Kevin Nee Wins 20 Times Previous Biggest Score in WPT Seminole RRPO Championship
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The World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Hard Rock 'n' Roll Poker Open Championship wrapped up on Wednesday evening with Kevin Nee winning his first WPT title and $605,100.
The six-figure victory gave the Pennsylvanian, who defeated heads-up opponent Joel Gola, a new career-high score that is more than 20 times greater than the $25,000 he earned earlier this summer from a 669th-place finish in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
The final table also included high-stakes pro Aram Zobian (3rd - $295,000) and four-time bracelet winner Chad Eveslage (4th - $220,000), who was after his second WPT title after winning the 2021 WPT Venetian for $910,370 and 2022 Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1,042,300.
Rounding out the final table was New York's Anthony Merlo and Florida local Hyndi Khomutetsky, who was looking to become the third woman in history to win a WPT title.
WPT Seminole RRPO Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Nee | United States | $605,100* |
| 2 | Joel Gola | United States | $395,000 |
| 3 | Aram Zobian | United States | $295,000 |
| 4 | Chad Eveslage | United States | $220,000 |
| 5 | Anthony Merlo | United States | $166,000 |
| 6 | Hyndi Khomutetsky | United States | $127,000 |
*Includes $10,400 entry into the WPT World Championship
Gola Finishes Runner-Up After Leaving for Granddaughter's Birthday
The $3,500 buy-in tournament at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida drew 1,224 runners for a prize pool of $3,916,800 — nearly a full million more than the guaranteed $3 million.
According to WPT updates, Gola held the chip lead entering Wednesday's six-handed final table despite missing two levels on Day 2 to attend his granddaughter's birthday party.
Gola's good fortune continued from there as he found himself dominated with ace-jack against the ace-queen of Khomutetsky, only to river a jack to send Khomutetsky out in sixth place.
Merlo was the next to fall before Eveslage's quest for a third WPT title came to an end as his queen-seven couldn't hold up against the nine-eight of Zobian.
It was Zobian who went out next before a heads-up match that lasted just one hand as Gola three-bet jammed with king-jack suited and Nee put him at risk with ace-deuce of spades. A three-spade flop was all she wrote as Nee locked up his first WPT title and major tournament victory.
Other players who cashed in the RRPO Championship include Joey Weissman (86th - $8,200), David Jackson (76th - $9,600), Chance Kornuth (24th - $23,200), Rainer Kempe (23rd - $28,000), Shannon Shorr (19th - $33,500) and Frank Lagodich (11th - $49,000).
After wrapping up in Florida, the WPT team will head to Las Vegas for the much-anticipated WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The $10,400 buy-in championship event will take place Dec. 13-19 with a televised final table on Dec. 21.
*Photos courtesy of WPT
