James Collins Wins Event 1 of the 2022 Poker Showdown in an Eight-Handed Deal for $130,682

2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 1
$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  3,687
Prize Pool:  $1,216,710
March 24-27, 2022

James Collins
James Collins

Event 1 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was the $400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) multi-flight opening event. There were six starting flights, drawing a total of 3,687 entries and creating a prize pool of $1,216,710, more than doubling the guarantee. There were 372 players who made the money, but all eyes were on making the final table.

Once it was reached, only one hand was played before the remaining eight players agreed to look at the numbers. After a little while of working out the details, an eight-handed deal was reached. James Collins was the chip leader at the time, making him the official champion of Event 1 for $130,682.

“I loved the tournament,” said Collins afterward. “It’s a tough tournament to win because it’s a lot of bingo playing in the beginning. It’s hard to survive.”

It took Collins a few flights to bag a stack initially, but when he did, he found himself with a solid stack of 60 big blinds and coming back in 40th of the remaining 372.

“(Day 2 was) Slow. A lot of folding, then a couple of good hands. That got me up to a good stack,” said Collins of his Day 2. “Then up and down, up and down. Then I won a really big hand that got me up over seven million. From there I won another big hand and doubled up (to the chip lead).”

On that hand, Collins won a crucial race with pocket queens against ace-king, vaulting him into the chip lead with 10 players left. He added more to his stack by the time the final table was reached, putting him in pole position to make a deal he approved.

Collins lives in Palm Harbor and plays mainly in the Tampa area. It’s his second cash here at the Seminole Hard Rock, with the first coming in the 2021 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open in this same event.

