A $150 Ticket to a $1.1 Million Payday: Franco Spitale’s WSOP Paradise Run

Franco Spitale already owned a WSOP bracelet. What he didn’t have was a seat at the 2025 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event — until a $150 satellite on GGPoker handed him one.

The Argentine is one of his country’s most dangerous tournament players. In December 2025 he turned a small online buy-in into a seven-figure score and a spot in poker history.

The qualifier

Spitale entered at the $150 Step 4 of the WSOP Express ladder, climbed to the $2,500 Super Step, and secured his Super Pass to WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas.

The short-stack miracle

He reached the final day as one of the shortest stacks in the room — around eight big blinds. Instead of busting, he climbed pay jump after pay jump, all the way to the final table of a field of nearly 3,000 entries.

The payoff

Spitale finished 8th for $1,100,000 — a staggering 7,333x return on his $150 investment, and a result that lifted him up Argentina’s all-time tournament earnings list.

Already a champion

This wasn’t Spitale’s first WSOP moment. He is a 2024 WSOP bracelet winner (the $1,500 Millionaire Maker), proof that the Paradise run was no fluke.

Your path to glory

From $150 to $1.1 million. Spitale’s story shows the WSOP Express ladder can take anyone from a small buy-in to the biggest stages. Start your climb from just $0.50.