Zobian wins 2024 U.S. Poker Open

The PokerGO Tour® (PGT®) has a new major tournament series winner. On Wednesday, Aram Zobian claimed victory at the 2024 U.S. Poker Open at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, winning the prestigious Golden Eagle trophy and $25,000 PGT Passport bonus prize.

Zobian finished the eight-event series with one victory, four cashes, and more than $600,000 in prize money won. He topped the 2024 U.S. Poker Open leaderboard with 616 points, nearly 200 points ahead of any other competitor. Zobian joins Martin Zamani (2023), Sean Winter (2022), David Peters (2021, 2019), and Stephen Chidwick (2018) as U.S. Poker Open champions.

- Event #2: $10,100 NL Hold'em - 2nd place for $163,350
- Event #4: $10,100 NL Hold'em - 3rd place for $107,900
- Event #6: $15,100 NL Hold'em - 1st place for $264,290
- Event #8: $25,200 NL Hold'em - 6th place for $78,000

Zobian's performance moved him to third place on the 2024 PGT leaderboard with 1,048 points. Zobian trails only David Coleman (1,259 points) and Dylan Weisman (1,126 points). The top 40 point earners from the 2024 PGT season will compete in the season-ending PGT Championship $1,000,000 Freeroll for the right to be crowned 2024 PGT champion.

Next up for the PGT is the first-ever PGT Texas Poker Open running April 24-May 5 at Champions Club Texas. The series is headlined by the $3,300 buy-in $2,000,000 guaranteed Texas Poker Open Main Event.

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US Poker Open: event #5 won by Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth returns to win and does so in event #5 of the US Poker Open, the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em which saw the participation of 88 players with a prize pool of $880,000 and a first coin of $211,200.

Poker Brat authentic star performer on the final day which resumed with 7 players still in the running. Hellmuth first eliminated Darren Elias and Allan Le, then made it with A-K against A-Q Aram Oganyan. George Wolff stops at the foot of the podium while Jesse Lonis exits in 3rd place, always eliminated by the hand of Hellmuth who then leaves no way out even to Jeremy Ausmus in the final head-to-head, concluded in a great way by Poker Brat who hits even a color scale to complete the job.

FINAL TABLE US POKER OPEN #5

1st Phil Hellmuth United States $211,200

2nd Jeremy Ausmus United States $149,600

3rd Jesse Lonis United States $105,600

4th George Wolff United States $88,000

5th Aram Oganyan United States $70,400

6th Allan Le United States $52,800

7th Darren Elias United States $44,000

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Poker Central reveals 2020 US Poker Open dates

Poker Central today announced the launch of the 2020 High Roller of the Year competition as well as the dates for the 2020 U.S. Poker Open. Inaugurated in 2018, the High Roller of the Year award is based on points multipliers gained through performance at Poker Central’s premier events including the U.S. Poker Open, Poker Masters, Super High Roller Bowl, as well as select partner events organized by the World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, and many others. For the 2020 edition, Poker Central will be contributing an additional $100,000 in prize money to be awarded to the overall High Roller of the Year champion.

The U.S. Poker Open, which represents the first major of the 2020 High Roller Triple Crown, will take place from 19-31 March 2020 in the PokerGO Studio at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. As is customary, the poker player who wins the most High Roller of the Year points during the event series will be crowned the U.S. Poker Open champion, receiving the coveted trophy and $50,000 in added prize money. The series will have a total of twelve different events over the span of thirteen days, with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 – $50,000 in varying poker formats, including No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Short Deck. As a part of the High Roller Triple Crown, including the U.S. Poker Open, Poker Masters, and Super High Roller Bowl, original episodes from the series will premiere on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) in 2020 and stream exclusively on Poker Central’s OTT service, PokerGO.

“The High Roller of the Year series is the story line of the year and we’re constantly striving to improve the experience for players and fans,” said Sam Simmons, president of Poker Central. “The stakes have never been higher than in 2020 with multiple six-figures in added value for players who participate in our events around the world.”

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Peters wins US Poker Open Main Event

The final event of the U.S. Poker Open has concluded from inside the PokerGO Studio at Aria Resort & Casino with David Peters winning the Event #10 – $100,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event for $1,320,000, while simultaneously snatching the U.S. Poker Open Championship from Sean Winter to be awarded an additional $100,000 in prize money and join Stephen Chidwick as U.S. Poker Open Champions.

“This feels amazing,” Peters said after it was all said and done, “This is obviously a very prestigious tournament, a great series, and to come from behind and to pass Sean by 10 points at the very end, that’s a pretty-pretty crazy feeling.”

