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PokerStars Passport winner Dustin Mele is back from another trip to Europe. Not only has he suffered the ugly side of variance, he's done so with a smile. As he also is responsible for waking me up from an airport nap just in time for me to get on the plane out of Monte Carlo, he is owed double thanks for his report from San Remo and the PokerStars EPT Grand Final. --BW

by Dustin Mele

My EPT San Remo and EPT Monte Carlo experience was great. I had a great time the whole way through, unfortunately I had bad luck during the tournaments.

It started on Monday, March 31st, the first day we arrived in San Remo, Italy. It was an amazing city. The city, the houses, the Royal Hotel, and the casino were all beautiful. On the first night, PokerStars hosted a welcome party at a very nice club aside the Mediterranean Sea. There were circus performers, food, and open bar all night. It was a lot of fun.The next day was Tuesday, April 1st, Day 1A of the tournament and my start day. It was a quite a coincidence to see that poker pro and Team PokerStars Pro player Tom McEvoy was sitting at my table. We met at JFK airport on the way there and then he let me ride from the airport in Nice, France to the Hotel with him in his van he had waiting for him. He is a very good poker player and a very nice guy.

On day 1, I had very good start to the tournament. I won almost every pot that I played and was almost to 20,000 from the 10,000 starting stack before the second blind level. When the blinds went up, the table got even faster and the play started loosening up. It seemed as some of the players felt like they had to make something happen and the blinds had only gone up to 50-100. I adjusted my play and was picking my spots.I picked up pocket queens to a raise from a player that was playing every hand and seemed to love to fire at the pot. I just called, because he raised four times the blinds and I knew with a good flop I could outplay him and make some chips. Next, the big blind re-raised pretty large. The original raiser folded. I know the BB problably figures the first raiser as weak because he raised every hand and me as weak because I just called. So, I decided he is problably making a move. I called him.

The flop came T-8-2 rainbow, a great flop for my hand. I had the other player out-chipped and I knew if I checked he would bet. I checked, he bet, and I raised all-in. At this point he had about 8,000 left and he called. He flips over 9d7d for the open-ended straight draw. The turn came as the Kd. If I could dodge one more card, I would have about 40,000 chips very early in the tournament. If not, I would be crippled. The river came a jack giving him the straight. I was down to about 3,000 in chips. I managed to get up to 25,000 from the 3,000, then took a hit at the end of Day 1, leaving me with 17,800 at the end of the day.

On my day off my girlfriend Tracy and I were asked to do a video blog with our good friend Kara Scott. Tracy and I both love Kara Scott. She is a great person and a ton of fun to be around. So we said definitely. We went out into San Remo and saw the beautiful city and sat down for a cappucino. We also were hanging out with Jamie. He is a cameraman that works for PokerStars. He is also very nice and fun to be around. Once we finished the video, we headed out to eat and then headed to the hotel room early so I would be ready for Day 2.

On Day 2, I started off at a table with all large stacks. I didn't mind, but it didn't help that I was completely card dead. I stole some blinds and stayed even for a while. The blinds kept going up and I still was card dead. I am not the type of player to just wait for aces or kings, but my hands were just unplayable. Not even suited connectors. All the players at my table were calling with a wide range of hands as well, so I had to be careful and find the right time to double up. I picked up pocket jacks to a raise and went all-in, getting called by A7. My jacks held up and my patience payed off. I was surprised to get called by A7. He wasn't even pot committed and I was playing tight for a while. I could see that power poker was the only way to play against these players. I was only playing hands that I was willing to go all-in with. I got 88 on the button when the blinds were very large. I had the small blind outchipped and the big blind was very tight. He had about 6,000 more than me.

With so many chips already in the pot, and the fact that three times the big blind was 35% of my chips, all-in was the only move. I pushed all-In and the small blind auto-called me. He flipped over KJ offsuit. I was amazed he was willing to risk his entire stack by calling all of his chips with such a weak hand and right before the money, as well. He ended up hitting a straight leaving me with 300 chips. After putting my ante in, I was pot committed to go in with any two cards the next hand and was eliminated about 120th out of the 701 that started.

