$16.8 Million Prize Pool, 56 Players, and a $300,000 Buy-In; Welcome to the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl!
Welcome to the ARIA Resort & Casino for the opening day of the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl! Summer may not officially begin for a few more weeks here in the Northern Hemisphere, but in the poker world, the Super High Roller Bowl kicks off the action-packed summer of poker right here in Las Vegas.
One of the most anticipated events of the year sees the Super High Roller Bowl grace the floor of the ARIA Resort & Casino for the third time. This year the capped field size was expanded to 56 following the overwhelming interest of people wanting to be involved in one of the marquee events of the next couple of months.
“These additions will give more players a chance to play in the best event of the year and also play for an even bigger prize pool," said ARIA’s Director of Poker Operations Sean McCormack to Poker Central. "Bigger is always better and the increase in prize pool and first-place payout, along with the enormous prestige of the Super High Roller Bowl, will be welcomed by the players.”
You can’t talk about the 56 players without first discussing the previous champions in Brian Rast and Rainer Kempe. In 2015, Rast topped a field of 43 entries to capture the $7,525,000 first-place prize in an event that featured a $500,000 buy-in once he defeated Scott Seiver for the title. In 2016, it would be Kempe topping the 49-player field to earn the $5,000,000 first-prize after defeating fellow German Fedor Holz heads-up.
These players are just a few of the many taking a seat today. Two-time final table member Erik Seidel will be hoping to break through with a victory in his third shot, while other final tablists such as Connor Drinan, David Peters, Thomas Marchese, Phil Hellmuth, and Bryn Kenney will all be looking to repeat their past performances. Past results may be littered with American flags, but Europeans such as Christoph Vogelsang, Dominik Nitsche, Igor Kurganov, and Tony G will be looking to alter that, while businessmen Cary Katz, Dan Shak, David Einhorn, Bill Klein, and John Morgan will be hoping to show these poker pros that they mean business on the felt too.
One of the new entrants for 2017, and easily one of the most famous people to ever play a poker tournament is Kevin Hart. Hart has taken a seat at two of the biggest high roller events in the world this year with appearances in the $100,000 Super High Roller at PokerStars Championship Bahamas in January, and most recently at the €100,000 Super Higher Roller at the PokerStars Championship in Monte Carlo in April. Hart will now turn his attention to his biggest recorded tournament buy-in to date with the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl.
Hart is one of the most successful comedians, writers, producers, and movie stars of our generation. He’s now looking to add poker player to that list. Actually, he’s looking to add Super High Roller Bowl Champion to that list. And with a combined 86 million followers across Twitter and Instagram, Hart will be bringing a whole lot of attention to not only this event, but to the game of poker as a whole.
The 2017 Super High Roller Bowl will feature a jaw-dropping $16,800,000 prize pool that will ensure the final seven players heading home with some cash. $6 million is reserved for the eventual winner while $3.6 million will be a fair prize for the runner-up. The other paid places will receive $2.4 million for third, $1.8 million for fourth, $1.4 million for fifth, $1 million for sixth, and $600,000 for seventh.
The cards are expected to be in the air at 1:00 p.m. (PST) with the PokerNews Live Reporting Team providing continuous live updates of all the Super High Roller Bowl action live from the ARIA Resort & Casino. Stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com as we write the path of the next Super High Roller Bowl Champion as they navigate one of the toughest tournament fields ever assembled!
Starting Table and Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Dan Shak | USA |
| 2 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | |
| 3 | David Einhorn | USA | |
| 4 | Ben Sulsky | USA | |
| 5 | John Juanda | Indonesia | |
| 6 | Fedor Holz | Germany | |
| 7 | Isaac Haxton | USA | |
| 2 | 1 | Tony Guoga | Lithuania |
| 2 | Jason Les | USA | |
| 3 | Sam Soverel | USA | |
| 4 | Pratyush Buddiga | USA | |
| 5 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | |
| 6 | Jason Mercier | USA | |
| 7 | Tom Marchese | USA | |
| 3 | 1 | Jason Koon | USA |
| 2 | Antonio Esfandiari | USA | |
| 3 | Stefan Schillhabel | Germany | |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | USA | |
| 5 | Brian Rast | USA | |
| 6 | Jake Schindler | USA | |
| 7 | Ankush Mandavia | USA | |
| 4 | 1 | Bill Perkins | USA |
| 2 | Rainer Kempe | Germany | |
| 3 | G.I. | Argentina | |
| 4 | Dan Smith | USA | |
| 5 | Andrew Robl | USA | |
| 6 | Andrew Lichtenberger | USA | |
| 7 | Matt Berkey | USA | |
| 5 | 1 | Nick Petrangelo | USA |
| 2 | Dominik Nitsche | Germany | |
| 3 | Dan Colman | USA | |
| 4 | Ben Lamb | USA | |
| 5 | Bill Klein | USA | |
| 6 | Brandon Steven | USA | |
| 7 | Talal Shakerchi | UK | |
| 6 | 1 | Sean Winter | USA |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | USA | |
| 3 | Dan Preper | USA | |
| 4 | Steffen Sontheimer | Germany | |
| 5 | Leon Tsoukernik | Czech Republic | |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | USA | |
| 7 | Zachary Hyman | USA | |
| 7 | 1 | Byron Kaverman | USA |
| 2 | Doug Polk | USA | |
| 3 | Igor Kurganov | Russia | |
| 4 | David Peters | USA | |
| 5 | Christian Christner | Germany | |
| 6 | Lauren Roberts | USA | |
| 7 | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | |
| 8 | 1 | Haralabos Voulgaris | Canada |
| 2 | Phil Hellmuth | USA | |
| 3 | Justin Bonomo | USA | |
| 4 | Kevin Hart | USA | |
| 5 | Bryn Kenney | USA | |
| 6 | Ben Tollerene | USA | |
| 7 | Cary Katz | USA |