WPT Finale: Ready for the Final Table

$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale
Level 23: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 349

Alan Sternberg

The WPT live-stream stage will be put to use again today as six players return to the meeting room for the 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Finale final table.

The freeze-out tournament drew 349 players, 44 of them made the money, and six tough players remain with a shot at the WPT title for over $700,000.

Those six players have combined for nearly $30,000,000 in career earnings with a WSOP Main Event champ and WPT champ still in contention.

Alan Sternberg won the 2011 Bay101 Shooting Star event and he will kick off the final table with the chip lead. He’s followed by 2013 WSOP Main Event champ Ryan Riess, 2016 WSOP November Niner (and two-time bracelet winner) Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, 2016 SHRPO champ Jason Koon, poker pro Tim West, and Aussie Million trophy winner Terry Schumacher.

It’s a tough lineup, the stacks are deep, and the structure has 60-minute levels. The average stack is 78 big blinds deep so they’ll have plenty of room to make their moves.

Cards will go in the air after group pics and player introductions.

Seat 1: Tim West – 1,995,000 (67 bb)
Seat 2: Jason Koon – 1,030,000 (34 bb)
Seat 3: Ryan Riess – 3,090,000 (103 bb)
Seat 4: Cliff Josephy – 1,855,000 (62 bb)
Seat 5: Terry Shumacher – 1,385,000 (46 bb)
Seat 6: Alan Sternberg – 4,605,000 (154 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $716,088*
2nd: $491,081
3rd: $315,726
4th: $204,466
5th: $157,599
6th: $130,370
* – Includes $15,000 WPT Tournament of Championship seat

WPT Finale: Meet Your Final Table Members

One World Poker Tour event is complete and it’s almost time to get the $10,000 WPT Finale final table underway with six very talented players.

The final table players have combined to earn nearly $30,000,000 in career tournament cash, three WSOP bracelet winners, two WSOP November Niners, a WPT Champions Club member, two WSOP Circuit rings, SHRP titles, and all but one player with more than $1,000,000 earned. Of course, one of the November Niners is Ryan Riess who turned his 2013 appearance into a WSOP Main Event bracelet.

Here are your six players who will return at noon to play on the live-streamed final table trying to win their way into WPT Tournament of Champions along with more than $700,000.


Seat 1: Tim West
Chip count: 1,995,000

From San Francisco with more than $3.5 million in career earnings, West is making his second WPT final table. He owns two WSOP Circuit rings, a 2012 Venetian DSE title, and a third-place finish in last year’s Showdown $25,500 High Roller.


Seat 2: Jason Koon
Chip count: 1,030,000

From Weston WV with close to $8.5 million in live poker earnings, Koon will sit down at his third WPT final table. He won $1,000,000 as the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open champion and another $1.65 million for winning the PokerStars Championship Bahamas Super High Roller in January.


Seat 3: Ryan Riess
Chip count: 3,090,000

From Michigan with $9.3 million earned in his career, Riess is most well known as the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event champion. He also owns an SHRP trophy from the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Six-Max tournament.


Seat 4: Cliff Josephy
Chip count: 1,855,000

From Long Island, NY with $6.66 million in career tournament earnings, Josephy has three WSOP bracelets and finished in second place in the 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event. For his top tournament payout, he cashed big with a third place finish in this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event.


Seat 5: Terry Shumacher
Chip count: 1,385,000

From Verviers Belgium with over $200,000 in earnings, Shumacher earned the biggest score of his career for winning the 2017 Aussie Millions Shot Clock Six-Max tournament for $110,000.


Seat 6: Alan Sternberg
Chip count: 4,605,000

From Belmore, NY with $1.2 million in career earnings, Sternberg is a member of the WPT Champions Club for his 2011 Bay101 Shooting Star victory. He picked up more than $1 million for the title and this is his first recorded tournament cash since 2014.

Showdown Day 22 Schedule

12PM: $10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale Final Table

12PM: $1,550 WPT Tournament of Championship Satellite

  • 2 seats guaranteed into $15K WPT Tournament of Champions
  • Players begin with 10,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 7
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • WPT Tournament of Champions Satellite Structure Sheet

Colby Johnson Wins $150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry

2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
$150 No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry
Entries: 696
Prize Pool: $83,520
April 3-5, 2017

Colby Johnson earned $22,046 for his $150 no limit hold’em re-entry title

The $150 no limit hold’em re-entry event wrapped up late on Wednesday night. It was one of the last events of the series to conclude and Colby Johnson earned the title.

He defeated a field of of 696 entries to win $22,046. The 30-year-old Port St. Lucie native didn’t have an easy road to the title. He came out on top of a see-saw battle with Antonio Copo. Copo made a deep run in the 2015 WSOP Main Event for over $46,000.

But it was Johnson that walked away with the title after a long heads-up battle that lasted a couple of hours. Johnson took the chip lead into the final table and never let off the gas en route to a win.