After San Remo we decided to stay in Europe. EPT Monte Carlo was only six days after EPT San Remo, plus Europe is great. While in San Remo we bacame good friends with Team PokerStars Pro Ray Rahme and his wife Teresa. They told us they were going on a voyage to see some beautiful places in Italy and invited us to join them. We gratefully accepted the invitation. We went to Santa Margherita, Italy, for a couple of days. Then we went to Nice, France and also Cannes, France where the film festival is held. They are all beautiful places and we had a great time thanks to Ray and Teresa. They are such a fun couple and they are nice to everyone they talk to. Ray and Teresa will be lifelong friends to both of us.

On April 10th, we arrived in Monte Carlo at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Casino. It was amazing. While checking in we were told we would be staying in a suite. When we walked into the room we saw there were stairs. It was huge. Everything about the room and the Bay hotel was great. It is by far the nicest place I've ever stayed.

On April 11th, PokerStars threw another welcome party. It was a lot of fun. During my few trips to the EPT in Europe I have met a lot great people that have now become good friends to me. A lot of them are the PokerStars staff. PokerStars has the greatest group of people working for them. Just to name a few there is Noelia, Hilda, Lina, Kara, Brad, Louise, Lee, Bob, Mad, Jeanne, Stephen, and Trisha. They are all a lot of fun the whole way through even when they have a ton of stuff that they are responsible for, and they are all down to earth and genuinely great people. They make every trip more enjoyable.

My start day for the tournament was April 13th, Day 1b. I arrived to the casino a little bit early and went to check out the players lounge. There was a Nintendo Wii, a Playstation 3, heads up Battleship, a fooseball table, and EPT Live on the last two days of play.There was also free food and drinks for the players. It was hosted by two lovely ladies, Pip and Beatrice. They did an amazing job. I was autamatically drawn to the fooseball table. I always loved fooseball as a kid. During my first game, World Series of Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker walked over and introduced himself and asked if he could play the winner. We said sure and after I won I was ready to take on the world champ. Or so I thought. Apparently he played a lot in college and he whooped me in the end.

Then to the tables it was. After the intro to the tournament, they introduced a bunch of Team PokerStars Pros and then sent them to the tables. One pro came right to my table and sat to my right. It was Chris Moneymaker again. "Long time no see," I said to Chris. He laughed then said "hello again" and then play began. Chris is a great player, but he had an off day and was running bad. He was eliminated very early in Day 1. I wasn't running too much better. I was up and down all day. I was running into some plays you would expect to see in a $20 buy-in. A player was calling large bets pre-flop, then on the flop,with no hand no draw, then he would hit a runner runner straight.

With about 8,500 chips and about 20 minutes left untill the end of Day 1, I picked up pocket kings in the big blind. The player in the cutoff raised three times the BB. Everyone else folded to me. He had about 24,000 in chips, so I had about a third of his chip stack. I couldn't afford to let him draw out on the flop, so I raised all-in. He thought and then called me with AJ offsuit. It was for a third of his stack and he was not pot committed at all. But I didn't mind the bad call, because he only had three outs in the deck or I would double up. The first card on the flop was an ace. No king came and I was eliminated from the tournament. I was very disappointed.

I am only getting more determined with every bad beat I take. I am also getting more experience, which is very valuable as a poker player. I know that if I can avoid getting unlucky I can take down my first title.

by Dustin Mele

EPT Copenhagen was great. The tournament was very well structured and the hotel and casino were very nice as well.

The first day I arrived, I was exhausted from a friend's birthday party the night before and there was no room for sleep because the PokerStars welcome party and the Scandanavian Poker Awards were being held that same night. Fortunately I was starting on Day 1B of the tournament, so I would have a full day to recover from all the partying. The party and awards were held together at a very nice club located in Copenhagen and the awards were hosted by Daniel Negraneu. It was all around a great time.

