It was a big week of wins on the poker circuit as players in the United States and in the Bahamas cashed in sizable victories. Let’s take a closer look at the players who navigated their way to the top.
Davidson Wins Ameristar East Chicago Main Event
Season 15 of the Heartland Poker Tour is just getting underway and we have our first big winner of the year. The first HPT event occurred in East Chicago, with a $1,650 buy-in which collected 554 entries and generated a $794,260 prize pot. Nick Davidson earned the biggest prize of them all, snagging just over $178,700 for his victory.
Davidson, already a father of three, is expecting a new addition to his family in March, so this money will be a big boost. It’s his second win on the HPT Tour as he also won the 2016 HPT East Chicago event where he collected $166,806.
For his career, it’s mostly just the two big six-figure wins for Davidson as his next biggest win was just $11,992 in a seventh-place result at the 2018 HPT Belterra Main Event.
Taking a look at the top three, it was Michael Sabbia who finished as the runner-up and won just over $110,400, and Jordan Degrenier who placed third with just over $72,300.
Zamani Wins PCA $25,000 High Roller
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is one of the early events on the 2019 calendar and we’ve already seen a number of big winners cash in. The latest is Martin Zamani, who won the $25,000 High Roller, emerging from a field of 162 entrants to win $895,110 and claim a PokerStars trophy.
Zamani entered the final day in the fourth chip position with just 12 players remaining. He navigated his way into a final duel with Dominik Nitsche before taking him down. Nitsche was the runner-up and won just over $606,300, while Thomas Muehloecker placed third with just over $404,200
Zamani, a name that’s recognized in poker circles, entered the event with $450,000 worth of career cashes to his name. It’s actually his brother who is the better-known name as Ben is a former World Poker Tour Player of the Year and a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner.
Rheem Wins PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event
Sticking with the Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the Main Event has come to a conclusion and we have a new champion for 2019. David “Chino” Rheem has claimed the big prize after the 38-year-old from Los Angeles bested an 865-player field.
The win proved to be the second-biggest single-event cash of his career with a payday of $1,567,100. The victory pushed Rheem past the $10 million career winnings mark in big-league poker. He’s previously won three separate World Poker Tour main events.
Taking a look at the rest of the top five finishers in the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $10,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, Daniel Strelitz placed second and won $951,400, Scott Wellenbach was third and collected $671,200. Meanwhile, Pavel Veksler finished fourth and earned $503,440, while Vincent Bosca was fifth and took home $396,880.