Scott Margereson takes down WPT Poker Showdown Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood concluded its 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown series in the early morning hours of Thursday. The series marked the second time pairing WPTDeepStacks and WPT brands in the same festival, the first being January’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

With 1,309 total entries, the $3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship featured a final prize pool of $4,188,800, easily exceeding the $3 million guarantee. It was Scott Margereson of the United Kingdom who emerged victorious, taking home the top prize of $696,740 inclusive of a seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, valued at $15,000. Margereson, 25, is an accomplished online pro currently residing in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The 2018 WPT Poker Showdown, which ran as part of the tour’s Season XVI, marked the fifth-largest Championship in WPT history. That puts the Seminole Hard Rock first (1,795 entries in 2014), second (1,476 entries in 2015) and fifth on the WPT’s all-time attendance list.

Championship final table results:
1st: Scott Margereson (Chesterfield, U.K.) $696,740*
2nd: Faraz Jaka (Delray Beach, Florida) $454,496
3rd: Brian Hastings (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) $336,466
4th: Joey Couden (Coconut Creek, Florida) $251,523
5th: Matt Stout (Las Vegas, Nevada) $189,880
6th: Jeff Fielder (Des Moines, Iowa) $144,775
*Inclusive of a seat into WPT Tournament of Champions

In addition to being live streamed online, the WPT Poker Showdown Championship was filmed for television for future airing.

The 22-event Poker Showdown kicked off in the new Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock on Thursday, 5 April with the $570 Deep Stack series opener. The event drew more than 3,000 entries, highlighting a final prize pool of more than $1.5 million.

Signature event winners from the 2018 Poker Showdown include:

• Steven Bennett (Deerfield Beach, Florida), winning the $570 Deep Stack opener for $186,308.
• Michael Tureniec (Stockholm), winning the $1,100 WPTDeepStacks for $143,324.
• Brandon Adams (Gulf Breeze, Florida), winning the $25,500 High Roller NLH for $370,000.
• Peter Walsworth (Lakewood Ranch, Florida), winning the $5,000 NLH for $141,976.

During the series, 17 players cashed for $100,000 or more.

Poker action will return to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, with the Deep Stack Series on 17–28 May 2018, followed by the property’s signature series, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) kicking off on 2 August 2018.

Future tournament information and poker hotel rates are available at SHRPO.com.