Dustin Mele in Copenhagen

The tournament was very fun. I played solid the whole time, eventually getting my chip stack over 50,000 from the 10,000 starting stack. I took a bad beat on Day 2 when everyone folded to the button while I was in the big blind. The player was a very loose player and I knew he would most likely raise in that position with any two cards. He raised 4 times the big blind, the small blind folded, and I looked down at pocket jacks. I had about 10,000 chips more than the button and I was very sure--in my mind--I had the better hand. So, I put him all-in. He auto-called me with pocket nines. Unfortunately, he turned a set of nines to beat my pocket jacks.

If the hand held, I would have had almost 100,000 chips close to the money. I managed to be patient and start a comeback when we were down to 55 players from the 250 or so that started. They were paying out the Top 40, so I had to make it through 15 more players to cash. But I wasn't trying to just cash. I was trying to win the tournament or at least final table. So, when I looked down at pocket nines, I had to go all-in. With the blinds and ante's getting so large, I was in great possition with pocket nines in the cut-off when every one else folded. The small blind called with AK. My hand held the whole way...until an ace hit on the river.

I finished 53rd. I am not too upset because I am on my to Italy on March 30th to play in EPT San Remo on April 1st and EPT Monte Carlo on April 12th. I am very dedicated and determined to get my first poker title under my belt.

Dustin Mele won the 2007 PokerStars Passport Tournament Leder Board competition. He is traveling around the world on PokerStars' dime playing in big buy-in tournaments and recounting his experiences for the rest of us. His next stop is the EPT event in San Remo, Italy next month.

Just a few weeks backk, Dustin Mele won the PokerStars Passport. He has already started his trips around the world. His first journey took hm to Dortmund, Germany for the European Poker Tour event there. This is his account of his first trip.

By Dustin Mele

EPT Dortmund was a great experience. I had a great time and made some new friends. Right from one of our connecting flights from Munich to Dortmund my girlfriend and I met fellow poker stars players who had also won satellites to the event on poker stars, and were also staying at the Hilton hotel near the casino. We arrived in Dortmund on Monday, January 28th and took a cab to the Hilton hotel. The Hilton was very nice and the people who worked there were very helpful.

The first night there PokerStars was hosting a party for all the players at the Bay Club, Nightrooms. It was a very nice club in downtown Dortmund. When we arrived there was complimentary food and open bar all night. There was also entertainment including podium dancers and snake performers. We had so much fun, we missed the shuttle back to the hotel.

The following day was Day 1 of the tournament. We were ready to deal the first hand at 3:30. From the beginning I could tell that my table was pretty loose. I played pretty tight in the beginning, picking my spots and getting a feel for each player at the table. When the blinds started getting bigger, I kicked it into gear and started chipping away as much as possible building my stack to about 19,000 from the 10,000 starting stack. As players were getting eliminated, tables were being broken down and new players were coming to the table. One player was playing about 9 out of 10 pots and put several bad beats on the table. He was calling all-ins with bottom pair and hitting two outers to eliminate players from the tournament.

So, I decided to tighten up a bit with about an hour of play left on Day 1. I was being patient and sitting with the 19,000 chip stack for a while, because it was a four-day tournament and I was card dead for a while during the last few hours on Day 1 until, with about 20 minutes of play left, I picked up pockets kings.

The table was still playing loose, so I raised four and half times the big blind. The only player that called was the same player that was calling all-ins with bottom pair and was accumulating a big stack by getting lucky. So, I knew I had to play this hand strong against him. The flop came 8h6s2d--nothing to worry my pocket kings with a rainbow flop like that. He checked to me and I bet more than what was in the pot so I wouldn't give him pot odds to call with a weak hand.

