Despite numerous World Poker Tour live events postponed in 2020, Soheb Porbandarwala hit the road for some poker to close out the year. After two days playing at Borgata in Atlantic City, he wheeled into Mahwah, New Jersey, for a stay at the Doubletree Hilton. The hotel doesn’t have a casino but has been home to some of the biggest scores in Porbandarwala’s poker career.
On Dec. 29 he added another – and the trip to the Hilton was to play a final table. The 30-year-old from Norwalk, Connecticut, went on to take down the WPT Online Poker Open at the partypoker US Network. Porbandarwala becomes the first player ever to win a WPT Main Tour Event online in the U.S. His laptop-on-the-go routine paid off and he topped a field of 395 entries for $239,820, also adding his name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
The scene may not have been the same as winning at a live casino, but there was some celebrating nonetheless. A few buddies railed him in the hotel room and hugs were in order after the win.
“I haven’t done much hugging this year, so that felt nice,” Porbandarwala says. “I called my mom, my wife, and a couple of friends. Then we sat and watched the stream until the end to make sure it was real.”