After limping preflop, the flop was checked through before the turn. Michael Simhai fired for 650,000. Anant Patel made the call. After the river was checked as well, Simhai announced "Seven high," before Patel turned over , good for two pair with the paired board, and Patel scooped the pot.
A hand or two later, Patel opened to 500,000 from the button. Simhai made the call after David Dowdy got out of the way.
On the flop, Patel fired for another 450,000. Simhai made another call.
After checking through the turn, Patel sized up and fired one final barrel at the river. This time, Simhai made the laydown, giving the pot to Patel.
The very next saw Simhai lead out for 600,000, getting a call from Patel as Dowdy got out of the way. The flop was checked through before Patel fired for 500,000 on the turn. Simhai made the call.
The river was checked through, after which Simhai turned over , giving him top pair, and Patel tossed his hand into the muck.
"Good luck," David Dowdy wished Michael Simhai as the pair began heads-up play.
"You too. I'm glad it's you and nobody else at this table" Simhai told him, "seriously."
Just a few hands later, Dowdy moved all in. Simhai knew he had a difficult decision to make. He initially had a big grin on his face, before letting out an exasperated "oh god." He leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms. He knocked over his drink on the table beside him, picked it up, and took a sip. "I gotta get rid of you but I don't want to double you up."
After a brief moment, Simhai made the call.
David Dowdy:
Michael Simhai:
Simhai was behind, but had an overcard. The flop came , providing no help to Simhai. The turn changed nothing as well. Then, the arrived on the river, pairing the board for a second time, counterfeiting Dowdy's pocket sevens. Simhai's ace kicker played, giving him the pot, and sending Dowdy to the rail in second place, where he'll take home a cash of $148,618.
The two shook hands and embraced following the conclusion of the tournament.
At the end of three days of play, Michael Simhai was the last man standing in the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #27: Shootout No-Limit Hold'em. The event hit the 1,000-player cap and Simhai won his table three consecutive days to take home a $240,480 first-place prize.
Simhai, who lives in Beverly Hills, California, took home his maiden gold bracelet for his impressive performance. His previous best live cash was $99,271 according to The Hendon Mob.
Throughout the tournament, Simhai played fast, made quick decisions, and put his opponents in tough spots. Playing a shootout format, Simhai had to beat the nine opponents with whom he shared the table to survive and advance each day. His fast decision-making and aggressive betting kept his opponents on their toes.
Event #27: $1,500 Shoutout NLH Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Michael Simhai
United States
$240,480
2
David Dowdy
United States
$148,618
3
Anant Patel
United States
$111,226
4
Ravi Raghavan
United States
$84,047
5
Timothy McDermott
United States
$64,129
6
Roongsak Griffith
United States
$49,414
7
Austin Peck
United States
$38,455
8
David Yonnotti
United States
$30,227
9
Kevin Song
United States
$24,001
10
Derek Sudell
United States
$19,253
Key Moments
On Day 2, Simhai found himself locked in a long heads-up battle with Ryan Ramsdell. The two players battled back and forth over small pots until a massive cooler would settle the match. Ramsdell had pocket kings against Simhai's ace-queen. All in preflop, Simhai found an ace on the river to propel him to the final table.
It was there during three-handed play that Simhai called a raise from Anant Patel. Patel flopped top pair on the jack-high board, but Simhai flopped two pair that held up for a massive pot.
David "The Assassin" Dowdy found himself heads up with Simhai at the end of the day. Dowdy started the final table hot, eliminating Derek Sudell when he ran ace-king into Dowdy's aces. Dowdy amassed a large stack early that carried him down to three-handed play neck-and-neck with Simhai. He stumbled when he doubled up Patel and went into heads-up play as a 4:1 underdog.
"He's the nicest guy, one of the nicest guys I've ever played against in a poker room," Simhai said about Dowdy. "I kind of feel bad."
Much like the gracious winner, the final table was full of goodwill among the players. Simhai would often show his hands and other players were returning the favor.