$5,300 Championship Event | 2019 Wynn Winter Classic

12-21-2019 05:24 UTC-7

Michael Rocco Wins 2019 Wynn Winter Classic Championship for $540,800

Chad Holloway

Level 34 : 200,000/400,000, 0 ante

The inaugural Wynn Winter Classic $5,300 buy-in Championship Event – the biggest buy-in tournament the venue has held in over five years – crushed its $1.5 million guarantee as 557 entrants created a $2,740,440 prize pool.

After a marathon 16-hour final day, it was longtime poker pro Michael Rocco, 30, besting 2018 World Series of Poker third-place finisher Michael Dyer in heads-up play to win the title outright for $540,800.

It was Rocco’s long-awaited signature win and a new career-high score passing his previous best of $423,440 for finishing third in the 2014 World Poker Tour LA Poker Classic. He also finished third in the 2017 PCA $25K High Roller for $409,020.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Michael Rocco	USA	$540,800
2	Michael Dyer	USA	$353,242
3	Ben Farrell	UK	$239,789
4	Louis Salter	UK	$168,312
5	Joe Kuether	USA	$124,690
6	Matt Yorra	USA	$96,738
7	Tomas Soderstrom	Sweden	$77,006
8	Adam Hendrix	USA	$63,852
9	Josh Bergman	USA	$53,987

Day 3 Action

Day 3 saw 31 players return to action and it didn’t take long for action to heat up. Among those to fall on the way to the final table were PCA champ Galen Hall (10th - $45,987), Ankush Mandavia (11th - $45,987), Kahle Burns (12th - $39,474), Shannon Shorr (15th - $34,325), two-time bracelet winner Barry Shulman (17th - $29,848), Justin Bonomo (25th - $19,797), Ryan Leng (28th - $17,290), Daniel Strelitz (30th - $17,920), and Matt Glantz (31st - $17,290).

At the final table, Josh Bergman was the first to fall after running pocket tens into Matt Yorra’s aces, and then the short-stacked Adam Hendrix followed him out the door after his king-five went down to Joe Kuether’s king-deuce after a deuce appeared on the flop.

The next-shortest stack was Sweden’s Tomas Soderstrom, and he took his leave in seventh place after jamming with jack-nine suited and failing to get there against Dyer’s ace-ten. Soon after, Yorra bowed out in sixth after losing a race with pocket nines to Dyer’s Big Slick.

Kuether then lost a race with ace-ten to Ben Farrell’s pocket sevens to finish in fifth place, and then it was time for Louis Salter to go after losing ace-eight to Farrell’s ace-jack all in preflop.

During three-handed play, Dyer doubled through Farrell ace-jack to ace-seven, and then the latter lost the rest of it to the former a short time later busting with queen-four to ace-eight suited. That set up a heads-up match in which Rocco held 17.675 million to Dyer’s 10.2 million.

Dyer got short, managed a double, and then the final hand developed. Rocco had flopped two pair and jammed big on the river. Dyer had nut no-pair with ace-queen and opted to call it off only to see his run come to an end in second place for $353,242.

The Wynn will host its next series – Wynn Signature Series – from January 15-February 2, 2020. The festival guarantees more than $1.3 million in prize pools. Click here for further details.

Tags: Michael Rocco

12-21-2019 05:09 UTC-7

Michael Dyer Eliminated in 2nd Place ($353,242)

LoriPersinger

Level 34 : 200,000/400,000, 0 ante

In the final hand of the tournament, Michael Dyer raised to 1,000,000 from the button and Michael Rocco made the call.

After both players checked the flop, Rocco led out on the turn for 2,000,000 and this time it was Dyer who made the call. Rocco then shoved the river, Dyer called off for around 9,000,000.

Michael Rocco:
Michael Dyer:

Unfortunately, Dyer's ace-high was well behind Rocco's two pair and he was eliminated in second place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Rocco	27,850,000	17,575,000
Michael Dyer	Busted

Tags: Michael Dyer Michael Rocco

12-21-2019 04:27 UTC-7

Ben Farrell Eliminated in 3rd Place ($239,789)

Chad Holloway

Level 33 : 150,000/300,000, 150,000 ante

Ben Farrell moved his last 2.5 million all in from the small blind and Michael Dyer wasted little time in calling him from the big.

Ben Farrell:
Michael Dyer:

The flop gave Dyer a massive lead and Farrell was left drawing dead after the paired the board on the turn. The meaningless was run out on the river and Farrell exited in third place for $239,789.

It was a final six-figure score for Farrell in 2019. Coming into the tournament he was already enjoying a career year in which he'd earned $663,363 in live tournaments. That included a pair of six-figure scores here in Vegas over the summer when he won the WPT500 ARIA for $155,000 and a couple of weeks later took down the Planet Hollywood Goliath Phamous Series Main Event for $162,400.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Rocco	17,675,000	3,175,000
Michael Dyer	10,200,000	3,050,000
Ben Farrell	Busted

12-21-2019 00:04 UTC-7

Joe Kuether Eliminated in 5th Place ($124,690)

LoriPersinger

Level 30 : 80,000/160,000, 80,000 ante

Preflop action folded around to Ben Farrell in the small blind and he shoved all in. Joe Kuether made the call from his big blind with a lesser stack.

