The $500 Almighty Million event drew 3,902 entrants across five opening flights and juiced the prize pool to over $1.6 million. Day 3 saw 43 players return to action, the field was trimmed to the final table by mid-afternoon and Patrick Sendrowitz won $283,680 on the live-streamed final table.
“I don't gamble. I don't gamble on anything. No sports – no nothing,” Sendrowitz said. “Poker is gambling but there's a skill factor and (gambling) is not who I am.”
Heading for the hills
Sendrowitz is taking the largest cash of his career out of the poker ecosystem. “This (prize money) isn't going to get spoiled away,” he said. “I'll go back to $500 and $600 events - maybe an $1,100. I'm not going to gamble it all away. I'm going to play it smart and have a nice roll.”
Sendrowitz had $6,007 on his Hendon Mob profile prior to the event and only took to tournament poker about six months ago. “This is the first tournament I’ve won since I was 12 or 13 at a home game,” he said.
The conservative approach served him well throughout the event. When two tables remained, one player proposed a multi-way chop that seemed agreeable to some. Sendrowitz wouldn’t entertain the idea, “I’ve never won a tournament before, I want to play,” he said.
For the love of the game
Talk of a chop came up again at the final table. “I wanted to play heads up and we played it out - it was a battle," Sendrowitz said.
"I had a plan, stuck with it and I played the best I could – it worked out,” he said. “I got back into poker about 1.5 years ago and the hard work paid off.”
Sendrowitz did work hard. In fact, at one point on Day 3 he was down to 2. 5 big blinds. Then the final table was a back-and-forth affair with Anthony Hall. “It was a pleasure to play here and on the live stream,” he said. “I think we changed the chip lead maybe five times during heads-up and I can't wait to do it again."
While still punch drunk from his win, it seemed inevitable that he would return for the BWPO Main Event. “When is it and how much?” he asked.
“$5,300,” the floor supervisor responded.
“Ahh, that’s too much,” Sendrowitz balked. “I don’t gamble. I’m not good enough to play a $5k tournament yet.”
Final Table Action
The field was trimmed to the final eight players by late afternoon and following a dinner break, the final table played out on Borgata's live stream.
Andrew Moore was the first elimination at the table when his ace-high ran into Sendrowitz's pocket sevens. William Shaw was next to go when ran pocket queens into Sendrowitz's pocket kings and the champ was off to a hot start.
Queens were no good a second time when Casey Hatmaker shoved preflop and Eddie Good's Ac Qs made trip aces. The first three players were eliminated within the first hour of the stream.
Four hours of quality live stream
Hall's Kc Qc outran Philip Neiman's Ac Td when Hall hit a king on the river to send Neiman home in fifth place. Hall knocked out Eddie Good when his better ace made a full house.
Carlos Matos was the odd man on a short stack between the big stacks of Sendrowitz and Hall. Matos found a spot with Qh 9h, Hall called the short stack blind and woke up pocket kings to eliminate Matos.
Heads-up play was back-and-forth saw the chip lead exchanged multiple times. Sendrowitz and Hall chatted while on stream, played a good deal of post-flop poker and Sendrowitz took the momentum with a well-timed 35 million river bet in a key pot.
The final hand Hall made a stand with As 8d, Sendrowitz called with Kh Qs and watched the board run his way with Ah Ks 3c Kc 3h.
Final Table Payouts
- Patrick Sendrowitz - $283,680
- Anthony Hall - $186,522
- Carlos Matos - $122,405
- Eddie Good - $102,504
- Philip Neiman - $83,269
- Casey Hatmaker - $64,117
- William Shaw - $45,798
- Andrew Moore - $31,642
All photos by 8131 Media - Alicia Skillman
