The first stop on the World Poker Tour Regional Series just concluded in Florida with a familiar name in the poker world taking home the top prize. PCA Champion Harrison Gimbel was able to outlast a strong field of some 300 players to capture the title, and $330,000 in prize-money after making a deal during heads-up play.
A number of big name poker pros made the trek to the Sunshine State to compete in the inaugural WPT Regional tournament, with the likes of Gimbel, Jason Mercier, Jeff Madsen, Allie Prescott, Josh Arieh, and Jonathan Aguiar all participating in the tournament. Gimbel, who is only 20, was able to compete in the event due to the Florida law that sets the age requirement to gamble in a casino at 18.
Gimbel is a rising star in the poker world and now has two major tournament victories under his belt, the 2010 PCA worth $2.2 million, and the WPT Seminole worth $330k, as well as winning the 2009 Florida Poker Championship worth $68k. Gimbel has now surpassed the $2.5 million mark for tournament poker winnings. Alas he will have to wait until 2012 to play in the World Series of Poker as he doesn’t turn 21 until October of 2011.
Another wrinkle added to the WPT Regional tournament was the addition of a second starting day, so players who were eliminated on Day 1a were able to buy in again on Day 1b. These second-chance tournaments have been growing more-and-more popular over the past few years.
Here is a look at how the final table fared at the 2010 WPT Regional Seminole Hard Rock Fall Open:
- 1st: Harrison Gimbel $330,000
- 2nd: Anthony Ruberto $275,252
- 3rd: Fred Goldberg $144,733
- 4th: Raj Vohra $92,103
- 5th: Albert Jinsu Kim $65,788
- 6th: Aaron Schaff $56,577
- 7th: Alex Findlay $43,420
- 8th: Anthony Pope $31,578
- 9th: Allie Prescott $30,262
The WPT’s next stop will be in Morocco for the €5,000 buy-in Marrakech Poker Open, taking place from November 27th-30th. Marrakech will be followed by the WPT Five Diamonds Poker Classic at the Bellagio, where the $10k Main Event will begin on December 3rd and run through the 8th (The Five Diamonds Poker Classic will feature a total of 17 tournaments beginning on November 26th).
The Next Regional Series stop for the WPT will take place at Harrah’s Chester property in Pennsylvania. Like Florida, Pennsylvania expanded their gaming in 2010 which has attracted major poker tournaments to the state, and seen a huge rise in casino revenue.
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