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Seminole Hard Rock Casino announces poker champ

17 August 2016

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Big 4, the second annual, four-tournament finale, played out Tuesday night as part of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Hollywood in Hollywood, Florida. The series' champion, Jason Koon of Weston, W.V., won the $5,250 buy-in SHRPO Championship after defeating his former roommate Seth Davies who came in second place, taking home $575,000. Koon pocketed $1,000,000 along with the Seminole Hard Rock's token guitar pick trophy.

Koon is a professional poker player and owns more than $5,000,000 in career earnings. Among his notable accomplishments are five tournament victories, and despite a laundry list of accolades, the $1,000,000 score marks his largest win to date.

Hosted by Seminole Hard Rock for the second consecutive year, The Big 4, one-of-a-kind finale, was nominated for Innovation of the Year by the industry-leading GPI American Poker Awards. Joined by a $25,500 High Roller, a $2,650 Freeze-Out and a $1,100 Re-Entry tournament, The Big 4 is an event unique to South Florida. The tournaments feature staggered structures designed to cascade toward their completions, with the final four tables playing out alongside each other in front of a live audience.

This year's installment drew 847 entries in the Championship, as well as 105 in the High Roller, 529 in the $2,650 and 828 in the $1,100. The latter three numbers marked notable attendance increases year-over-year.

In addition to Koon, the other Big 4 winners were:

  • Marvin Rettenmaier (Stuttgart, Germany), winning the $25,500 High Roller for $787,497
  • Bradley Snider (Plantation, Fla.), winning the $2,650 Freeze-Out for $246,400
  • Ruslan Dykshteyn (Hollywood, Fla.), winning the $1,100 Re-Entry for $151,000

The tournament's boasted combined guaranteed prize pools of more than $7.5 million. After more than 2,300 total entries, the cash payouts awarded topped out at more than $9.5 million. The final day of play was held at Hard Rock Live, where the completion of all four events was filmed by Poker Night in America for later airing on CBS Sports Network.

For the third year in a row, Championship weekend was preceded by the Charity Series of Poker tournament. Benefitting the Maximum Hope Foundation, an organization that provides financial assistance to families of children with a life-limiting illness, the event raised a total of $30,000 along with other independent donations. The event kicked off with an exclusive player party at the Seminole Hard Rock’s L Bar.

The conclusion of The Big 4 wrapped the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open series which kicked off July 28 and featured 28 primary events awarding more than $15,000,000 in prize money.

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