Poker
April 13, 2022

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Announces Final Table for 2022 WPT Poker Showdown Championship

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Announces Final Table for 2022 WPT Poker Showdown Championship
WPT Ambassador Steve Aoki at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood for a meet & greet during 2022 Poker Showdown

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood concluded its 2022 Poker Showdown on Tuesday following successful a 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, easily exceeding the $3 million guarantee. The last 252 spots were paid $5,650 for a min-cash. 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 has a big 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, Ala.) – 26,550,000 (89 bb)
Seat 2: Viet Vo (Houston, Tex.) – 11,925,000 (40 bb)
Seat 3: Mike Laufer (Boca Raton, Fla.) – 6,750,000 (23 bb)
Seat 4: Andrew Barfield (Ocean Springs, Miss.) – 5,500,000 (18 bb)
Seat 5: Marcos Exterkotter (Miami, Fla. via Brazil) – 10,900,000 (36 bb)
Seat 6: Darren Elias (Medford, NJ) – 38,825,000 (129 bb)

Remaining Payouts:

1st: $1,000,300
2nd: $660,000
3rd: $490,000
4th: $370,000
5th: $280,000
6th: $215,000

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, Fla. 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 and global superstar Steve Aoki meet 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, Mass.) 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, Mass.) winning the $25,500 High-Roller for $692,661
  • Andrew Lichtenberger (Las Vegas, Nev.) 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. Future tournament information and poker hotel rates are available at SHRPO.com.

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About Seminole Hard Rock Poker

Seminole Hard Rock Poker encompasses four major poker series held annually at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In August 2013, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) was introduced to poker players around the world and featured a $10 million guarantee championship, the largest guarantee in history. In addition to the SHRPO, Seminole Hard Rock Poker series’ includes the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open (January), Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (April) and Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll” Poker Open (November). All four series fall under the SHRPO umbrella with tournament news, live updates and championship live streaming. Visit www.SHRPO.com. Join the conversation at #SHRPO, and tag us @SHRPO.

About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is the flagship integrated resort of Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The renowned entertainment, gaming and hospitality destination unveiled a $1.5 billion expansion in 2019, highlighting the debut of the world’s first and only Guitar Hotel. Between three hotel towers, the resort boasts 1,271 luxury guestrooms. Amenities include a 42,000 square-foot Rock Spa® & Salon; a 18-acre recreational water experience; private “Bora Bora” style cabanas; more than 20 food and beverage outlets; an expansive gaming floor with 3,000 slots, 193 table games and a 45-table poker room; 120,000 square feet of premier meeting and convention space; and a 26,000 square-foot retail promenade. Hard Rock Live, ranked No. 3 worldwide in 2021 ticket sales for theatre venues by Pollstar Magazine, showcases A-list entertainers and performers, sporting events and live broadcast productions in an intimate 7,000-person capacity setting. Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood is located on 87 acres of the Hollywood Seminole Reservation along State Road 7 (U.S. Highway 441). For more information, visit us online at casino.hardrock.com/hollywood, call 800-937-0010 or follow us: Facebook: SeminoleHardRockHollywood, Twitter: @HardRockHolly, Instagram: @HardRockHolly.