2025 Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 15
$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guarantee
Entries:  384
Prize Pool:  $372,480
March 23-25, 2025

Tuesday marked the end of the first $1,100 Platinum Stack event here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, where players began the tournament with 100,000 in chips. There were 384 entries across two starting flights, and 49 players made the money and survived to Day 2. When the final four players agreed to a deal, chipleader Dessiree Bennett was declared the winner, receiving the title, the trophy, and $49,199.

“It feels great,” said Bennett. “And I actually won on a satellite ticket, so that was even better.”

Bennett earned her entry into this $1,100 event for only $250, and she survived Day 1 in the middle of the pack. Day 2 went even better for Bennett, and by the time they reached the final table, she had the chip lead.

“I found the level of play was very, very high, which helped me because it made me play even better,” said Bennett. “It was a great field of players.”

Asked how it felt to start the final table with the lead, Bennett said, “There’s pressure, because you don’t want to blow it, but you also want to keep gathering chips.”

Bennett has come up with her own system to help guide her when she plays.

“I have rules that I make for myself,” said Bennett, “and that’s why I always stack my chips in weird ways, because I’m always trying to make measured bets and raises.”

Bennett’s husband Nick is the one who first taught her poker, but according to him, she’s the better player, and more passionate about the game. While she’s won poker tournaments before, this was her victory that came with a nice physical trophy she can display in their home in Aruba.

“This is my first trophy,” said Bennett. “So we’ll find a really nice place for it, because we love the Hard Rock. They always have great tournaments, and we really love it here.”

RESULTS:

* Indicates the results of a four-way deal.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 384

After the elimination of Anibal Pabon in fifth place, the final four players agreed to a deal to end the tournament and split the remaining prizepool. These were their official chip counts:

1.  Dessiree Bennett  –  14,525,000  (58 bb)
2.  Steve Blackmon  –  11,350,000  (45 bb)
3.  Chad Roedersheimer  –  7,525,000  (30 bb)
4.  Juan Mubarak  –  7,025,000  (28 bb)

And these are the modified payouts they agreed to:

1st:  Dessiree Bennett  –  $49,199* + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  Steve Blackmon  –  $48,675*
3rd:  Chad Roedersheimer  –  $41,735*
4th:  Juan Mubarak  –  $40,891*

As chipleader, Dessiree Bennett was declared the winner, receiving the title and the trophy. Congratulations, Dessiree!

Stay tuned for a recap from this event, which will be posted later tonight.

* Indicates the results of a four-way deal.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 384

Anibal Pabon raised from the cutoff to 650,000, Chad Roedersheimer reraised from the button to 1,700,000, and Pabon moved all in for 3,125,000.

Roedersheimer called with , and Pabon turned over . Pabon needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Pabon turned a diamond flush draw, but improved no further. Roedersheimer won the pot with a pair of queens to eliminate Pabon in fifth place.

Chad Roedersheimer  –  7,525,000  (30 bb)
Anibal Pabon  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($20,100)

With four players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 9,600,000 (38 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $26,500 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 384

Wayne Leonard moved all in for 1,250,000, and Steve Blackmon called with . Leonard turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Blackmon won the pot with his ace to eliminate Leonard in sixth place.

Steve Blackmon  –  12,000,000  (48 bb)
Wayne Leonard  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($15,400)

With five players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 7,675,000 (31 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $20,100 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 384

Dessiree Bennett raised UTG+1 to 600,000, Steve Blackmon called from the button, and Sean Byars moved all in from the big blind for 1,750,000. Bennett called, and Blackmon thought for a while before he folded.

Byars turned over , and he needed it to hold to stay alive against Bennett’s . (Blackmon said he folded pocket fours.)

The board came , and Bennett paired her king on the river to win the pot and eliminate Byars in seventh place.

Dessiree Bennett  –  14,000,000  (56 bb)
Sean Byars  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($11,800)

With six players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 6,400,000 (26 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $15,400 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 384

Tanupat Punjarojanakul moved all in from the small blind for about 1,650,000, and Steve Blackmon called from the big blind with .

Punjarojanakul turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket queens held up for Blackmon to win the pot and eliminate Punjarojanakul in eighth place.

Steve Blackmon  –  10,675,000  (43 bb)
Tanupat Punjarojanakul  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($9,200)

With seven players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 5,475,000 (22 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $11,800 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 27:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 384

Chad Roedersheimer raised UTG+1 to 500,000, Dessiree Bennett reraised from middle position to 2,000,000, and Samuel Kim called all in from the hijack for 125,000. Roedersheimer folded.

Kim turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive against Bennett’s .

The board came , and the pocket aces held up for Bennett to win the pot and eliminate Kim in ninth place.

Dessiree Bennett  –  11,700,000  (59 bb)
Samuel Kim  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($7,200)

With eight players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 4,800,000 (24 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $9,200 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 27:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 384

Samuel Kim raised from the cutoff, Steve Blackmon moved all in from the big blind for 4,050,000, and Kim called with a similar stack and showed .

Blackmon turned over , and it was a race situation between similar stacks.

The board came , and Kim flopped a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. The pocket nines held up for Blackmon to win the pot.

Both chip stacks were counted down, and Kim had 4,175,000 to Blackmon’s 4,050,000. Blackmon gets a full double-up, while Kim is knocked all the way down to a single small blind of 125,000.

Steve Blackmon  –  8,400,000  (42 bb)
Samuel Kim  –  125,000  (<1 bb)

With nine players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 4,275,000 (21 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $7,200 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 27:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 384

Steve Blackmon raised from middle position to 500,000, Anibal Pabon moved all in from the hijack for 4,025,000, and Blackmon called all in for 1,875,000 with .

Pabon turned over , and Blackmon needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Blackmon lead the entire, winning the pot with a rivered full house to double up in chips.

Steve Blackmon  –  4,250,000  (21 bb)
Anibal Pabon  –  2,150,000  (11 bb)

With nine players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 4,275,000 (21 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $7,200 each.

$1,100 Platinum Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $372,480  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 27:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 384

After the elimination of Jessica in 10th place, the final nine players redraw for random seats at the final table. Here is the lineup with approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Sean Byars  –  2,050,000  (10 bb)
Seat 2.  Chad Roedersheimer  –  6,775,000  (34 bb)
Seat 3.  Dessiree Bennett  –  8,100,000  (41 bb)
Seat 4.  Wayne Leonard  –  1,000,000  (5 bb)
Seat 5.  Samuel Kim  –  4,500,000  (23 bb)
Seat 6.  Juan Mubarak  –  6,300,000  (32 bb)
Seat 7.  Tanupat Punjarojanakul  –  3,350,000  (17 bb)
Seat 8.  Steve Blackmon  –  1,875,000  (9 bb)
Seat 9.  Anibal Pabon  –  4,000,000  (20 bb)

And here are the final table payouts:

1st:  $70,500 + Showdown Trophy
2nd:  $48,000
3rd:  $35,500
4th:  $26,500
5th:  $20,100
6th:  $15,400
7th:  $11,800
8th:  $9,200
9th:  $7,200

With nine players remaining from a field of 384, the average chip stack is around 4,275,000 (21 big blinds). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $7,200 each.