The 2023 U.S. Poker Open (USPO) $25,000 buy-in no-limit Hold’em tournament attracted 47 entrants. Dan Smith won the event and received $399,500, his major PokerGO Tour (PGT) victory. Reports state that he has almost $41,500,000 in poker career tournament earnings.
Smith won a World Poker Tour (WPT) main event title and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in the past. He is the eighth player in the all-time poker money list after surpassing Mikita Badziakouski’s $41.2 million earnings. Still, Smith has played at four final tables this year.
He has 1,652 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points and about $1.6 million in POY earnings that improved his rank in the 2023 POY race to the top 50. Smith’s latest win helped him get to the fifth position in the USPO Player of the Series standings. He won $189,000 after finishing third in another $25,000 buy-in tournament.
Smith informed PokerGO reporters after the tournament that the USPO series championship trophy is unique and it weighs 54 pounds. He is determined to win it after finishing third once and is in the top 25 positions on the PGT leaderboard.
ARIA Resort & Casino’s PokerGO Studio held the $25,000 buy-in tournament for two days. Johan Schultz-Pedersen finished eighth and burst the money bubble on Day 1. Daniel Negreanu exited the tournament in the seventh position with $47,000 ending the day’s action.
What Were the Top Finalists’ Prizes and Ranking Points?
1. Dan Smith-$399,500; 420 POY points and 240 PGT points
2. Ren Lin-$258,500; 350 POY points and 155 PGT points
3. Brian Kim-$176,250;280 POY points and 106 PGT points
4. Cary Katz-$129,250; 210 POY points and 78 PGT points
5. Punnat Punsri-$94,000; 175 POY points and 56 PGT points
6. Nick Schulman-$70,500; 140 POY points and 42 PGT points
7. Daniel Negreanu-$47,000; 105 POY points and 28 PGT points
Day 2 Highlights
Brian Kim had the biggest stack early on Day 2. Nick Schulman got busted first in sixth place after his Q-10 lost to Smith’s A-K. The former got the lead after flopping a queen, unfortunately, Smith got the winning hand from an ace on the river and sent Schulman packing.
Punnat Punsri broke an hour and forty-five minutes stalemate after using A-J to face Smith’s A-Q. Yet, a queen high flop prolonged Smith’s chip lead. He got an ace-high flush from running hearts and busted Punsri in the fifth position.
Smith used KClub SuitJClub Suit to make a small blind open shove, and Katz used KSpade SuitQSpade Suit to make a big blind all-in call. The latter finished fourth. Kim called, and Lin used JHeart Suit7Club Suit to roll over for a jack-high straight.
The former finished third with $176,250. Smith had a 4,580,000:2,475,000 chip advantage over Lin when they clashed. But the board ran out JHeart Suit10Diamond Suit2Heart Suit10Heart Suit3Heart Suit earning Smith’s tens and jacks the title. Lin finished second with $258,500.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.