Sylvestre, who splits his time between his real estate investment business and major poker tournaments around the world, pocketed $491,360 for the victory.
“I'm really most happy about the bracelet because that's going to last forever,” Sylvestre told PokerListings.com. “The money you can't really say for sure what's going to happen to it.”
Sylvestre defeated poker pro Seth Berger to win this summer's first $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em re-entry event.
And although Sylvestre values the bracelet most, he was quick to put his financial windfall into perspective.
“Obviously winning half a million is a life-changer. It will let me do some investing and also feel more comfortable about playing more events,” he said.
Sylvestre has been traveling to major events for the last three years, playing three or four events on the European Poker Tour and visiting Las Vegas for the WSOP for a week or two each year.
This victory was far and away his biggest score yet, blowing his two other WSOP cashes from 2010 out of the water.
Sylvestre's Score Just the Latest for French-Canadian Poker Players
Over the last few years French-Canadian poker players have been making a serious mark on the live poker tournament circuit.
“Poker is definitely growing in Montreal with so many French-Canadians winning lots around the world,” said Sylvestre.
“It all started when Duhamel won the Main Event.”
Jon Duhamel was the first Canadian world champion of poker and to say his victory had an impact on poker in Quebec would be an understatement.
Since Duhamel's $8.9 million in 2010 a long line of Québécois players have gone out into the world and returned with big cash prizes and major titles.
Pascal LeFrancois took down a WSOP bracelet in 2010 and Philippe Boucher from Quebec City grabbed one at the WSOP Europe in 2011.
More recently LeFrancois scored again with a runner-up at the World Poker Tour event in Montreal at the new Playground Poker Club.
And Marc Ladouceur has been crushing live poker for the last few years, racking up over $1.2 million in earnings.
“Seeing guys like Jonathan Duhamel, Pascal LeFrancois and Marc Ladouceur doing big things in poker is definitely an inspiration,” explained Sylvestre.
“All the guys in the poker scene in Montreal are a very close crew and everyone's happy whenever someone from Quebec gets a big score.”
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