HOLLYWOOD, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood concluded its 2022 Poker Showdown following a successful three-week run. This year’s event saw 50 primary events and 20,359 entries, the most in a single series, topping the 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. The tournament boasted more than $20.8 million in prize pools, surpassing the $7.45 million in guarantees.
With 2,010 entries in the WPT Poker Showdown Championship, the final prize pool is more than $6.4 million, exceeding the $3 million guarantee. The last 252 spots were paid $5,650. The field is down to its final six players who will reconvene on May 25 in Las Vegas for a televised final table. Four-time WPT champion Darren Elias holds the lead looking for his fifth title, followed by Mark Davis in second and Marcos Exterkotter, Mike Laufer, Andrew Barfield and Viet Vo rounding out the final table.
Championship Final Table with Chip Counts:
Seat 1: Mark Davis (Birmingham, AL) – 26,550,000
Seat 2: Viet Vo (Houston, TX) – 11,925,000
Seat 3: Mike Laufer (Boca Raton, FL) – 6,750,000
Seat 4: Andrew Barfield (Ocean Springs, MO) – 5,500,000
Seat 5: Marcos Exterkotter (Miami, FL via Brazil) – 10,900,000
Seat 6: Darren Elias (Medford, NJ) – 38,825,000
Remaining Payouts:
1st: $1,000,300
2nd: $660,000
3rd: $490,000
4th: $370,000
5th: $280,000
6th: $215,000
The Poker Showdown kicked off on Thursday, March 24 with the $400 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (NLH) opener. With 3,687 entries, the event more than doubled the $500,000 guaranteed, creating a total prize pool of more than $1.2 million. James Collins of Palm Harbor, FL won the opener earning $130,682 after an eight-handed deal was reached just one hand into the final table. This year’s tournament also crowned six women champions over the course of 50 events, including Valerie Novak (Perry Hall, MD) winning the $1,100 Deep Stack NLH for $91,835.
On Sunday, April 10, WPT Ambassador Steve Aoki met with fans and players before jumping into the $1,700 Purple Chip Bounty tournament. Going all in, Aoki flopped a straight but was no match for his opponent Carlo Rodriguez’s heart flush. In addition to winning the $500 bounty, Rodriguez was also gifted the custom Dim Mak Collection jean jacket off Aoki’s back.
Other signature event winners include:
- Michael Nye (East Bridgewater, MA) winning the $600 Deep Stack NLH for $328,683
- Andres Jeckeln (Argentina) winning the $2,200 Deep Stack NLH for $126,541
- Brian Altman (Boston, MA) winning the $25,500 High-Roller for $692,661
- Andrew Lichtenberger (Las Vegas, NV) winning the $50,000 Super High Roller for $638,223
- Brandon Lulov (Brooklyn, NY) winning the $5,000 Deep Stack Eight-Max NLH for $246,125
Poker Action will return to Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood with its flagship series Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) July 28 – Aug. 9, 2022.