The day started at 2 p.m. with 77 players still vying for the trophy. After less than a couple hours of play, the money bubble burst and the top the top 45 finishers were in the money. WSOP bracelet winner Will Givens earned a cash in the event and Frankie Flowers, a regular at all of the Hard Rock tournament series finished fifth for $4,218, just shy of his second Hard Rock trophy.

Final Table Results:

1st: Clayton Colby Johnson – $22,046
2nd: Antonio Copo – $12,946
3rd: Eracles Panayitou – $8,394
4th: John Cummings – $5,846
5th: Frankie Flowers – $4,218
6th: James Hamburger – $3,383
7th: Thomas Gari – $2,589
8th: Manny Alvarez – $1,837
9th: Vendel Johnson – $1,336
10th: Charles Bragg Jr. – $1,002

Jason Mercier Wins $25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em

2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
$25,500 High Roller
Entries: 116
Prize Pool: $2,900,000
April 4-5, 2017

Jason Mercier has one of the most impressive poker resumes in the world and doesn’t have much left to prove on the felt. Except to his wife, Natasha, who is a Seminole Hard Rock Tampa team member.

On the way to register for the $25,500 high roller no limit hold’em, Natasha was possibly doubting Jason’s ability in no limit hold’em compared to her own. Jason put any doubts to rest, though. He defeated arguably the toughest field of the series and bested a 116-entry field to win $794,600 in the $25,500 high roller event.

“Well, I was driving over here yesterday and Natasha was going to drop me off and I was going to register this tournament,” said Mercier. “She told me on the way ‘You know, you haven’t really won anything in a while in no limit hold’em. Maybe you should start listening to me on how to play hands because I think I’m more profitable than you are.’

“And I said some very mean things and I took it as motivation to win this tournament. I told her that I won this tournament like 18 months ago, but she said ‘Yeah, that was a really long time ago.’ I probably have dusted off a lot since then. So, it’s nice to get a win.”

With the win, Mercier got to add another Hard Rock trophy to a resume that already includes 5 WSOP bracelets, a WPT Alpha8 title, an EPT title, an EPT high roller title, over $18 million in live tournament earnings and several million more online.

It’s no surprise that he came out on top of the field, but this wasn’t an easy field for Mercier to navigate through. Mercier defeated Justin Bonomo heads-up and had to go through what could only be considered a murderer’s row of final table lineups that included SHRP team member Loni Harwood, WSOP bracelet winners Anthony Spinella and Bryn Kenney, along with top pros Olivier Busquet, Ari Engel, and Sam Soverel.

“The field was pretty tough,” said Mercier. “I mean, it was a lot tougher than last year, even though it was a bigger field. The final table was nine pros basically.”

The nearly seven-figure score comes on the heels of a big personal announcement for Mercier. Natasha is pregnant and they will have a baby boy later this year.

The coming months will dictate how much Mercier is able to travel to poker tournaments. He hasn’t spent much time away from his wife since they met and he likely won’t want to spend much time away from his son either.

“I have to do a few tester trips,” said Mercier. “I’m probably going to go Barcelona. I mean, I might go to Barcelona while she is like seven months pregnant. We’ll see how that trip goes. We haven’t really spent more than two to three days away from each other since we started hanging out two and a half years ago.

“It’s really going to depend on how those trips go and whether we can travel with the baby. That’s what life is about, making adjustments.”

Before the baby comes, Mercier is really going to buckle down and work hard in immediate future. With a busy scheduled ahead of him in the next few months, he’s going to try and secure a couple big scores before he becomes a father.

“I got a pretty intense schedule coming up,” said Mercier. “With playing Monte Carlo, SCOOP, and WSOP, along with the $300K before the WSOP. I’m really going to hard at it for the next three months and hopefully make a lot of money. And then, hopefully just relax and wait for my baby boy to come.”

When the tournament was three-handed, Mercier was involved in a pot worth a lot of equity. It sent Loni Harwood home in third place and gave him the chip lead heading into heads-up play with Bonomo.

Mercier was all in with pocket tens against Bonomo’s pocket queens and Harwood’s king-jack. Bonomo had both players covered and Harwood was the short stack. The turn brought a king, which would send Mercier home, and give Harwood a triple up.

The river was a ten, however, which gave Mercier a set, and more than a double up of his own.

“I was just rooting for no king,” said Mercier. “If there was no king, I just get second for like 500 and something thousand. If a king hits, then I basically lose $200K. I was basically focused on fading a king and when the king came on the turn, I was just like ‘Ugghh. I just lost the Sunday Million.’ So when the ten came on the river, I was just like double shocked.

“That was really nice. The king cost me $200K and the ten basically won me $400,000. It was a nice little three-out, two-out.”

Mercier took the pot, the chip lead and eventually the trophy.