Final Table Results

PlaceFirst NameLast NameWinnings
1JamesCollins$130,682 *
2MihalacheCean$98,607 *
3KevinPayton$87,129 *
4ToanPham$74,060 *
5DaniyalGheba$67,345 *
6JasonKlass$61,528 *
7AlvinNorman$55,129 *
8JosephVarqas Mone$54,290 *
9AlexanderPerez$15,230
10MichaelGulliford$15,230
11AdamDarkazalli$10,720
12LuisHernandez$10,720
13MichaelDermer$8,225
14LucasMendes$8,225
15SeanDunleavy$8,225
16JohnStevenson$6,985
17RonaldGlantz$6,985
18LukeBrereton$6,985
19KevinCline$5,875
20EricValerio$5,875
21ViniciusMonteiro$5,875
22DerrickFoster$4,995
23MichaelWeiss$4,995
24RashidMiddleton$4,995
25ScottZakheim$4,210
26ReinaldoVincentini Aldrey$4,210
27HectorMariani Garcia$4,210
28RichardGanesh$3,555
29MiguelCapriles Cannizzaro$3,555
30HeliaMahzoun-Alzakerin$3,555
31AshleyHine$3,555
32JeremyGoureau$3,555
33PeterMuhlbek$3,555
34GeorgeRovero Spyropoulos$3,555
35AlejandroFunes$3,555
36BryanColon Vazquez$3,555
37MetinBasaran$3,045
38MarcDuquette$3,045
39FernandoPages$3,045
40JamesHamburger$3,045
41EduardoFigueredo$3,045
42OlegAlik Sitnyakorsky$3,045
43PhilipWhitaker$3,045
44AlonYehudai$3,045
45DanielCastoro$3,045
46WilliamJennings Ii$2,740
47FrankRusso$2,740
48JorgeCuervo$2,740
49ClydeMaliauka$2,740
50JohnNguyen$2,740
51NavinChawla$2,740
52LeroyGrant$2,740
53JohnSarappa$2,740
54MichaelKilker$2,740
55IvayloSivinov$2,520
56RebeccaDellagloria$2,520
57KennethWeinstein$2,520
58AminAkhlaghi$2,520
59PierreSaba$2,520
60PaulSathue$2,520
61MatthewHoffman$2,520
62AngeloMiele$2,520
63NicholasMartz$2,520
64MichaelHande$2,315
65DonavanWright$2,315
66FrancisMargaglione$2,315
67CraigPollak$2,315
68DanielQuesada$2,315
69CristianPena Castro$2,315
70MarcusGurley$2,315
71RichardArno$2,315
72RafaelLugo$2,315
73SholomHyman$2,130
74JoelLima$2,130
75PeterFellows$2,130
76JosephLevitt$2,130
77AaronBurmeister$2,130
78GlennBecker$2,130
79JustinWilkerson$2,130
80RodolfoGuaigua$2,130
81DanielAviles$2,130
82PeterTorkildsen$2,000
83GuillermoMorales$2,000
84KarlManouchakian$2,000
85FabioBaduy$2,000
86SebasatianDe Narvaez$2,000
87CharlesHarrison$2,000
88JosephNaso$2,000
89JeffKessler$2,000
90MaxinmoGuerrero$2,000
91JeromeNeloms$1,875
92AndrewMueller$1,875
93TravisChesinski$1,875
94RandyLuther$1,875
95JermaineBritton$1,875
96EricRivera$1,875
97RichardDavis$1,875
98MatthewElsby$1,875
99AmnonFilippi$1,875
100MarkCerilli$1,755
101MarcoRodriguez$1,755
102MichaelGraffeo$1,755
103CorelTheuma$1,755
104SyedShah$1,755
105NancyBirnbaum$1,755
106EricBen Harmon$1,755
107RaymondWinters Iii$1,755
108VivoLoubaton$1,755
109MarvinKarlins$1,635
110EriberutoUehara$1,635
111IgnacioEsquijarosa$1,635
112MatthewLessor$1,635
113BenjaminZanghi$1,635
114KevinBlewitt$1,635
115AndrewFahey$1,635
116GregorioCorrea$1,635
117NicholasPalma$1,635
118CraigHosch$1,515
119RichardLeger$1,515
120StanleyBilan$1,515
121AldringGomez Torres$1,515
122SongO$1,515
123MatthewHead$1,515
124MichaelOrtiz$1,515
125AndreBryan$1,515
126MichaelNewman$1,515
127MichaelReynolds$1,400
128RaviMahtani$1,400
129NathanHaberl$1,400
130JohnnyBromberg$1,400
131ShamicaLamar$1,400
132CraigHueffner$1,400
133RyanCecil$1,400
134ChristopherGallaher$1,400
135JulioAbreu$1,400
136JayRomano$1,285
137AaronValencia$1,285
138DouglasNobles$1,285
139WilliamBeasley$1,285
140JamesScott$1,285
141TanupatPunjarojanakul$1,285
142YayunLiu$1,285
143JamichaelHarris$1,285
144CharlesBlankenship$1,285
145JamesCalderaro$1,185
146JosephShammas$1,185
147JonathanCho$1,185
148SteveZhang$1,185
149JohnSimcox$1,185
150SeanKersey$1,185
151StephenSantoro$1,185
152MauriceHawkins$1,185
153AlexanderZiskin$1,185
154WagnerWysotchanski$1,100
155DomenicPizziferri$1,100
156ArthurWilliams$1,100
157DanIshaki$1,100
158PaulGeorges$1,100
159IlanHadida$1,100
160MelissaKaiser$1,100
161JevaunDenard$1,100
162LazaroRojas$1,100
163MahmutUrkun$1,025
164JailynPrimus$1,025
165ArielSoffer$1,025
166SangniZhao$1,025
167BobbyCrain$1,025
168MatthewLee$1,025
169MichaelEddy$1,025
170SiddharthGupta$1,025
171RafaelFernandes Junio$1,025
172JohnUtley$950
173RuslanDykshteyn$950
174JohnRemeika$950
175AbbeyDaniels$950
176GilbertIsaac$950
177AnPhan$950
178KyleMilani$950
179AlayneZeto$950
