino in Nottingham to contend.

Despite almost being knocked out in an earlier round, Angelo managed to fight his way back and make it all the way to the final table.

“I played for four days, on the third day when there were 16 people left I lost a really huge hand so I nearly went out of the tournament. For me to come back from that to get second place was almost like a win anyway,” he explained.

“My hands held every time.”

Angelo and Duncan Mclellan, a previous tournament winner, were left vying for the title in the final round.

They did a deal to flatten the large pay jumps, with Duncan taking a guaranteed £168,372 and Milioto £143,728 before playing it out for an even £34,000.

Thanks to a a healthy chip advantage Duncan was not to be denied the title and was victorious, winning a total of £202,372.

Despite not winning the tournament Angelo is still thrilled with his achievement.

“It was still a very good pay day!” he said.

“A lot of the money is going to pay off all my debts.

“It gives me the chance to have a brand new fresh start.”

Angelo, a sales director for a double glazing company, started playing poker in a bar with his friends and has since turned it into a lucrative pursuit.

He qualified for the tournament by using website PokerStars.com.

The generous dad pledged to give his children 10 per cent of his overall winnings, which he hopes they will save for a rainy day in the future.

He has two sons named Louis, 17, and Olly, 13, and a daughter called Lola, 6.

“My little girl doesn’t really understand but the two boys are really, really interested. They were watching on the live stream and they were glued to that,” he said.

“They were delighted. They ended up with four and a half thousand pounds each!”