Poker Players Flock to World Poker Tour Stop in Romania

Mihai Manole is Romanian poker’s all-time leading money winner.

It’s been more than twenty years now since the people of Romania threw off the yoke of communist oppression by toppling the brutal dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. Many changes have come to the country since then including membership in the European Union, education reform, a revitalized economy – and now its first World Poker Tour event.

WPT Bucharest kicked off yesterday and drew a healthy field of 161 players. There were some well-known foreign players in the mix including Carlos Mortensen and Sorel Mizzi, but much of the field was composed of local players. If you think that means the field is soft, it’s time for you to brush up on your knowledge of Romanian poker players.

Mihai Manole is the current all-time money leader among Romanian-born poker players. He has four career tournament victories, one EPT final table, six WSOP cashes, and a total of $1,026,953 in career winnings since late 2006.

Teodor Caraba is the newest name on the tournament scene, but his second place finish for $730,464 at the recent EPT Deauville is the single biggest cash to date by a Romanian-born poker player. Ciprian Hrisca pulled off a similar feat when he finished in second at the EPT Budapest main event for $428,758.

Ovi Balaj has a string of tournament cashes dating back to 2004 but had his big breakthrough with a final table appearance at last year’s EPT San Remo. Claudiu Secara has also enjoyed EPT success, making one final table at EPT Deuaville and finishing 12th at EPT Prague.

Antoanell “Toni” Judet has two career victories and three EPT cashes to his credit, though his biggest finish to date was a 22nd-place performance in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Judet’s countryman Cristian Dragomir busted a little further back in the same Main Event, finishing in 28th place.

There’s one other name worth mentioning here: Romanian poker players claim one of the world’s most successful and beloved poker pros, Daniel Negreanu, as one of their own. He actually hails from Canada and lives in the United States, but Negreanu’s family left their home nation of Romania for the friendlier political environment of the West in 1967. And if you’re wondering – yes, he still speaks fluent Romanian.