World Poker Tour Main Tour events draw from a few different pools of players. There are those that follow the tour around wherever it goes, chasing titles. But at every stop, especially both events at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, local players make up a significant portion of the field.
Few players, if any, fit the mold of a “local Florida player” more than Delray Beach resident Raminder Singh. Singh was in the field for Day 1A of the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown on Friday, chasing a title among the more than 1,000 entries in an event that cracked the $3 million guarantee before the first dinner break.
It’s been a good series for Singh already, as he won his 10th career win in one of the Seminole Hard Rock’s four major quarterly series.
“This is a very special place, Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, to play poker – one of my favorites,” said Singh. “I’m a local, I call myself a true poker amateur. I love playing here. To be honest with you, I didn’t know [about the record] until I was told. I saw some posts that said I was tied with nine. I just come over here to play for fun, and I’m not big into stats or numbers. But it felt good to win.”
That 10th win is a record in its own right, but it’s only part of a bigger story. It was Singh’s 79th recorded victory, according to Hendon Mob, with all but four of them won in the state of Florida. With the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown series results yet to be added, Singh has 129 career cashes at that property alone.
From Hollywood to Jacksonville, Pompano Beach to Coconut Creek, Tampa to West Palm Beach, Singh has made a habit of winning in the Sunshine State. No matter if it’s nightly tournaments or bigger series events, Singh has a way of making the money.
Singh’s tournament results in Florida date back to January 2011, a few years after he relocated his home.
“I moved to Florida in 2005 for a corporate job, a corporate executive role in information technology,” said Singh. At that job, my boss, he played poker, and he brought me along for a bar league tournament, a free tournament. I didn’t even know how to spell poker, to be honest with you, and that was in 2006. I ended up winning that tournament with three-six offsuit, cracking pocket kings. Then I got that bug, and I started playing more regularly after I set up my IT consulting business in 2011.”
Singh’s volume started to pick up in 2016, and to date he’s recorded four career six-figure cashes. One was a victory in a massive field $600 opening event at the 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, along with a WSOP Circuit main event win and a pair of second-place finishes including a WPT Deepstacks result.
“I absolutely love the environment here when there are big tournaments and big series,” said Singh. “My favorite tournaments are the lower buy-ins, $400 and $600, with a huge field.”
Singh playing in a $3,500 WPT Main Tour event is a bit rarer of an occurrence, largely due to having to take off extra days from work. But with the SHRPS action wrapping up on Tuesday in Hollywood, Singh was able to make the timing work. While he’s happy to have a shot at adding his name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, you’re far more likely to spot Singh having a good time playing in a weekly $100 or $150 somewhere in South Florida.
“That’s what I love,” said Singh. “I normally play tournaments where my clients play – a lot of my clients have become very good friends. I get to sit down at the same table with them, get some time with them and it’s business as well as poker.”
While almost all of his results have come in Florida, Singh has dreams of traveling the world playing poker in a few more years, seeing the sights, and getting to experience games in other poker hotbeds.
For now, life and responsibilities keep him, for the time being, as a frequent presence in Florida poker.
“We have two kids, with family and business obligations, as the CEO of a management consulting company. It’s very hard to get out of Florida, but down the road when the kids move out, go to college, me and my wife have plans to travel to Europe – my wife is from Europe originally – and I’ll play some EPTs and WPT Prime events. I also have my eyes on Australia. It’s a dream for me to go there and play. I’d just love to do that.”