He called and the turn came 6d. He checked to me instantly. Watching him play for a few hours I knew it was very possible he could have any garbage hand with a 6 in it, so I decided to play it safe and just check. The river came Ah. He bet 3,500. At this point the pot sat some where around 22,000 and my stack sat around 8,000. So, a few things I have to think about. One is that I am getting ridiculously good pot odds to call, but also, why would he bet so little with so much in the pot. He must want me to call.

He has just turned over so much garbage that he could have easily been beat by my kings-up with and there was just far too much in the pot to fold for 3,500. So I call him and he flips over 6h3s. Figured he had it, but couldn't bring myself to fold getting almost 7 to 1 odds. I was thinking risk over reward. I either go into Day 2 with over 30,000--above average--or I have to comeback from the short stack regardless. Unfortunately my stack only sat at 4,300 at the end of Day 1.

Going into Day 2, blinds were 400, 800, with a 100 ante. So, I only had about five times the BB. The button started giving me one free hand until my big blind. I knew that if I picked up any pocket pair or any decent hand, I would have to go all-in and try to double up and get back into the tournament. The very first hand I picked up was pocket twos, the worst pocket pair possible. But I knew I had to do it. I am not the type to just dwindle away so I go in firing. I go all-in and one player calls me. He unfortunately had an over pair. He flipped over pocket sevens and turned a set. I was eliminated.

When all was said and done I still had a great time. Unfortunately I did not get my first EPT title yet, but just two weeks after getting home I am getting right back on a plane and going to play in EPT Copenhagen. I am very determined to get my first EPT title under my belt.

Here's Mele's first interview from his Passport travels

At the end of the 2007, when PokerStars introduced the PokerStars Passport and opened it up to the top 100 players on the TLB, you just had to know big things were in store for 2008. Now, those big things are happening.

PokerStars has just made several updates to the TLB that make it more than a contest of pride and will. Now, every month, there's big money at stake. What's more, at the end of every year, there are prizes worth fighting for.

According to the updated Tournament Leader Board pages on PokerStars' website, the top 200 leaders of each monthly TLB contest will split up $30,000 in cash with $5,000 of that money going to the monthly winner. Then, then top 1000 players each month will have a shot at a $20,000 prize pool in the monthly TLB freeroll.

That's all pretty cool in itself. However, when you look at the yearly TLB contest, the prizes are something everybody will be looking to score. First off, the top 100 players on TLB out of the year will get a $100,000 freeroll. What's more, the top three TLB leaders will walk away with PokerStars Passports of their own. The first place player will get five trips and buy-ins to major events. Second place gets a three-trip passport. Third place will receive a two-trip passport.

Because the TLB is such a pretigious place to be, PokerStars has also created the Tournament Leader Board Hall of Fame. There, you will be able to find the players who have scored the highest points tallies on the Weekly, Monthly and Yearly TLBs. You will also find a breakdown of the PokerStars players who have won the Weekly TLB the most times since Jan ’05.

With Janaury still kicking and eleven months to go, there is still a lot of work to be done. However, by this time next year, we'll have a whole new group of PokerStars Passport holders to follow around.

Will one of them be you?

Last weekend, we learned who will spend the next year traveling the world on PokerStars' dime as the holder of the one-of-a-kind PokerStars Passport. Dustin Mele has earned himself buy-ins and travel to ten high stakes poker tournaments all over the world. Now, as he gets ready to set off on his first adventure, it's time to introduce you Dustin Mele. Mele will be providing us with accounts of his travels over the next year. In the meantime, here's a brief introduction.

By Dustin Mele

I am 23 years old, and it has been a very long poker journey to get to this point. I will start where my poker journey started.

It was 2005 when I first discovered PokerStars. Honestly, PokerStars is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I started playing regularly, increasing my skill level and bankroll slowly but surely. Soon, I discovered satellites. It was amazing to be able to play in a $10,000 buy-in for as little as you want. Before I knew it, I had won three satellites and I was about to play in the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic, WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, and the World Series Main Event, all $12,000 packages.

