By Kevin Taylor
Brian Altman lives in Boston, MA, but if you took a quick look at his poker results, you would assume he lives down here in Florida. The poker pro has over $3.7 million in winnings, with his biggest live cash coming in this very event, when he won it in 2015. That is one of five tournament victories he has at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel, and he nearly got his sixth win earlier in the series, as he scored a pair of third-place finishes. We asked Altman what makes him so lethal here at the Seminole Hard Rock.
“I think I do well here because I have a good grasp on the player pool. It’s easy for me to get here since it’s just a few hour flight, so I’m pretty well rested when I come here, and generally I’m just in a good mood to get out of the cold when I come here. All those factors make this a great place to come play,” said Altman.
Based on his play today, he could very well be on his way to another major final table here at the Seminole Hard Rock. As of the dinner break here on Day 2, he is third in chips, and has seen his stack steadily rise throughout the day. He kept it pretty straight-forward when asked what has been working well for him today.
“I’ve been making hands, and kind of just playing my cards. I haven’t faced a tremendous amount of resistance. I had to make a couple big-ish folds that were correct, but yeah things are good,” said Altman.
Not only has Altman been crushing it here in Florida, but just a few weeks ago, he was one of three players who earned a $10,000 WPT passport at the Gardens Casino in Southern California. That passport can be used at any major WPT event this season. While he didn’t use it for this event, he does plan to us it soon, perhaps at his next stop even.
“The passport I won can be used at any WPT major event as far as I know. I’m just going to use it for whatever buy-ins I have next. I didn’t use it for this because I didn’t inquire, but I’ll probably use it for Borgata and Fallsview, those are the next two I’m playing,” said Altman.
Altman is hoping he can make WPT history here on this stop. If Altman were to win this event, he would become the first player to win the same WPT event twice. Ironically enough, Eric Afriat came oh-so-close to doing that in this same casino, after he finished runner-up in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown last year five years after taking down the title.
Altman said it would be a special accomplishment if he is able to pull it off. “Winning another WPT, in particular this one, would be amazing. I don’t think anyone has won the same tournament twice, so that would be really special. If it happens that’s great, but right now I’m just taking it one hand at a time.”