2021 WPT Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 7
$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries:  318
Prize Pool:  $106,530
June 14, 2021

There are a lot of jokes about how the players in seniors events don’t have any stamina, but with a large field of 318 entries, this seniors event lasted more than 15 1/2 hours before Michael “Gascard” Collins won it heads-up against Frank Harrington, making an ace-high flush to beat Harrington’s king-high flush.

“I’m exhausted,” said Collins after his victory. Then he joked a bit about the seniors. “First, they promised me that we were going to get a bathroom break every 10 minutes, and a nap every two hours. But that didn’t work out.”

On a more serious note, Collins really enjoyed the atmosphere of the seniors event compared to standard tournaments.

“It was much better,” said Collins. “Everybody was quick with their decisions, and pleasant. It was really enjoyable.”

The first prize of $24,476 is a career high for Collins, and he said this victory meant he should probably play the WPT main event, which begins on Friday.

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 318

With the final board showing on the river, Michael “Gascard” Collins moved all in, and Frank Harrington called with for a king-high flush.

But Collins turned over to win the pot — and the title and the trophy — with an ace-high flush.

Congratulations to Michael Collins, the Seniors Event champion!

1st:  Michael Collins  –  $24,476 + Trophy
2nd:  Frank Harrington  –  $17,200
3rd:  Steve Trizis  –  $10,919
4th:  James Hannen  –  $6,642
5th:  Glen Ballenger  –  $5,129
6th:  David Carl  –  $4,251
7th:  Robert Shorter  –  $3,569
8th:  Francis Ryan  –  $2,983
9th:  Robert McMillan  –  $2,448

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 318

Steve Trizis moved all in from the button for about 900,000, and Michael Collins called from the small blind with .

Trizis turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Collins won the pot with a pair of aces to eliminate Trizis in third place.

Steve Trizis  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($10,919)

And here are the approximate chip counts for the start of heads-up play:

Michael Collins  –  5,300,000  (106 bb)
Frank Harrington  –  1,100,000  (22 bb)

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 318

Michael Collins raised from the button to 125,000, Frank Harrington called from the small blind, and James Hannen moved all in from the big blind for 615,000.

Collins called, and Harrington asked for an exact count and thought for a while before he folded, flashing king-jack.

Hannen turned over , and he needed it to hold to stay alive against the of Collins.

The board came , and Collins paired his nine on the flop to win the pot and eliminate Hannen in fourth place.

Michael Collins  –  2,850,000  (71 bb)
James Hannen  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($6,642)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 2,120,000 (53 big blinds). The next player to bust will earn $10,919.

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 318

Michael Collins was all in from the hijack for 890,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of David Carl, who was under the gun.

The board came , and Collins paired his nine on the flop to win the pot and double up in chips.

Michael Collins  –  1,880,000  (47 bb)
David Carl  –  325,000  (8 bb)

A few minutes later, there was a three-way all-in situation between David Carl (~275K), Glen Ballenger (~600K), and Frank Harrington (1.5M+).

Frank Harrington:  
Glen Ballenger:  
David Carl:  

The board came — Carl paired his ace on the flop to take the lead, and Ballenger turned two pair. But Harrington turned a king-high flush, and it held up for him to scoop the entire pot, eliminating both Ballenger and Carl on the same hand.

Frank Harrington  –  2,500,000  (63 bb)
Glen Ballenger  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($5,129)
David Carl  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($4,251)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,590,000 (40 big blinds). The next player to bust will earn $6,642.

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 318

Robert Shorter got it all in from the hijack with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of David Carl in the cutoff.

The board came , and Carl won the pot with his jack to eliminate Shorter in seventh place.

David Carl  –  1,050,000  (26 bb)
Robert Shorter  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($3,569)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,060,000 (27 big blinds). The next player to bust will earn $4,251.

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  20,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 318

Glen Ballenger limped UTG+1 for 30,000, David Carl called from the hijack, and Francis Ryan moved all in from the small blind. Ballenger folded, and Carl called with .

Ryan turned over , and needed it to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Carl paired his queen on the river to win the pot with two pair, eliminating Ryan in eighth place.

David Carl  –  1,150,000  (38 bb)
Francis Ryan  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($2,983)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 910,000 (30 big blinds). The next player to bust will earn $3,569.

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  20,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 318

After a flop of , Robert McMillan got it all in with (pair of fives), and he needed it to hold to stay alive against the (flush draw with a gutshot straight draw) of David Carl in the big blind.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Carl completed his straight on the river to win the pot with a five-high straight. McMillan was eliminated in ninth place.

David Carl  –  1,025,000  (34 bb)
Robert McMillan  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($2,448)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 795,000 (27 big blinds). The next player to bust will earn $2,983.

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 318

Most of the Seniors Event was played in the poker room, but once they reached the final nine players, they drew for random seats at the final table, and then they moved across the casino and up into the tournament room to play down to a winner.

Here is the lineup with their official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Steve Trizis  –  1,205,000  (48 bb)
Seat 2.  Glen Ballenger  –  305,000  (12 bb)
Seat 3.  Robert Shorter  –  375,000  (15 bb)
Seat 4.  Robert McMillan  –  535,000  (21 bb)
Seat 5.  David Carl  –  1,500,000  (60 bb)
Seat 6.  Michael Collins  –  655,000  (26 bb)
Seat 7.  Frank Harrington  –  475,000  (19 bb)
Seat 8.  Francis Ryan  –  290,000  (12 bb)
Seat 9.  James Hannen  –  1,015,000  (41 bb)

And here are the payouts they’re playing for:

1st:  $24,476 + Trophy
2nd:  $17,200
3rd:  $10,919
4th:  $6,642
5th:  $5,129
6th:  $4,251
7th:  $3,569
8th:  $2,983
9th:  $2,448

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 11:  800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Entries:  318

Registration closed on the WPT Tampa Seniors Event and it was another fantastic turnout. We have 318 entries in the game to create a huge prize pool worth $106,530.

The last 32 Seniors will make the money with $733 for a min-cash and $24,476 to the Seniors Event Champion.

2021 WPT Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 7
$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries:  318
Prize Pool:  $106,530
June 14, 2021

1st: $24,476 + Trophy
2nd: $17,200
3rd: $10,919
4th: $6,642
5th: $5,129
6th: $4,251
7th: $3,569
8th: $2,983
9th: $2,448
10th-12th: $2,083
13th-15th: $1,790
16th-18th: $1,502
19th-21st: $1,230
22nd-24th: $969
25th-27th: $842
28th-32nd: $733