I had very high hopes for myself and WPT Foxwoods was my first stop. On the end of day one at Foxwoods, I had more than 100,000 in chips and was in the top ten chip stacks. I continued to play my best, cruised through Day 2, and entered Day 3 with about 200,000 chips. I realized that I could do this and was playing with the best. I took out Chris Biggler, winner of the Professional Poker Tour, and was beating players that I had watched play on TV. It was a surreal feeling. On Day 3, I got up to about 250,000 chips when it finally happened--my aces got cracked for about a 400,000 pot. It crippled me. This was with about 45 players left in the WPT event. It was crushing. I still managed to make it into the money and finished in 38th place, cashing for $12,650. Not bad at all, but obviously not what I was aiming for.

My next stop was WPT Mirage. This was a trip in which I had fun. It was my first trip to Vegas. The tournament, however, I would rather forget about all together. I took a bad beat to eliminate me on Day 1.

Next was the 2006 WSOP Main Event, a trip I will never forget for the rest of my life. I played safe on Days 1 and 2. When my table was changed, I sat down with a table full of known pros, such as Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Mark Vos. This is when one of the craziest things ever took place.

We were not far from the money at all. There were about 1,000 players left, so I was being as safe as possible. I was limiting my play to only great hands and was not stealing blinds or making moves until we reached the money. The dealers changed, and before I knew it I picked up kings once and queens twice. It seemed that there was an ace or sometimes two on every flop, and players were betting, raising and flipping over pockets aces. It seemed like aces were everywhere. Finally, I had the aces, a player raised under the gun, and I pushed all-in.

The player that raised was the only caller and the dealer said, "Turn your hands up." I turned over the ace of clubs and ace of spades. The other player turned over ace of spades and queen of hearts. What in the world?

We both had the ace of spades in our hands.

We were at the end of the blind period and we had been using this deck for a long time. I had lost one pot to Chris Ferguson worth more than 100,000 using this deck and guess what? He had aces full to my jacks full using a flawed deck. Now, the five aces in the deck were discovered when I finally picked up pocket aces and I was forced to split the pot with the other player in the hand. I was screwed out of all the chips I had lost using this bogus deck.

Crippled with the blinds going up, I went out right before the money. I complained to the tournament director to no avail. That about sums up that horrible experience.

Because of my two unsuccessful trips to Las Vegas, and because of how long I was there for the 2006 World Series, my bankroll had dwindled down much further then I liked. I had to start all over, getting a job as a cook and continuing to play on PokerStars. I started playing much smaller buy-ins than I was used to. So, I continued grinding it out because I knew I did not fit working as a cook in an environment where I was paid poorly and treated poorly. I was very determined, to say the least.

I continued to grind when I realized that you can be rewarded handsomely on PokerStars for being in the top 100 of the Tournament Leader Board, or TLB. At this point my bankroll was back to a comfortable size from playing on PokerStars. So, I quit my job as a cook and went to working full time on PokerStars. There was nothing that could stop me from being in the top 100 of the TLB.

I played with more commitment and determination than I ever have in my life. I knew playing poker is what I want to do and what I love to do. There are not too many good things in my life other than poker and playing on PokerStars, so this is what makes me happy. I set my sights on the TLB and managed to get in the top 100 and stay there. This was not an easy task by any means. There are many dedicated and skilled players on PokerStars, so I had to play a ton of MTTs and SNG, and do very well in them, which takes a lot of hours.

So, finally I was in the top 100 for November and December and had two great freerolls to play in. The first was for four packages to the PCA. I earned this freeroll for being in November's Top 100 TLB leaders in November. I had no luck in that one.

The next freeroll was for the PokerStars Passport and $25,000 in cash. This was one of the hardest tournament fields I have ever faced. At the end of the tournament I had all of the chips and, honestly, words cannot express how I feel or what this means to me. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life, by far. This next year is going to be amazing. I am going to be living the life that I have been striving for and dreaming about for years. I can't wait to travel the world and play in the greatest tournaments at the greatest destinations in the entire world.

