After popping in and out of the Port of Miami for WPT Voyage, the World Poker Tour returns to Florida for one of its signature events – the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Hollywood, Florida. The history of the WPT at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood dates back over a decade, to Season IX, with the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown debuting in May 2011.
Since becoming a WPT stop back in 2012, the WPT SHRPS has returned each calendar year (except for 2020), making it one of the longest-running active events on the tour today. It’s also been one of the most consistently lucrative stops on tour, with six of the 12 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown champions banking at least $1 million for their respective wins.
The 2024 edition of the WPT SHRPS kicks off Friday, April 19 with Day 1A, followed by Day 1B on Saturday, April 20. The field will combine on Day 2 Sunday, and play through Day 4 on Tuesday until a final table of six has been locked in. The event will be paused at that point, with the final table set to be filmed in late May in Las Vegas.
With so much rich history surrounding this event, it feels only right to reflect ahead of the 13th edition of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
One Year Since Bin Weng Kicked His Career into High Gear
At the outset of the 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, Bin Weng is the No. 1 tournament poker player in the world according to the Global Poker Index rankings. One year ago, Weng was starting to put together a career year with a $1 million win at Borgata and a WSOP Circuit Main Event title over the first few months of 2023.
But that was only the beginning.
Weng flew down to Florida and started logging cashes from Event 1 of the prelims at SHRPS, and by the time the series was over, he’d secure his place at the WPT televised final table. He’d already punched his ticket to the TV tapings in Las Vegas, and then just one week later made his way to Oklahoma to do it all over again. Weng booked another final table spot for WPT Choctaw, and set himself up to play for WPT titles on back-to-back days as he looked to make history.
The first night at HyperX in Las Vegas netted Weng the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown title and $1,128,250. And while his second shot at a title came up short in fourth place, Weng was on his way to supercharging the rest of his year.
He went on to win over $2.2 million that July at the WPT EveryOne for One Drop at Wynn Las Vegas, and then capped it all off by chopping the $25,300 High Roller during the WPT World Championship festival. There were a few more players to sweat out, but Weng ultimately locked up 2023 WPT Player of the Year honors as well.
Brian Altman Chasing WPT History at a Friendly Venue
No individual tournament poker player has had more success at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood than Brian Altman. The three-time WPT champion won two WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open titles, in 2015 and 2020 (as well as his third WPT title at the sister property in Tampa in 2021), and also holds the No. 1 spot on the all-time money list for tournaments held on the property.
Altman is the most recent addition to the three-time WPT champions club, and as everyone chases down Darren Elias’ current record of four WPT titles, Altman figures to be a player to watch once the 2024 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown kicks off on Friday.
Checking in on SHRPS 2024 Prelim Action
In the lead-up to every WPT Main Tour Stop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, a month-long festival of events brings out some of the biggest names in poker and generates tremendous stories (and prizes) along the way.
WPT Champions Club member Chance Kornuth took down a $10,000 Heads Up event earlier this week, defeating Scott Baumstein to seal the deal. Along the way, Kornuth defeated Landon Tice in the semifinals and managed an icy slowroll to his friend on his way to victory.
The biggest story coming out of the prelim events was that of Ryan Hoenig. His run of form started inauspiciously enough with a sixth-place finish in a $600 Omaha Hi-Lo event on April 5. Two days later, it was fifth in an $1,100 No Limit Hold’em tournament. But that’s when the real fun started.
Hoenig put together back-to-back runner-up finishes on April 9th and 10th, but that was still just the beginning. Hoenig ran off three consecutive victories on the next three nights, from April 11 to April 13 in three different mixed game formats. If he hasn’t used up every ounce of his run-good, Hoenig will be a player to watch for in the Championship Event field.
To the surprise of few who follow tournament results, Ari Engel recorded two titles himself during the SHRPS festival. Two-time 2023 WSOP bracelet winner Brian Yoon picked up a $10,000 No Limit Hold’em title in one of the biggest buy-in events of the festival as well.
WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Gallery of Champions
Season 9 (2011): Taylor Von Kriegenbergh – $1,122,340
Season 10 (2012): Tommy Vedes – $779,520
Season 11 (2013): Kevin Eyster – $660,395
Season 12 (2014): Eric Afriat – $1,081,184
Season 13 (2015): Griffin Paul – $1,000,000
Season 14 (2016): Justin Young – $669,161
Season 15 (2017): Tony Sinishtaj – $661,283
Season 16 (2018): Scott Margereson – $696,740
Season 17 (2019): James Carroll – $715,175
Season 18 (2021): Brek Schutten – $1,261,085
Season 20 (2022): Mark Davis – $1,000,300
Season 21 (2023): Bin Weng – $1,128,250
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood All-Time Money List
According to Hendon Mob, as of April 18, 2024
- *Brian Altman – $3,171,258
- *Alex Foxen – $2,974,564
- Sean Winter – $2,742,404
- Daniel Colman – $ 2,510,966
- Jason Mercier – $2,495,977
- Justin Bonomo – $2,480,463
- Blair Hinkle – $2,314,241
- Jake Schindler – $2,161,055
- Mukul Pahuja -$2,096,376
- Joseph McKeehen – $2,076,236
*WPT Champions Club member
For full tournament details, check out the 2024 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown landing page.