Dylan Smith and Jerry Wong Among the Winners at WPT SHRPS

The World Poker Tour has been at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, since April 8 for the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown (SHRPS), and more than three dozen players have been crowned champions.

The 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event finalist Jerry Wong and $5 million man Dylan Smith are just two of the standout names among the long winner’s list. Although Wong and Smith’s prizes were at the lower end of the scale, a victory is a victory and serves as a confidence booster for the upcoming 2026 WSOP.

Smith Gallops Away With H.O.R.S.E. Title

While Dylan Smith is more accustomed to playing in tournaments with $10,000+ buy-ins, he graced the $600 H.O.R.S.E. with his appearance last week. Smith was one of 67 entrants before becoming the last man standing and walking away with $12,135 for his efforts.

The final table featured such luminaries as Serbian star Damjan Radanov, who later won the $600 Big Bet Mix Dealers Choice event, 12-time WSOP Circuit ring winner John Holley, and the dangerous Long Nguyen; the latter fell in fifth place.

Elias Nassif and Eric Polier busted in fourth and third-place, respectively, before Smith used his vastly superior experience to brush aside Ahmet Alper in the heads-up clash.

Smith now has almost $5.1 million in live tournament earnings.

Wong Shows His Mixed Game Prowess in the Mixed Triple Draw

The $600 buy-in Mixed Triple Draw event drew in a crowd of 66 entrants, nine of whom were ultimately paid a slice of the $34,320 prize pool. All but one of those nine finalists hailed from the United States, with seventh-place finisher Alejandro Burzaco calling Argentina home.

Mixed game specialist John Holley bowed out in fifth, less than a week after he reached the final table of the $600 H.O.R.S.E. and finished second in the $400 Pot-Limit Omaha Deep Stack events. Holey is now approaching $3.1 million in earnings.

Wong navigated his way to heads-up, where he faced Florida native Eric Polier for the title and the $12,010 top prize. Wong got the job done in the one-on-one battle, defeating Polier and pushing his live poker tournament earnings north of $6.55 million.

Six players have bolstered their poker bankrolls with six-figure prizes, the perfect way to warm up for the upcoming $3 million guaranteed Main Event.

Colombia’s Sebastian Toro Henao navigated past 4,782 opponents in the $400 No-Limit Hold’em Deep Stack event and received $201,030, resigning second-place finisher Alejandro Exposito to a $134,000 consolation prize.

The other big winners so far came courtesy of 2,937 players buying into the $800 No-Limit Hold’em Mid-Series Showdown Platinum Stack. Those entrants’ results in a $2,070,585 prize pool, double the advertised $1 million guarantee.

Johnny Bromberg, a prolific player, came out on top and walked away with a career-best $258,125, taking his lifetime winnings past the $2 million mark. Bromberg defeated Duc Vu heads-up, leaving Vu to console himself with a $176,000 second-place prize. Orlando’s Joshua Hillock and David Moses of North Carolina, busted in third and fourth place, banking $131,000 and $101,000, respectively.

$3 Million Guaranteed WPT SHRPS Main Event Starts April 24

The crown jewel of the WPT SHRPS schedule is, without doubt, the $3,500 buy-in, $3 million guaranteed Main Event. Featuring two flights, with Day 1a starting at 11:00 a.m. local time on April 24 and Day 1b at the same time on April 25, the WPT SHRPS Main Event should be nothing short of huge, especially if previous editions give us something to go on.

Last year, Arthur Peacock outlasted 1,754 opponents and got his hands on $776,000 of the guarantee-busting $5,616,000 prize pool. The pot was so large that runner-up Mihai Niste took home $515,000.

Previous Four WPT SHRPS Main Event Champions

Images courtesy of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown X Account

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.