180DavidMcmahon$950
181RosendoGuerrero Veras$925
182FanilkumarPatel$925
183BrentHoover$925
184KimScoratow$925
185JamesDoyle Avellanet$925
186CangirElcin$925
187MichaelGlick$925
188JosephPetrolino$925
189JasonPrest$925
190JonathanMerrithew$925
191RichardGettino$925
192AlexAnton$925
193ElishaGreenwood$925
194ThomasMacey$925
195MaryonHarper$925
196DavidInselberg$925
197HaimToorgeman$925
198NeslyJean Baptiste$925
199JohnSacher$900
200JiCheng Ding$900
201MichaelTomic$900
202HaNguyen$900
203FredricWhite$900
204DavidLopez$900
205MichaelQuinn$900
206RossCorless$900
207FrederickAllenspach$900
208PhillipKrnyaich$900
209EvanTeitelbaum$900
210DavidRing$900
211ViktorKovachev$900
212PierreArmster Jr$900
213ReynelHernandez$900
214MichaelValdez$900
215GabrielDvorak$900
216GeorgeHortelano$900
217JohnWhitehouse$875
218DylanJaijairam$875
219JermaineGerlin$875
220BrandonNavarrete$875
221NohadTeliani$875
222ScottRobbins$875
223PeterNg$875
224BrendaNelson$875
225BassamMourad$875
226JonathanGoldman$875
227MichaelNye$875
228VictorTaieb$875
229VincenzoFrancavilla$875
230MatthewKuba$875
231JohnMacdonald$875
232DavidMacdonald Jr$875
233NicholasSena-Hopkins$875
234CharlesEdlin$875
235JoseRodriguez$850
236RinatHaviv$850
237DanielGenachte$850
238AgopRustemoglu$850
239DamasoBenalcazar$850
240BruceMcphillips$850
241PaulBalzano$850
242RafikiBrown$850
243PanagiotisNifakos$850
244JonathanShapiro$850
245MarkWahba$850
246NarcisVanatoru$850
247ChristopherTorti$850
248IraGoldberg$850
249DavidWilson$850
250JoseGonzalez$850
251LuisCapella Mila$850
252TimothyMcinenery$850
253DavidUber Ii$830
254CarlosDel Bianco Gomez$830
255PaoloHalasan$830
256MichaelMoskowitz$830
257MatthewWhite$830
258NabetseDe Armas$830
259GokhanSaldirdak$830
260ZionBen$830
261GuouhiXu$830
262ManuekJo$830
263JamesSalmon Iii$830
264WillieWiggins$830
265MichaelCavanaugh$830
266CarlosRodriguez Rojas$830
267FranciscoDe La Rosa Sanchez$830
268JustinMahlfeldt$830
269PaulWeiner$830
270RonenDanan$830
271AaronMahlfeldt$810
272AkeeloRhoden$810
273DavidGoldberg$810
274RafaelLima$810
275ShawnFagan$810
276RobertJonsson$810
277MichaelKapernaros$810
278HenriqueSevilhano$810
279MichaelJenkins$810
280JonLane$810
281GeorgeAlberto$810
282DianeLinke$810
283EricPiderit$810
284JulioRuiz$810
285RobertTannenbaum$810
286MitchellW Smith$810
287ThomasGari$810
288MichaelLaufer$810
289EliasNassif$790
290JeremyFelicetti$790
291NarimaanAhmedi$790
292JohnRyan Iii$790
293JustinKadet$790
294SergioGamarra$790
295LuckensonPericles$790
296JuanFerrer$790
297PaulMertens$790
298WalterBravo$790
299AlbertoNiebla$790
300FernandoRodriguez Vazquez$790
301AaronThivyanathan$790
302DuaneLevandowski$790
303MichaelElkin$790
304JoshuaOneal$790
305KanjChehade$790
306MichaelTufaro$790
307MichaelChiappetta$770
308CarlosPerez$770
309BrettBader$770
310DarrinWright$770
311AlcidesGomez Ii$770
312GregoryBertels$770
313FelixSierra Aponte$770
314DanteCianfarra$770
315TreyBrauch$770
316DavidGlancy$770
317BrianBarros Vazquez$770
318FrankImpastato$770
319PrabhasKalele$770
320DamonWilson$770
321GregorySalem$770
322TomTran$770
323MahendraMandavyapuram$770
324IraSchwartz$770
325LorellPascual$750
326MichaelDudik$750
327SagiZommer$750
328AndreyMarkov$750
329RichardAlati$750
330OryHen$750
331SolomonTibebu$750
332CorbinAvery$750
333StevenDockswell$750
334NormanRodriguez$750
335PabloValdivieso$750
336AntoineBahi$750
337DanamarieBadermuse$750
338MichaelTait$750
339DavidMc Dermott$750
340JoseArdila$750
341CarterBrock$750
342PanagiotisMylonas$750
343DavidNathaniel Jr.$730
344PerryShiao$730
345RobertAntunes$730
346OmarMorillo$730
347JohnShortell$730
348WadnerPericles$730
349ShawnLucas$730
350JosephHernon$730
351ArmandoPrieto$730
352PatrickCurry$730
353PeterPilz$730
354EricPhan$730
355GageRice$730
356RodneyMoret-Rojas$730
357TinaTellone$730
358KennethFrey$730
359ThomasCefaloni$730
360RogrigoSardi$730
361BrandonDuvdivani$730
362DeonarineItwaru$730
363CharlesYates$730
364JoseAlvarez Rosales$730
365SolangeLucas$730
366MarlonCaster$730
367KahlilFrancis$730
368TaylorDeane$730
369FrancisMohan$730
370CarlosShaw$730
371DavidGoldman$730
372ChristopherMott$730

