2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, FL 
Event 17
$570 No-Limit Hold’em 
Entries: 219 
Prize Pool: $109,500 
April 16, 2018 

After a dismal showing for most of the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Brian Altman finished the series strong with a win in the $570 no-limit hold’em.

The Boston native defeated 219 entries and Dean Baranowski heads-up to earn $26,108. With just a handful of events remaining, the score puts Altman in the black for the trip.

“It feels really nice to end on a high note,” said the 29-year-old poker pro. “I was bricking all the prelims and I fired a few bullets in the main. I ended up cashing the main, but was still down a good amount on the trip. It’s nice to cap it off with a win and save the trip and go home with a little money.”

Altman had been a successful professional poker player for several years before, but he made his mark on the poker world in 2015 with a win in the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open main event here at the Hard Rock.

He defeated 1,027 entries and earned $723,008, which was his largest career score and his first major title. Last August, he took down the $1,100 no-limit hold’em event at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open for $118,157.

With all of his success in South Florida, if he’s not at home grinding in the northeast, it’s clear that Hollywood would be his second choice.

“The Hollywood Hard Rock is a second home to me,” said Altman. “It’s great to play in such a well-run venue with great staff and great dealers.”

When they reached the final table, Altman was not only the most accomplished player remaining, but also held the chip lead. Inevitably, he went heads-up with Baranowski, another regular in higher stakes events.

The two battled back and forth for several levels before Altman emerged victorious over the Chiropractor from Texas.

“He played really well,” said Altman of Baranowski’s heads-up play. “I came in with like a 2-to-1 or maybe a 3-to-1 chip lead, but he was chipping up and he got a double at one or two points in the match. Ultimately, he kind of got whittled down and it was a cooler hand where he lost all the chips.”

Results:

1st: Brian Altman – $26,108
2nd: Dean Baranowski – $18,266
3rd: Lazaro Rodriguez – $11,224
4th: Charles Gomez – $6,827
5th: Jordan Joeckel – $5,272
6th: Angelo Ingham – $4,369
7th: Jabbour Afif – $3,723
8th: Antony Vidmer – $3,176
9th: Joseph Skarzynski – $2,612
10th: Jeff Rodriguez – $2,300
11th: Svi Soudai – $2,300
12th: Brian Powell – $2,300
13th: Ryan Van Sanford – $1,971
14th: Dan Heimiller – $1,971
15th: Scott Kateian – $1,971
16th: Arkadiy Tsinis – $1,643
17th: Carey Pickus – $1,643
18th: Joseph Brachfeld – $1,643
19th: Yuan Shen – $1,314
20th: Scott Zakheim – $1,314
21st: John Dollinger – $1,314
22nd: Lance Garcia – $1,013
23rd: Matthew Zarcadoolas – $1,013
24th: Ebrahim Figueroa Noboa – $1,013
25th: Eric Rivkin – $814
26th: Marc Sacheli – $814
27th: David Larson – $814
28th: John Richards – $379
29th: Stephen Graner – $379