Nick Grippo Wins SCOOP Main Event

The poker climate in the US took Nick Grippo to Costa Rica and contributed to his big win There's no doubt that Black Friday has had its effects on online poker but it also made Nick Grippo, an online poker pro from Chicago, pick up and move to Costa Rica in the name of online poker. It was this move that allowed him to take part in the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) over the weekend. In fact, Grippo took the top spot earning him the title, $798,675 in prize money and a fancy new watch. The $10,300 buy-in NLHE event drew in 517 players including big names such as Dan Cates, Sorel Mizzi, Jon Aguiar, Mickey Petersen, Andre Akkari and Matt Frankland of which none reached the final table. Grippo, a.k.a. 'GripDsNutz', entered around the middle of the pack but didn't remain there. His game kicked in as he played aggressively and took the chip lead early on and continued to perform well. Grippo faced off with a Canadian player a Polish player at the end. The three agreed on an even three-way chop after a few hands of action, dividing the 2.2 million on the table while guaranteeing each $718,675 and setting aside $80,000 for the winner. Grippo was victorious and took the main prize.