The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is currently underway in Hollywood, Florida and will culminate next week with the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event, which runs April 8-12. PokerNews will be on-site to offer stories and content from the tournament floor.
While it has a guaranteed prize pool of $3 million, the marquee event will likely smash that as last year’s Main Event nearly quadrupled the guaranteed $2 million.
The Main Event will have two starting flights, the first on April 8 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time and the second on April 9 at the same time. Players will start with a stack of 50,000 chips with blinds at 100/200/200 and one-hour levels. Late registration will remain open until the start of Level 9 at approximately 9:15 p.m.
Day 2 will kick off on April 10 at noon, followed by Days 3 and 4 the next two days at the same time. The final table, which will be filmed and televised, will take place on May 25 at Esports Arena Las Vegas.
A live-stream of the final table will be broadcast on a 30-minute delay on WPT Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch channels, and is also accessible through the WatchWPT app and ThetaTV.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown WPT Main Event Schedule
| DATE | TIME | EVENT | |
| April 8, 2022 | 11 a.m. ET | Main Event Day 1A | |
| April 9, 2022 | 11 a.m. ET | Main Event Day 1B | |
| April 10, 2022 | 12 p.m. ET | Main Event Day 2 | |
| April 11, 2022 | 12 p.m. ET | Main Event Day 3 | |
| April 12, 2022 | 12 p.m. ET | Main Event Day 4 | |
| May 25, 2022 | TBD | Main Event Final Table |
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Previous Winner
Brek Schutten is the reigning Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown champion after taking down the 2021 Main Event for $1,261,095 by defeating heads-up opponent Steven Snyder ($899,295).
The 2021 event was a massive success and generated $7,942,400 in prize money to nearly quadruple the $2 million guarantee. The tournament had 2,482 entries to make it the largest WPT Main Event in history, blowing out the prior record set by the Season XII WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, which had 1,795 entrants.
In addition to the seven-figure score, Schutten took home a Hublot Big Bang Steel Watch, a set of Baccarat Crystal, as well as $15,000 added to the top prize due to the cancelation of WPT TOC. Schutten, who has $2.2 million in total live earnings, also had his named engraved on the prestigious WPT Champions Cup.
Other players in the field in the 2021 event included Kristen Bicknell, Vanessa Kade, Jeff Gross, Shankar Pillai, Kathy Liebert, Matt Glantz, Frank Stepuchin and 2019-21 WPT Player of the Year Brian Altman.
2021 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brek Schutten | United States | $1,261,095 |
| 2 | Steven Snyder | United States | $899,295 |
| 3 | Viet Van Vo | United States | $593,140 |
| 4 | Sonny Franco | France | $438,500 |
| 5 | Albert Calderon | United States | $326,750 |
| 6 | Ken Aldridge | United States | $261,700 |
Impressive Turnout
The 14 completed events so far at this year’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, which kicked off on March 24, have attracted massive fields, the biggest being Event #1: $400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em, which had 3,687 entrants for a prize pool of $1,216,710.
Florida’s James Collins took down the Deep Stack event for $130,682 following an eight-handed deal. Other players who got in on the deal include Mihalache Cean ($98,607), Kevin Payton ($87,129) Toan Pham ($74,060) and Daniyal Gheba ($67,345).
Another tournament with a big field was Event #7: $200 Big Stack No-Limit Hold’em, which attracted 1,462 entrants for a prize pool of $233,920. Vendel Johnson took the event down for $26,497 and to win his second WPT trophy following a five-handed deal, along with Andre Bryan ($22,912), Kelly Alonso ($21,170), Ayed Shweihat ($18,282) and Alexandru Predincea ($17,389).
Next, all-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit ring winner Maurice Hawkins found a first-place finish in Event #8: $400 Black Chip Bounty No-Limit Hold’em for $7,895 after a three-way even chop.
Other players who have earned trophies this series include Nick Palma, who took down Event #6: $1,100 Deep Stack NLH for $41,050, as well. as Enreko Fracassi, who won Event #12: $400 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out) for $14,490.
A full list of winners so far at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is available in the table below.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Winners So Far
| TOURNAMENT | ENTRIES | PRIZE POOL | WINNER | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
| Event #1: $400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em | 3,687 | $1,216,710 | James Collins | $130,682* | |
| Event #2: $400 Limit Omaha 8 | 116 | $38,860 | Michael Bozeman | $11,330 | |
| Event #3: $400 H.O.R.S.E. | 74 | $24,790 | John Simcox | $6,543* | |
| Event #4: $400 Pot Limit Omaha | 108 | $36,180 | John Binns | $10,720 | |
| Event #5: $400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em | 320 | $107,200 | Zoltan Czinkota | $12,255* | |
| Event #6: $1,100 Deep Stack NLH | 160 | $155,200 | Nick Palma | $41,050 | |
| Event #7: $200 Big Stack No-Limit Hold’em | 1,462 | $233,920 | Vendel Johnson | $26,497* | |
| Event #8: $400 Black Chip Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | 194 | $45,950 | Maurice Hawkins | $7,895* | |
| Event #9: $400 Big O | 109 | $36,515 | Anatoli Zyrin | $10,950 | |
| Event #10: $400 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em | 151 | $50,585 | Nohad “Nu” Teliani | $9,986* | |
| Event #11: $400 Omaha 8/Stud 8 | 81 | $27,135 | Gary Kosakowski | $8,645 | |
| Event #12: $400 Eight-Handed No-Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out) | 165 | $55,275 | Enreko Fracassi | $14,490 | |
| Event #13: $400 Six-Max Pot Limit Omaha | 161 | $53,935 | Nancy Birnbaum | $11,830* | |
| Event #14: $200 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty | 478 | $41,580 | Richard Coppola | $5,943* |
*Reflects final table deal
Images courtesy of WPT and Seminole Hard Rock