After 3 days of the intense action and a tough final table at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Tony Sinishtaj walked away with the WPT title, a seat into the WPT Tournament of Champions, a seat into the 2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship, and of course the first place prize $661,283.The $3,500 buy-in tournament attracted 1,207 entrants to take the prize pool up to $3,862,400. Sinishtaj defeated Darryll Fish in the heads-up game who took home $453,185 for his efforts.
“It feels great. It’s really hard to put into words. It’s just a long time coming. I’ve been playing a long time and it feels great to finally, you know, put your name on the trophy,” said Sinishtaj.
After Matt Affleck was eliminated in 7th place on the final day, the 6-handed final table, which WPT live-streamed, was reached where Colman began as the chip lead. Just 20 minutes later, Colman holding Kh-8h opened to 225,000 and Naydenov announced all in for 1,915,000 to which Colman called with Ah-7h. The board ran As-Qh-4c-Ac-6s to give Colman the win and eliminate Naydenov in 6th place. A few hands later, Eric Beller holding Ah-7s moved all in for 2,090,000 and found a caller in Robert Mizrachi who held Kc-ks. The board was Kd-Qd-9d-5c-6c to give Mizrachi the pot and knock out Beller with his pocket kings. The 4th elimination on the final table came in the form of Colman who was eliminated by Darryll Fish when his pocket 2s weren’t able to hold up.
Later, it took only a few hands to reach the heads-up game. After Fish raised to 600,000, Mizrachi holding 4c-4d moved all in for 3,500,000 to which Fish called with Ah-Qd. The board delivered Qh-3h-2s-8h-9h to give Fish flush to eliminate Mizrachi in 3rd place to enter the heads-up game with Sinishtaj. The final hand of the event saw them go to a flop of 8d-3s-2d where Fish holding As-3d moved all in and Sinishtaj snap-called with Kd-Qd. The turn and river were 6d and 9d, giving Sinishtaj the winning flush to eliminate Fish and win the coveted title.
Final Table Payouts:
- Tony Sinishtaj – $661,283
- Darryll Fish – $453,185
- Robert Mizrachi – $293,864
- Dan Colman – $217,686
- Eric Beller – $164,438
- Simeon Naydenov – $132,889
Indian-Origin Player Nipun Java Wins Side Event the $360 NLH for $17,949
In a side event, it was Indian-origin Nipun Java who shined. He took down the $360 NLH for $17,949. It was his first title after a long time of three futile years. He made several in the money finishes but couldn’t reach impressive scores. After 15 final table finishes, he finally claimed his first title.
Final Table Payouts:
1. Nipun Java – $17,949
2. Jorge Gomez – $12,636
3. Jonathan Hilton – $8,126
4. Carlos Rodriguez Rojas – $4,957
5. Jeffrey Trudeau Jr. – $3,828
6. Ray St. Jacques Carrion – $3,172
7. Matthew Zarcadoolas – $2,663
8. Homero Molina – $2,226
9. Bryce McVay – $1,795
10. Ghassan Toubia – $1,511