Romanian programmer and entrepreneur wins PokerFest tournament grand prize

Romanian entrepreneur Gabriel Chiva, the owner of a local IT services company, has won the grand prize at the PokerFest tournament in Bucharest. Chiva, a programmer, managed to defeat Bulgarian Slaven Pop, landing the first prize of EUR 40,000. Second place brought a EUR 27,800 prize, while the total value of the prizes awarded in the competition was of EUR 163,000. The event, which had an entry sum of EUR 800, was hosted by the PokerFest Club Bucharest and took place at the Pullman hotel in the Romanian capital. There were 237 players who attended the competition, including famous poker players such as Robert Cezărescu, the only Romanian sponsored by Full Tilt Poker and former double champion at PokerFest Romania, Ionel Anton, who had won the highest prize in Romanian poker, and double champion Dan Murariu. Gabriel Chiva is the owner of Optima group, which he founded in 2005. Prior to setting up his own firm, he worked with Microsoft for six years. He is a graduate of the Polytechnic University, according to his LikedIn profile. editor@romania-insider.com