2021 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
$3,500 WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship
$2,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,566
Prize Pool:  $5,011,200
November 26 – December 1, 2021

This was the largest field in history for the Seminole Hard Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open Championship, with 1,566 entries across two starting flights. And the prizepool of $5,011,200 more than doubled the $2 million guarantee.

The six-handed WPT Final Table was live-streamed online on Wednesday, and in a dramatic cooler of a final hand, Gediminas Uselis defeated Jacob Ferro to win $778,490 and an RRPO trophy. Uselis’s name will also be inscribed on the one-and-only WPT Champions Cup alongside all of the other champions in the WPT’s 19-season history.

The field reached the money back on Day 2, with the final 196 earning at least $5,265 each. There were some interesting people that cashed in the RRPO Championship, including William Hung of American Idol fame (finished 85th for $9,480) and political/sports analyst Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight (35th place for $18,390).

Day 4 began with just 15 players remaining, and those final two tables included two local regulars making deep runs, with Scott Levitt finishing 13th to earn $48,900, and Willie Wiggins just missing the live-streamed final table in seventh place, earning $139,610.

Two of poker’s top pros also made it to the final two tables, with Kristen Bicknell finishing 15th to earn $40,860, and Joseph Cheong busting in 10th place to earn $79,630.

The final table kicked off with a bank when short stack Anshul Rai got it all in on the very first hand with , poised to double up against Harout Ghazarian’s . But a queen on the flop ended Rai’s tournament in sixth place, earning $170,835.

Clayton Maguire took a big hit when an ace on the river gave him two pair with his , only to have Harout Ghazarian turn over for a higher two pair. The next hand, Maguire got it all in with against Selahaddin Bedir’s , but an ace on the flop sent Maguire home in fifth place with $211,925.

A little while later, Selahaddin Bedir moved all in with , but never caught up to the of Jacob Ferro. Bedir was knocked out in fourth place for $282,380.

Down to three players, Harout Ghazarian limped the small blind, Uselis raised the big blind, and Ghazarian limp-raised all in with . But Uselis turned over , and the best hand held up to knock out Ghazarian in third place, earning an even $380,000.

The heads-up battle between Gediminas Uselis and Jacob Ferro started out pretty evenly, with 77 big blinds for Uselis and 80 for Ferro. But in their first hand, Uselis took a big pot when he bet the river with trip kings and Ferro folded, giving Uselis a 3-to-2 chip lead.

And once Uselis took the lead, he never looked back.

They only got it all in against each other once, and it was a hand that seemed destined to end the tournament regardless of how they played it.

Ferro raised with , Uselis reraised with , and Ferro moved all in. Uselis obviously called, and there was a jack in the window — with a queen hiding underneath it.

Both players flopped sets, and the case jack never came to Ferro’s rescue, as he was knocked out in second place to earn $573,605.

Gediminas Uselis won the title, the trophy, and $778,490 for the biggest cash of his career. And you can expect to see him in more tournaments here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.

“This is a really nice place,” said Uselis, who then looked ahead to the Lucky Hearts Poker Open, which begins on January 13th. “I’ll be coming back in January for sure. This is one of the best hotels in the United States.”

Final Table Results: