Thomas Elder earned a “breakthrough” win during the recently completed Seminole Hard Rock Tampa September Super Stacks poker series. He was the biggest winner out of seven players who came out victorious at the popular Central Florida card room.
SHRT is one of the top poker rooms in the Southeast, and has played host to some major tournaments including a $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour event in June. Brian Altman, the reigning WPT Player of the Year, shipped the trophy for $613,225, beating out a whopping 1,165 entries.
Hard Work Pays Off for Champ
The stakes weren’t quite as high during the recent mini series at SHRT as they were for the WPT event, but one player’s life may have changed because of the outcome of the series finale. Elder, a Floridian, showed up for the $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event on September 16 with less than $13,000 in Hendon Mob recorded live tournament cashes.
Elder’s odds of winning weren’t high. He was up against 322 other players, many of whom were seasoned tournament veterans. Still, he was able to work his way to Monday’s final table. Once again, he was up against it. He began the final table with just 14 big blinds and had a few talented pros to compete against, including Nick Palma and WSOP Circuit crusher Maurice Hawkins.
Poker is an unpredictable game, however. Elder battled at the final table, he ran hot, and outlasted the eight other players all vying for the $101,865 first place prize and the trophy that came with it. Final table results:
$1,700 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Thomas Elder | $101,865 |
| 2nd | Nick Palma | $67,900 |
| 3rd | Likang Berninger | $49,815 |
| 4th | Maurice Hawkins | $37,010 |
| 5th | Herbert Woodberry | $27,850 |
| 6th | Anthony Astarita | $21,235 |
| 7th | Karl Manouchakian | $16,400 |
| 8th | Hal Rotholz | $12,840 |
| 9th | Michael McCray | $10,185 |
Elder was ecstatic to score the biggest win of his career. He said on Twitter he’d been putting in hard work the past few months on his game — hard work that is clearly paying off dividends.
I’ve been an avid poker player for a long time. I’ve started to dedicate time and resources over the past few month… https://t.co/gsqnmOz49D
— Thomas Elder (@thomaselder80)
Series at a Glance
The September Super Stacks series at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa consisted of seven events, including the Main Event. Each winner from the series is listed below:
| Tournament | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| $400 NLH | Daniel Clemente | $38,015 |
| $150 Turbo NLH | Wally Maddah | $3,400 |
| $150 NLH | Jeremy Becker | $27,200 |
| $150 NLH | Jayson Jones | $2,009 |
| $1,700 NLH Main Event | Thomas Elder | $101,865 |
| $250 NLH | Kyle Rignola | $7,936 |
| $150 NLH | Terri-Anne Crawford | $3,655 |
Seminole Hard Rock Tampa will host another series in October, and this one’s for a good cause during the 2021 WSOP for those who don’t travel west to Las Vegas.
The Pinktober Poker Open from October 14-25 guarantees at least $275,000 in prize money awarded, and all proceeds scooped during the series will benefit the American Cancer Society.
*Image courtesy of Seminole Hard Rock.