Italian WSOP Finalist Announces Shock Early Retirement From Poker

Filippo Candio is Italy’s second most successful poker player ever having notched up $3,487,325 from live tournaments since 2007. However, the 29 year-old shocked the poker community recently after announcing his surprise retirement from the game via his Facebook page.
Filippo Candio is best remembered for reaching the 2010 WSOP Main Event final table, eventually finishing in 3rd place for a staggering $3,092,545 payday. However, two years ago in his native Italy a news outlet claimed Candio had committed tax evasion, before eventually being forced to retract the story a while later. Nevertheless, Filippo Candio was greatly upset by the accusations at the time and bizarrely two years later on March 7, 2014, Sardinia’s leading daily newspaper L’Unione Sarda decided to republish the story as though it were a current event.
This aggravation seems to have been the catalyst behind Candio’s decision to turn his back on the game, and as he explained on his Facebook profile: “I thought my performance was going to bring me some glory and serenity, but today I still read on various blogs and websites that this would not be the first time I commit tax offenses. Next People’s Poker Tour’s event at the end of March, which is going to be right after my 30th birthday, is probably the last tournament I will ever play. Thank you, and goodbye.”
Referring to the accusations leveled against him, Filippo Candio said that although the tax board may be carrying out some checks on his situation, he was not part of the Italian fiscal police’s ‘Stealth Operation’ and that in no way did he carry out any wrongdoings.
“The tax board is carrying some checks on my situation, which is quite normal for a poker player. From my side, I am also trying to help them as much as I can to make my situation crystal clear. I am just tired of all these lies.”
The son of an upper-class Italian family, Filippo Candio did enjoy three impressive years of tournament poker results having earned $201,110 in 2009, $3,124,119 in 2010, and $99,964 in 2011. Since then, however, Candio has cashed just seven times for $41,286, with his biggest score amounting to just $14,229.