*denotes eight-handed deal

Event 1: James Collins Wins In An Eight-Way Deal

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 3,687

James Collins
James Collins

After the elimination of Alexander Perez in ninth place, the remaining eight players agreed to look at the numbers and eventually reached a deal.

Here were their chip counts at the time:

James Collins  –  18,150,000  (73 bb)
Mihalache Cean  –  16,025,000  (64 bb)
Kevin Payton  –  11,650,000  (47 bb)
Toan Pham  –  8,125,000  (33 bb)
Daniyal Gheba  –  6,250,000  (25 bb)
Jason Klass  –  5,000,000  (20 bb)
Al Norman  –  4,600,000  (18 bb)
Jose Vargas Mone  –  3,850,000  (15 bb)

Here were the resulting payouts:

James Collins  –  $130,682
Mihalache Cean  –  $98,607
Kevin Payton  –  $87,129
Toan Pham  –  $74,060
Daniyal Gheba  –  $67,345
Jason Klass  –  $61,528
Al Norman  –  $55,129
Jose Vargas Mone  –  $54,290

As the chip leader, James Collins was the official winner of Event 1 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.

A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.

Event 1: Alexander Perez – 9th Place ($15,230)

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 3,687

Alexander Perez
Alexander Perez

Mihalache Cean raised UTG+1 to 500,000, Jason Klass reraised from the hijack to 1,500,000, and Alexander Perez moved all in from the cutoff for 3,825,000.

Cean moved all in over the top for about 10 million, and Klass folded, later claiming he had ace-king.

Perez turned over AhKh, and he needed to improve to stay alive against Cean’s JsJh.

The board came Kd8h4hKsJd — Perez paired his king on the flop and turned trips, but Cean spiked a jack on the river to win the pot with a full house, jacks full of kings. Perez was eliminated in ninth place.

Mihalache Cean  –  16,025,000  (64 bb)
Alexander Perez  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($15,230)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 9,225,000 (37 big blinds), and they are all guaranteed to earn at least $23,115 each.

Event 1: Final Table Begins with James Collins in the Lead

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 3,687

Event 1 Final Table

After the elimination of Michael Gulliford in 10th place, the final nine players redraw for random seats at the final table.

Here is the lineup, along with approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Al Norman  –  4,600,000  (18 bb)
Seat 2.  Toan Pham  –  8,100,000  (32 bb)
Seat 3.  James Collins  –  18,650,000  (75 bb)
Seat 4.  Jose Vargas Mone  –  3,825,000  (15 bb)
Seat 5.  Mihalache Cean  –  9,950,000  (40 bb)
Seat 6.  Kevin Payton  –  11,800,000  (47 bb)
Seat 7.  Daniyal Gheba  –  6,150,000  (25 bb)
Seat 8.  Jason Klass  –  6,475,000  (26 bb)
Seat 9.  Alexander Perez  –  3,825,000  (15 bb)

With nine players remaining, the average chip stack is about 8,200,000 (33 big blinds). Here are the remaining payouts at stake:

1st:  $183,320 + Showdown trophy
2nd:  $120,270
3rd:  $90,425
4th:  $74,110
5th:  $59,225
6th:  $44,845
7th:  $33,460
8th:  $23,115
9th:  $15,230

Event 1: Michael Gulliford Eliminated in 10th Place by James Collins

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 33:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 3,687

Michael Gulliford
Michael Gulliford

James Collins raised under the gun to 1,000,000, Michael Gulliford moved all in from the big blind for about 2,800,000, and Collins called with AsQc.