Results

1st: Jason Mercier – $794,600
2nd: Justin Bonomo – $556,800
3rd: Loni Harwood – $348,000
4th: Anthony Spinella – $240,700
5th: Olivier Busquet – $153,700
6th: Sam Soverel – $113,100
7th: Bryn Kenney – $92,800
8th: Ari Engel – $78,300
9th: Jeff Gross – $75,400
10th: Jake Schindler – $72,500
11th: Richard Tuhrim – $69,600
12th: Jonathan Little – $66,700
13th: Robert Heidorn – $63,800
14th: Sean Winter – $60,900
15th: Erik Seidel – $58,000
16th: Grayson Ramage – $55,100

High Roller: Jason Mercier Wins Title and $794,600; Justin Bonomo Finishes in 2nd Place ($556,800)

$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 50,000/100,000 with a 15,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 116

Jason Mercier

Jason Mercier opened the button to 225,000, and Justin Bonomo three-bet shoved for 2,555,000 in the big blind. Mercier instantly called to put Bonomo at risk.

Mercier: AdQd
Bonomo: Ac2d

The board ran out Kd7s5d8d3s, and Mercier turned the nut flush to lock up the pot and the title one card early. He collected nearly $800,000 for his work over the past two days, adding yet another title to his world-class stat sheet. His total live winnings now exceed $18 million.

Bonomo was forced to settle for the runner-up consolation prize of $556,800.

Justin Bonomo

High Roller: Jason Mercier Opening Up a Gap

$25,500 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 24: 50,000/100,000 with a 15,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 116

There haven’t been any particularly significant pots played since the heads-up match began, but Jason Mercier is getting the best of the small ones, so far.

In one such recent pot, Bonomo limped the button, and Mercier checked his option in the big blind. The flop was Ts8h6d. Mercier checked, Bonomo bet 150,000, and Mercier called. Both players checked through the 6c turn.

The river was the 2h, and Mercier bet 480,000. Bonomo considered for a couple minutes, longer than he had for any other decision in the duel, then called to see a showdown.

“Six,” Mercier announced, tabling 6s4h to prove it. Bonomo mucked, and Mercier won the pot with trip sixes.

Jason Mercier – 9,030,000 (90 bb)
Justin Bonomo – 2,570,000 (26 bb)

Event 26: Clayton Colby Johnson Leads Final 10 Players

$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Level 25: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 696

The $150 no limit hold’em re-entry is down to its final 10 players and they have redrawn for seats at the unofficial final table. With one more elimination, the final nine players will get credit for a final table appearance.

Here is a look at the seating arrangement and chip counts for the final 10 players:

Seat 1: Cuppy Cummings – 675,000
Seat 2: Thomas Gari – 725,000
Seat 3: Manny Amaro – 720,000
Seat 4: Charles Bragg Jr. – 175,000
Seat 5: Eric Panayiotou – 1,570,000
Seat 6: Jim Hamburger – 430,000
Seat 7: Vender Johnson – 585,000
Seat 8: Clayton Colby Johnson – 1,325,000
Seat 9: Antonio Copo – 240,000
Seat 10: Frankie Flowers – 630,000

Here are the remaining payouts:

1st: $22,046
2nd: $12,946
3rd: $8,394
4th: $5,846
5th: $4,218
6th: $3,383
7th: $2,589
8th: $1,837
9th: $1,336
10th: $1,002

Bryan Dillon Wins Third Major Title in Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $2,200 PLO

2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event 29
$2,200 Pot Limit Omaha
Entries: 95
Prize Pool: $190,000
April 4-5, 2017

(Hollywood, FL) — Bryan Dillon claimed victory at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Wednesday night defeating 95 players in a $2,200 Pot Limit Omaha tournament. The victory earned Dillon $60,277 along with his third career title.

Event 29, as it was recognized, saw its nearly 100-entry field generate a total prize pool of $190,000. Day 1 played down to just 12 remaining and all of them were in the money. Henri Koivisto lead the way heading to Day 2 but had the likes of defending champion Scott Clements, Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Matt Stout and South Florida pro Peter Vitantonio on his heels. Vitantonio busted 11th while Stout, Koivisto and Clements made consecutive exits in eighth, seventh and sixth. By the time Maxx Coleman was eliminated fourth, the trio of remaining players began talking chop. Both Joni Jouhkimainen and Dillon wanted the trophy, so play went on.

Jouhkimainen succumed to his short stack not long after denying the deal. He earned $22,800 for the third-place finish. Dillon and Joseph Irgon promptly talked ICM with Dillon holding about a two-to-one lead. Irgon declined the deal and play went on. From there, it wasn’t long before Dillon outdrew Irgon all-in preflop and took the title. Irgon earned $36,100 for his runner-up finish.

Already owning two World Series of Poker Circuit gold rings, the trophy victory marked Dillon’s third major title. Additionally, the $60,277 score moved him over $300,000 in reported earnings. Dillon is a 62-year-old attorney from Prospect, KY.

Event 29 final results:

1st: Bryan Dillon $60,277
2nd: Joseph Irgon – $36,100
3rd: Joni Jouhkimainen – $22,800
4th: Maxx Coleman – $14,725
5th: Petko Tsakov – $11,400
6th: Scott Clements – $9,025
7th: Henri Koivisto – $7,600
8th: Matt Stout – $6,650
9th: David Zemel – $6,029
10th: Chris Meyers – $5,510
11th: Peter Vitantonio – $5,310
12th: David Eller – $4,754