I really cannot express how kind and generous PokerStars is to its players. Poker Stars provides the best site with the most freerolls and the best services from a support staff anywhere. This just proves that anyone can do it. If you want something bad enough and work hard for it, you can accomplish anything.

The tournament was straight forward enough; 100 runners, regular blinds, 3,000 starting chips and a 15 minute clock. But the field and prize were something altogether less ordinary. An exclusive list of the top 100 players on the PokerStars tournament leader board had been assembled, competing for a prize that was the ultimate one for any player itching not just to play live tournament poker but in some of the biggest tournaments on the planet.

The PokerStars Passport, the first of its kind, was won today by Dustin Mele, once known online as DoobMan420, and right now the man from New York should be leafing happily through brochures of Europe, the Pacific and of course Las Vegas. Ten big buy-in tournaments are his for choosing, in a multitude of destinations to satisfy anyone’s taste, a truly awesome prospect for anyone.

The question was no doubt on everyone’s minds prior to the start - which tournaments would you choose? The only obligation facing the winner would be a trip to the EPT Dortmund in just over two weeks and to the PCA next January to mark the end of an incredible year.

So would it be the Riviera? To the first EPT in San Remo before a short hop over the Italian border to the Monte Carlo Grand Final? Perhaps you’d take a more easterly route, with stops on the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour in Sydney, Seoul or Manilla? And of course, what poker player could miss a trip to Vegas in the spring for a shot at the World Series main event?

All that would be answered soon enough.

Starting chip counts:

Seat 1 -- Icallseat3 – 25,158
Seat 2 -- Cajundaddy1 – 29,876
Seat 3 -- Stammdogg – 43,225
Seat 4 -- VOLCANO360 – 45,237
Seat 5 -- Pokerfun4321 – 47,660
Seat 6 -- Aryamehr – 21,033
Seat 7 - Inheritance – 17,160
Seat 8 -- DoobMan420 – 26,649
Seat 9 -- prosimon – 41,603

After two and a half hours of play, seeing off 91 players, the it didn’t take long for the final table to spark into life.

Minutes in it was inheritance calling the raise of pokerfun4321 from teh small blind which also Mele called. Inheritance then led the betting on the flop, moving all-in on the turn, but seemed unable to shake off the others who went on without him as inheritance waited for his fate to be decided. His final table experience would be a short one. Mele would show a full house, sixes over tens after a perfect flop for him of T-6-T. Pokerfun4321 had taken a hit, mucking his hand, but inheritance suffered most, settling for ninth place.

At the short end of the stack counts now was Aryamehr. A minute after inheritance’s demise it looked like Aryamehr’s would join him on the rail when his remaining 15k went into the middle. But his fortune shone brightly. He pushed all-in pre-flop and found Stammdogg moving in behind him. 9d-Kc-4c-Qd -3s on the board; A-K for Aryamehr, bettering Stammdogg’s A-Q to keep him alive.

Not good for Stammdogg though. Or pokerfun4321 for that matter, both of whom felt the force of an erupting VOLCANO360 within minutes. They went to the rail in eighth and seventh position respectively in a hand that seemed to make VOLCANO360 the shoe-in for a passport to a year on the road.

With Stammdogg all-in for just over 13k, he was called by VOLCANO360 before pokerfun4321 moved all-in himself, a chip or two shy of 40k. Undeterred VOLCANO360 called, a move that would boost his stack to nearly 100k when he showed his pocket Kings. Jacks for Stammdogg and just tens for pokerfun4321. Two out in one hand and all of a sudden just six remained.

Three minutes later it was down to five.

With blinds still at 1,000/2,000 with a 200 ante, icallseat3, who had been quiet up to now, raised to 5,250 before cajundaddy1 re-raised all-in, a total of 23,875. That chased everyone else away except for icallseat3. When the board delivered Jc-6c-2c-7c-4d, icallseat3 showed the ace of clubs for the flush, too good for cajundaddy1’s pair of jacks.

