The final table has been set at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale and it is still Alan Sternberg who leads, holding 4.605 million chips. Continuing the unique schedule, the tournament will take Wednesday off and hold the final table on Thursday. Today’s action at the casino is for the final table of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
Sternberg began Day 3 as the chip leader with 1.6 million chips and though he added 3 million to that by the end of the night, it’s not like the path was a straight shot upward. At one point, Sternberg’s chip stack dipped below what he started with on the day after doubling-up Cliff Josephy.
For the most part, though, Sternberg’s day went relatively smoothly. One of his most significant hands came late with just eight players remaining. Jonathan Jaffe raised pre-flop to 70,000 chips and Sternberg three-bet to 160,000. Jaffe then decided to move all-in for 630,000 and Sternberg made the call.
Jaffe showed A-2, but was well behind Sternberg’s Kings. Jaffe was unable to hit his Ace or put together any sort of runner combination and was eliminated in eighth place. That pot put Sternberg just about at his total to end the night.
The other news of the day from the Hard Rock was that Benjamin Zamani won the Season XV Hublot WPT Player of the Year title. Pat Lyons was the last player remaining who had a chance to overtake Zamani, but when he was eliminated in 23rd place, it made it a mathematical impossibility, allowing Zamani to clinch the award.
Zamani made three final tables at the beginning of the season, giving him a huge head start on the POY of the year title. He started off with runner-up finishes at both WPT Choctaw and WPT Legends of Poker way back in August and then, in October, finished fifth at WPT Maryland Live! In the end, it was a very close race, as Zamani just edged out Sam Panzica, 2,550 points to 2,500.
As mentioned, the final table of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale will not be contested until Thursday, April 6 at noon ET. Right now, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown final table is in the spotlight with just two players remaining. The WPT Tournament of Champions, also held at the Hard Rock, will begin on Friday.
WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale – Final Table Chip Counts
1. Alan Sternberg – 4,605,000
2. Ryan Riess – 3,090,000
3. Tim West – 1,995,000
4. Cliff Josephy – 1,855,000
5. Terry Schumacher – 1,385,000
6. Jason Koon – 1,030,000