Ben Farrell:
Joe Kuether:

The board ran out and eliminated Kuether in a very respectable fifth place. The four remaining players have agreed to take a look at the numbers.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ben Farrell	4,900,000	1,400,000
Joe Kuether	Busted

Tags: Ben Farrell Joe Kuether

12-20-2019 23:30 UTC-7

Don't Miss the Upcoming Wynn Signature Series in January

Chad Holloway

Level 29 : 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante

Players looking for some major live poker tournament action in January need to look no further than here at the Wynn with its Wynn Signature Series.

Taking place between January 15 and February 2, 2020 at the luxurious Wynn, Las Vegas, the festival guarantees more than $1.3 million will be won.

Massive $400,000 Guaranteed Event

The crown jewel of the Wynn Signature Series sees $400,000 guaranteed for a $1,100 buy-in.

This massive event features three starting flights, the first of which shuffling up and dealing at 12:00 p.m. on January 23.

Day 1B and Day 1C commence at the same time on January 24 and January 25 with the final day starting at 12:00 p.m. on January 26.

All three Day 1s see you sit down with 25,000 chips and play to 40-minutes blinds. The blinds remain the same on Day 2, too.

Should the $1,100 buy-in for this event be a little steep for your bankroll, Wynn is running two Super Satellites that only cost $200 to enter.

The first of these Super Satellites runs from 7:00 p.m. on January 23 while Day 1A of the $400,000 guaranteed event is running, while the second Super Satellite starts at 7:00 p.m. on January 24 while Day 1B is in full flow.

There was a $400,000 guaranteed $1,100 buy-in tournament that was part of the Wynn Fall Classic in October.

That particular event saw 473 entries battle it out for a slice of a $463,162 prize pool.

Sanket Desai banked $70,306 as part of a four-way deal with Eric Blair, Eric Baldwin, and Tamas Lendvai.

Here's a look at the festival's entire schedule:

Date	Time	Event	Guarantee	Buy-in
Wed 15 Jan	12:00 p.m.	NLH $3K Survivor $100 Bounty	$40,000	$400
Thu 16 Jan	12:00 p.m.	Limit Omaha 8/B	$10,000
	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1		$150,000
Fri 17 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1B	$150,000	$600
	7:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Turbo	$10,000	$200
Sat 18 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 2	$150,000
	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$50,000	$550
Sun 19 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$40,000	$400
	7:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Turbo	$10,000	$200
Mon 20 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$40,000	$400
Tue 21 Jan	12:00 p.m.	Pot Limit Omaha	$20,000	$400
	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1A	$100,000	$400
Wed 22 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1B	$100,000	$400
Thu 23 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 2
	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1A	$400,000	$1,100
	7:00 p.m.	Super Satellite		$200
Fri 24 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1B	$400,000	$1,100
	7:00 p.m.	Super Satellite		$200
Sat 25 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1C	$400,000	$1,100
Sun 26 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 2
	1:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$100,000	$1,100
Mon 27 Jan	12:00p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1A	$200,000	$600
Tue 28 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1B	$200,000	$600
Wed 29 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 1C	$200,000	$600
Thu 30 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Day 2
	1:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$40,000	$400
Fri 31 Jan	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$40,000	$400
	7:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em Turbo	$10,000	$200
Sat 1 Feb	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$50,000	$550
Sun 2 Feb	12:00 p.m.	No Limit Hold’em	$20,000	$300

12-20-2019 23:03 UTC-7

Matthew Yorra Eliminated in 6th Place ($96,738)

LoriPersinger

Level 29 : 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante

Joe Kuether raised to 240,000 Michael Dyer made the call from the next seat over and Matthew Yorra, next to act, moved all in. Kuether folded and Dyer made the call.

Matthew Yorra:
Michael Dyer:

Yorra was slightly ahead preflop, but that all changed on the flop and the turn and ended his deep tournament run.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Dyer	9,200,000	865,000
Matthew Yorra	Busted

Tags: Joe Kuether Matthew Yorra Michael Dyer

12-20-2019 22:04 UTC-7

Tomas Soderstrom Eliminated in 7th Place ($77,006)

Chad Holloway

Level 28 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Tomas Soderstrom moved all in for his last 830,000 under the gun and Michael Dyer flatted next to act. The rest of the players got out of the way and the hands were turned up.

Tomas Soderstrom:
Michael Dyer:

Dyer was ahead but Soderstrom was drawing to two live cards. Unfortunately for him, he failed to connect as the board ran out an unhelpful to end his run in seventh place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Dyer	7,800,000	1,545,000
Tomas Soderstrom	Busted

Tags: Tomas Soderstrom Michael Dyer

12-20-2019 21:56 UTC-7

Adam Hendrix Eliminated in 8th Place ($63,852)

Chad Holloway

Level 28 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Adam Hendrix raised to 400,000 under the gun and left himself just 175,000 behind. Action folded around to Joe Kuether in the small blind and he jammed, which inspired the short Tomas Soderstrom to fold from the big.

Joe Kuether:
Adam Hendrix:

Hendrix was way out in front but not after the flop came down to pair Kuether. Neither the turn nor river helped Hendrix and he was sent packing in eighth place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe Kuether	6,700,000	1,700,000
Adam Hendrix	Busted

Tags: Adam Hendrix Joe Kuether

12-20-2019 18:46 UTC-7

Ankush Mandavia Eliminated in 11th Place ($45,987)

Chad Holloway

Level 26 : 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante

Ankush Mandavia opened for 130,000 from the button and Michael Rocco three-bet to 430,000 from the small blind. Mandavia responded by four-bet jamming for approximately 1.1 million total and Rocco quickly called.

Ankush Mandavia:
Michael Rocco: