Florida Resident Beats Out 1,435-Entry Field To Earn The Largest Tournament Payday of His Career
Dylan Smith nearly captured a World Poker Tour (WPT) main event title in May 2024, finishing fifth at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Remarkably, he didn’t have to wait long for another shot at glory. Just 188 days later, Smith topped a massive field of 1,435 entries in the $3,500 buy-in WPT Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open main event, earning his first WPT title and a career-best payout of $662,200.“It feels phenomenal. I didn’t know when I’d get another chance at redemption, and I’m really grateful I was able to do it so quickly,” Smith said after his win.
Both of Smith’s WPT final table finishes have come at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida, a venue where he’s enjoyed consistent success. Eight of his top 14 career tournament scores were achieved there, contributing to his nearly $3.5 million in lifetime earnings across 103 recorded cashes.
In addition to the title and prize money, Smith earned 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points, bringing his total for the year to 2,689. With this, he now sits just outside the top 100 in the 2024 POY race standings presented by Global Poker.
The $3,500 buy-in event boasted a $3 million guarantee but far surpassed expectations with 1,435 entries, creating a prize pool of $4,592,000. Notable deep runs included two-time bracelet winner Jesse Lonis (29th), 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen (26th), and WPT champions Matthew Wantman (8th) and Darryll Fish (7th).
Final Table Action
The last day began with Matthew Beinner holding the chip lead and bracelet winner Francis Anderson on the short stack. Paul Domb was the first to exit in sixth place ($140,000) when his pocket jacks lost to Beinner’s pocket kings.
Anderson managed an early double-up with pocket kings but was later eliminated in fifth place ($184,000) when his pocket queens fell to Beinner’s ace-king, which paired on the turn. Anderson now boasts over $3.6 million in career earnings.
Landon Tice, who finished runner-up to Smith earlier this year at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, exited in fourth place ($245,000). His pocket nines couldn’t overcome Florian Ribouchon’s pocket tens.
Ribouchon’s run ended in third place ($325,000) after his pocket sixes were outmatched by Beinner’s pocket nines, leaving Smith and Beinner to battle heads-up.
Heads-Up Showdown
Beinner began with a nearly 2:1 chip lead, but Smith quickly turned the tide. A critical hand saw Smith river a straight against Beinner’s two pair, followed by another pot where Smith’s king-high flush forced Beinner to fold his eight-high straight.
The final hand saw Beinner down to 18 big blinds. Smith moved all-in with 7♦6♦, and Beinner called with Q♠J♠. The flop came K♦7♠6♠, giving Smith two pair. Beinner gained outs with a gutshot straight draw on the turn, but the river blanked, securing Smith’s victory. Beinner earned $440,000 for second place, more than doubling his previous career-best payday.
Source: https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-ne...ur-seminole-rock-n-roll-poker-open-main-event