The front two were beginning to pull away...

Volcano360 – 103,638
icallseat3 – 84,691
prosimon – 49,993
Mele – 37,612
Aryamehr – 17,866

Six minutes later Aryamehr found a hand to move in with. His last 13,600 rested on K-8. The only problem came from prosimon calling with aces, and Aryamehr's hopes of a year of high-stakes tournament poker faded away in fifth place.

VOLCANO 360 had lead the way for much of the afternoon but one of those seismic hands was about to take place, shifting the tournament onto an entirely different course.

icallseat3 – 82,991
VOLCANO360 – 104,538
DoobMan420 – 52,512
prosimon – 59,959

Icallseat3 raised pre-flop to 6,500 which VOLCANO360 called, as did prosimon, seeing a flop of Jh-Kh-7s. When prosimon checked icallseat3 made it 18,500 to play which VOLCANO360 called. It was just the two of them now and the turn card Th brought flush possibilities into play – as well as hands even more lethal. On tiptoes now icallseat3 checked, no doubt happy to see VOLCANO360 bet 60k – putting icallseat3 all in if he called. And, like a memory re-lived in slow motion, icallseat3 did just that, showing A-Q of hearts for the royal flush. Never had a river card been so unnecessary.

174,582 suddenly moved to a different end of the table, and the once dominant VOLCANO360 would now become the unsurprising fourth place finisher. From the heady heights of the chip lead to the rail in just minutes, and we thought royal flush’s only ever appeared in Hollywood movies. VOLCANO360 lasted just two minutes more, out to a more humane hand, A-4 against the A-J of Mele.

icallseat3 – 166,000
prosimon – 51,000
Mele – 77,000

Three-handed both prosimon and Mele were playing in the large shadow cast by chip leader icallseat3. And it was the shorter stack of prosimon who would succumb first.

A pre-flop Mele raise called by prosimon. A check from Mele on the 6-8-K diamond flop and this time prosimon moved all-in, with Mele calling. 3s and 9h completed the board, going well with the T-9 of diamonds in Mele’s hand. Just kings for prosimon and a trip to the rail in third.
Incredibly, after just half an hour the PokerStars Passport final was heads-up, and icallseaty3 had the advantage – 174,382 to 119,018

Whilst icallseat3 had found himself on the up-side of a massive pot earlier with the royal flush, hands often tend to even out in the long run. Icallseat3 might have wondered if this wasn’t a little too quick for things to balance out when he saw the chip lead surge away from him. A story of two kings on the board to match the one in Mele’s hand. Icallseat3 called the flop, turn and river but was always behind. A hand to take Mele to over 184k and a clear run to the finish.

Icallseat3 hung on as best he could but couldn’t compete with a newly aggressive Mele able to use the big stick well, forcing his opponents into making the decisions.

The reality was that both players would walk away with a prize to be envied – a package to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo worth in excess of €10,000 would be in the hands of the runner-up; not bad for a freeroll. But this was all about the passport - too big a prize to give up on.

The fact that Mele now has that to his name came from an impressive performance that will bode well for when he gets his hands on the baize. He kept out of harm’s way at the right times to outlast a field laden with tournament masters. With no let up the last hand would be decided by a narrow margin – A-K for Mele, A-J for icallseat3. Not much between the two on a blank board, but it’s Mele about to embark on his own personal poker tour.

For icallseat3, well he’ll be on his way to the EPT Grand Final. But all eyes will now look to Mele who takes the best wishes of the other finalists with him on what should be one incredibly ride. It starts in Dortmund later this month. The rest is up to him.

PokerStars Passport - final result:

1st – Dustin Mele – PokerStars Passport
2nd – icallseat3 – EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final package
3rd – prosimon – $10,000
4th – VOLCANO360 – $5,000
5th – Aryamehr – $3,000
6th – cajundaddy1 -- $2,500
7th – pokerfun4321 – $2,000
8th – Stammdogg – $1,500
9th – inheritance – $1,000