The inaugural event of the Majestic Poker Tour (MPT) was held at the Majestic Casino in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from February 16 to 18, 2006. The action was fast and furious, and this tour is definitely going to heat up with four more events planned for the next three months in Panama, Venezuela, and Peru.

After three days of play, Rory McHugh took home the title, $68,000, the Majestic Poker Tour diamond ring and his seat at the 2006 WSOP main event. The $2,100 rebuy event was attended by 60 contestants based in Latin America and the United States. Although attracting a smaller field than expected, the tournament was brilliantly organized, with big stacks and long levels allowing a lot of play.

McHugh, an Irish poker professional currently residing in Panama City, Panama, was delighted to win the inaugural event and said, “I play no-limit cash games professionally, and its great to get my first significant tournament victory, I’ll definitely be playing the rest of the events, and I’ll be back next year to defend the title.”

When the final table began, Karlos Lopez, who finished 33rd in the WSOP main event in 2005, had a commanding lead with 242,000 chips, over a quarter of the chips in play. The only non-Latin players, Melvin Drake from the United States and Rory McHugh from Ireland, found themselves with low stacks of 50,000 and 52,000 chips, respectively, and under pressure to make some early moves.

McHugh took down a number of pots without having to show down and then got a critical double-through with K-K against Karlos Lopez’s pocket 8s. Although he lost one big pot with A-Q against A-K when 6 handed, McHugh battled back and then had a series of hands with which he took control of the table and never looked back.

When the tournament reached the heads-up stage, the chips were divided equally between Costa Rican high-stakes regular Arturo Morales, who had been cruising on the final table with a steadily increasing stack, and Rory McHugh. McHugh’s super-aggressive play put Morales under constant pressure, as McHugh took down five of the first seven heads-up pots without showdown. The heads-up play lasted a little less than an hour. Having just lost another big pot without showdown after a third reraise all in on the flop and folding top pair faceup (McHugh later admitted he had a set of 8s in this critical hand), Morales reraised all in on an Ac-9h-7h flop. McHugh called immediately to show Ah-2h with top pair and the flush draw. Morales then turned over his bluff with Kc-8d, and following a blank on the turn, the tournament was over.

The celebrations went on late into the night, as they tend to do in Latin America, while many of the contestants excitedly made plans for the next stop on the tour.

Event No. 2 in the Majestic Poker Tour will take place at the Gran Casino Margarita in Venezuela from March 24 to March 26. This event is expected to attract a larger field as the tour gains momentum and word spreads about how well organized it is.