The 31-year old Peters has quietly amassed results all around the world on his way to building one of the most impressive poker resumes. Peters’ lifetime tournament earnings now sit at $31.9 million, placing him fifth-place on the All-Time Money List and just $600,000 shy of eclipsing Germany’s Fedor Holz.

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Stephen Chidwick takes US Poker Open Championship trophy

The U.K.'s Stephen Chidwick secured the largest championship win of his career, taking home the U.S Poker Open Championship trophy after putting on a show for poker fans during the eight-event series in Las Vegas. Chidwick made five final tables, took down two events and cashed for a grand total of $1,256,650.

The 2018 U.S. Poker Open was the first of its kind and comprised of eight high-stakes tournaments ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, including a Pot-Limit Omaha and Mixed Game event. The player who grossed the most during these eight events was crowned U.S. Poker Open Champion, taking home an enormous one-of-a-kind trophy.

Chidwick said, "My current theory is that AI got really good and realistic, and I somehow signed up to be Fedor Holz for a week.

"I just won all my all-ins, and that makes poker really easy. It's been very surreal, but at the end of the day it's just another day of poker, and I focus on every hand like I usually would.

"I've received a lot of congratulatory messages from friends and people saying that they're happy seeing that it's now my time. Throughout my career and the downswings, everyone has always showed a lot of faith in me, and I rely on investors to play all these big tournaments, and it feels really good to help out my friends by winning them some money, and show them that their support was deserved.

"I've tried to get to a place where the losses don't bother me too much, and the wins don't go to my head. I think I've done a good job at that, because the most important things in my life are still family and friends."

Stephen Chidwick started the week by making the final table of the first event, placing fifth. Justin Bonomo took down the event for $190,400 as 68 players entered this $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

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French Pro wins US Poker Open event for $416,500

French pro Benjamin Pollak came out on top, beating a field of 49 entries and a final table littered with big names including Jason Koon, Isaac Haxton and U.S. Poker Open Championship leader Stephen Chidwick. This result marks the biggest outright win in Pollak's decade-plus career, who finished third in the World Series of Poker Main Event this past July.

The U.S. Poker Open comprises eight high-stakes tournaments ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, including a Pot-Limit Omaha and Mixed Game event. The player who grosses the most during these eight events will be crowned U.S. Poker Open Champion, taking home an enormous one-of-a-kind trophy.

"I'm super happy,” Pollak remarked with a big smile on his face when it was all said and done. "Of course, I got some big cards, but I'm pretty with how I played. I've been on an amazing rush these last six months, and this win is proof for me that the last six months were real.

"I was about to quit poker last year; I wanted to just leave what I had done for the last ten years because I wasn't enjoying it anymore. That problem came up before the Main Event, and I worked on that with my mental coach, just trying to enjoy more what I was doing. I did that during the Main Event, and I loved that so much. It's amazing, because all the energy I have now is going towards my results. This proves to me that if you have a lot of energy and love what you're doing, and if you're committed, you can accomplish so much.

"The last six months I've had such an incredible run, but I always finished, second, third fourth or fifth. I've never won a big tournament, and this being my first one is extra special. I have a chance now if I win the Main Event, to take home the trophy, and that would be incredible."

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Inaugural US Poker Open to be held at Aria Casino

Poker Central will debut the U.S. Poker Open, a high-stakes tournament series comprised of $10k, $25k and $50k tournaments, from 31 January to 11 February at Aria Resort & Casino. The high-stakes series will stream live exclusively on PokerGO.

The U.S. Poker Open will be one of the highest stakes series of the year, comprised of two $10k no-limit hold'em events, a $10k pot-limit Omaha tournament, three $25k no-limit hold'em tournaments, the USPO $25k Mixed Games Championship and the $50k no-limit hold'em Main Event. At the conclusion of the final tournament, the player who nets the most earnings over the series will be named the U.S. Poker Open Champion and receive the championship trophy.

The U.S. Poker Open is the latest top-tier tournament added to the annual high-stakes schedule. The tournament series joins Poker Central's two other majors: the Super High Roller Bowl and Poker Masters. The winners of these events receive a championship ring and a purple jacket, respectively.

"The U.S. Poker Open is our newest marquee tournament positioned to kick off the high-stakes tournament calendar," said Joe Kakaty, president of Poker Central. "Our lineup of quarterly majors give PokerGO subscribers year-round access to some of the best high-stakes poker in the world."

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