Kevin Nee Wins His First Major Title for $605,100

After this month’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” (RRPO) at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., it’s Kevin Knee of Presto, Pa. who walks away with $605,100 after winning first place in the $3,500 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship.

Nee bested 1,224 entries in the series finale, winning his first major live tournament title. This year, he broke through with a major victory in a live tournament, defeating Joel Gola in a heads-up battle on Wednesday night to win the RRPO Championship. The tournament generated a prize pool worth over $3,916,800 easily eclipsing the $3 million guarantee.

Championship Final Table Results:

1st: Kevin Nee (Presto, Pa.) $605,100 + $3,500 WPT World Championship Seat
2nd: Joel Gola (Philadelphia, Pa.) $395,000
3rd: Aram Zobian (Cranston, R.I.)$295,000
4th: Chad Eveslage (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) $220,000
5th: Anthony Merlo (Valley Stream, N.Y.) $166,000
6th: Hyndi Khomutetsky (Orlando, Fla.) $127,000

The 52 primary events RRPO kicked off on Wednesday, Nov. 19 with a $400 Deep Stack NLH. The series opener drew 6,853. The event concluded with Dario Dussan of Bogota, Colombia winning $278,150.

In addition to Dario, other signature event winners include:

• David Lee (New York, N.Y.) won the $1,100 Triple Stack NLH for $103,370
• Aram Oganyan (North Hollywood, Calif.), won the $5,000 Deep Stack NLH for $143,900
• Boris Kolev (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) won the $10,000 Deep Stack NLH for $226,100
• Boris Kolev (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) won the $25,500 High Roller NLH for $465,900

Poker action will return to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. in the New Year with the Lucky Hearts Poker Open (LHPO), Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, through Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, headlined by the Deep Stack NLH series opener with a $2 million guarantee and the WPT NLH Championship boasting a $3 million guarantee.

Future tournament information and poker hotel rates are available at SHRPO.com.

# # #

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 worldwide and featured a $10 million guarantee championship, the largest guarantee in history. In addition to the SHRPO, the 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; an 18-acre recreational water experience; private “Bora Bora” style cabanas; more than 20 food and beverage outlets; a 26,000 square-foot retail promenade; 120,000 square feet of premier meeting and convention space; and an expansive gaming floor with more than 2,500 slots, more than 200 table games and a 45-table poker room. In 2023, the casino launched live craps, roulette and retail sports betting, offering 10 craps tables, 20 roulette tables, and sports betting locations including both electronic kiosks and kiosks with live sports betting agents. Introducing the new games is a historic milestone that immediately puts Florida in the same league as the world’s great gaming destinations. Hard Rock Live, ranked No. 3 and No. 5 worldwide in 2023 gross revenue for Pollstar Magazine and Billboard respectively, highlights 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 www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com call 1 (800) 937-0010 or follow us: Facebook: @HardRockHolly, X: @HardRockHolly, Instagram: @HardRockHolly.