The just-ended 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (SHRPO) consisted of 54 tournaments. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood hosted four tournaments on the show's last day, and here are their highlights.
Aaron Mermelstein Wins the $25,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event
Mermelstein bagged the 2019 SHRPO $25,000 High Roller title. Yet, he won this year's $25,500 High Roller after beating 85 opponents and received the $614,645 first-place prize.
It was the third-biggest payout in his career, and it increased his lifetime poker winnings to over $4.7 million.
Only 12 players got a share of the tournament's $2,124,200 prize pool.
They included Alex Foxen, Justin Saliba, Joey Weissman, Daniel Rezaei, and Frank Funaro. Mermelstein defeated Anonymous in the last battle of the blinds, sending them packing in second place with $441,805.
The Event's Prizes and Points
- Aaron Mermelstein-$614,645 and 672 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points
- Anonymous-$441,805 and 560 POY points
- Brandon Wittmeyer-$276,150 and 448 POY points
- Isaac Kempton-$189,055 and 336 POY points
- Daniel Rezaei-$125,330 and 280 POY points
- Mike Chiappetta-$93,465 and 224 POY points
- David Coleman-$76,470 and 168 POY points
- Viktor Ustimov-$65,850 and 112 POY points
- Frank Funaro-$63,725 and 56 POY points
Farid Jattin Bags $655,000 and a $5,300 No-Limit Hold'em Championship Title
The SHRPO $5,300 No-Limit Hold'em Championship attracted 1,079 players who created a $5,189,500 prize pool after surpassing its initial $3 million guarantee. But, only the leading 134 participants cashed, including Darren Elias, Asher Conniff, David Pham, Jim Collopy, Koray Aldemir, and Nadya Magnus.
The top four finalists agreed to share the remaining pool. Shannon Shorr had 38 big blinds, hence the short stack, but got $545,000. Yet, Omer Rotman received $490,762 despite being second on the leaderboard, while Kitty Kuo got $480,763 with 44 big blinds.
Farid Jattin won the tournament's largest prize of $655,000 and the title. Still, he amassed 1,920 POY points that, increased his total points to 2,280, and improved his position in the current POY race to the top 100.
The champion told reporters that he was delighted. This was his third-largest score as his lifetime poker earnings rose to over $8.3 million.
What Were the Final Table's Awards?
- Farid Jattin-$655,000 and 1,920 POY points
- Shannon Shorr-$545,000 and 1,600 POY points
- Omer Rotman-$490,762 and 1,280 POY points
- Kitty Kuo-$480,763 and 960 POY points
- Jim Collopy-$223,925 and 800 POY points
- Koray Aldemir-$180,130 and 640 POY points
- Nadya Magnus-$148,885 and 480 POY points
- Mike Leah-$118,115 and 320 POY points
- Philipe Pizzari-$87,960 and 160 POY points