Gulliford turned over KcQd, and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 8s7h5c6c10d, and Collins won the pot with his ace to eliminate Gulliford in 10th place.

James Collins  –  18,650,000  (75 bb)
Michael Gulliford  –  Eliminated in 10th Place  ($15,230)

With nine players remaining, the average chip stack is about 8,200,000 (33 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,230 each.

Event 1: Jose Vargas Mone Doubles Thru Alexander Perez

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  10 of 3,687

Jose Vargas Mone
Jose Vargas Mone

Jose Vargas Mone moved all in from the small blind for 1,925,000, and Alexander Perez called from the big blind with Ah8h.

Vargas Mone turned over 10c9c, and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 5h2s2d8d9h — Perez paired his eight on the river, but Vargas Mone paired his nine on the river to win the pot and double up in chips.

Jose Vargas Mone  –  4,050,000  (20 bb)
Alexander Perez  –  3,900,000  (20 bb)

With 10 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 7,375,000 (37 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,230 each.

Event 1: Adam Darkazalli Eliminated in 11th Place by James Collins

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  10 of 3,687

Adam Darkazalli
Adam Darkazalli

James Collins raised from the button to 500,000, Adam Darkazalli moved all in from the big blind for 6,525,000, and Collins called with QsQh.

Darkazalli turned over AcKc, and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came 4s3h2c2h10c — Darkazalli flopped a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. Collins won the pot with his pocket queens to eliminate Darkazalli in 11th place.

James Collins  –  13,700,000  (69 bb)
Adam Darkazalli  –  Eliminated in 11th Place  ($10,720)

With 10 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 7,375,000 (37 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,230 each.

James Collins
James Collins

Event 1: Alexander Perez Doubles Thru Jason Klass

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  11 of 3,687

Alexander Perez
Alexander Perez

Toan Pham raised under the gun to 550,000, and Alexander Perez moved all in from the button for 2,350,000. Jason Klass four-bet it from the small blind to 5,000,000, and Pham folded.

Perez turned over JsJd, and he needed it to hold to stay alive against the AsKs of Klass.

The board came 6d4h2s8c3d, and the pocket jacks held up for Perez to win the pot and double up in chips.

Alexander Perez  –  5,650,000  (28 bb)
Jason Klass  –  7,900,000  (40 bb)

With 11 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 6,700,000 (34 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $10,720 each.

Event 1: Luis Hernandez Eliminated in 12th Place by Kevin Payton

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  11 of 3,687

Luis Hernandez
Luis Hernandez

Luis Hernandez moved all in from the hijack for about 1,850,000, and Kevin Payton called from the big blind with QsQh.

Hernandez turned over AsKh, and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came AcQc7c7dKs, and Payton flopped a set of queens and turned a full house to win the pot and eliminate Hernandez in 12th place.

Kevin Payton  –  9,700,000  (49 bb)
Luis Hernandez  –  Eliminated in 12th Place  ($10,720)

With 11 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 6,700,000 (34 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $10,720 each.

Event 1: Michael Dermer Eliminated in 13th Place by Jason Klass on the Worst/Perfect River Card

$400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  12 of 3,687

Michael Dermer
Michael Dermer

Michael Dermer raised from the hijack, and Jason Klass called from the big blind.

The flop came Kd7d2d, Klass checked, Dermer bet 500,000, and Klass called.

The turn card paired the board with the Ks, Klass checked, Dermer bet 500,000, Klass check-raised to 1,500,000, and Dermer called.

The river card was the Qd, Klass moved all in, and Dermer snap-called all in for about 1.3 million with Ad10s for an ace-high diamond flush.

But Klass turned over KcQh to win the pot with a full house, kings full of queens, eliminating Dermer in 13th place.

Jason Klass  –  10,250,000  (51 bb)
Michael Dermer  –  Eliminated in 13th Place  ($8,225)

With 12 players remaining, the average chip stack is about 6,150,000 (31 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $10,720 each.