U.S. Poker Open: Dan Smith Scores His First Win in PokerGO Studio in Event #9: $25K NLHE ($399,500)

The #8 ranked player on the all-time money list Dan Smith (cover image), added another major live tournament title to his name by lifting his maiden USPO trophy at the fifth edition of the U.S. Poker Open, hosted at the PokerGO Studio inside the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On Tuesday, Smith obliterated the 47-entry field in the two-day-long Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em to win $399,500, taking down his first live tournament since his bracelet victory in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em – Heads-Up Championship at the 2022 WSOP. Event #2 champion Ren Lin fell one place short of winning his second USPO trophy, scoring $258,500 as the runner-up.

Dan Smith (@DanSmithHolla) earns his first win the @PokerGO Studio with a victory in U.S. Poker Open Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em.

The $399,500 win moves Smith past $41,000,000 in live tournament earnings according to @TheHendonMob.https://t.co/0ddLOYE4rL

— PokerGO Tour (@PokerGOTour) April 4, 2023

The Event #9 victory was a sort of redemption for Smith, who finished third in Event #8. The win pushed him past the $41 Million milestone in live tournament earnings, a worthy accomplishment over a cherished fourteen-year-long poker career.

Smith’s triumph inspired him to embark on a journey to discover the origin of his favorable circumstances.

“Before the tournament, I don’t know if you know, but Sean Winter is famous for his deck reads,” Smith explained about his luck. “I was taking my seat, and I had Winter draw me in. So the first time he draws me in is the first time I win here. Also, Darren Elias gave me what someone told him is a magical rock. And he gave it to me. I don’t know which of the two it is, but I’m going to find out.”

“I think it would be a cool thing to win,” Smith said about the series championship title. “That trophy is unbelievable. It’s 54 pounds. I would love to win it. But we’ll see how it goes. I’ve gotten third, first. A second seems like a nice casual round out, but I don’t wanna be greedy.”

“I think these tournaments are run better than anywhere else,” Smith said about the U.S. Poker Open. “Paul does an incredible job. The studio is beautiful. Shot clocks are a great touch. Really, I love playing here. I did Bahamas and Vietnam, and while the tournaments were great, there’s something wonderful about playing and going home to sleep in your own bed.”

The top seven finishers boarded the money bus, benefitting from the $1,175,000 prize pool. Brian Kim (3rd for $176,250), Cary Katz (4th for $129,250), Punnat Punsri (5th for $94,000), Nick Schulman (6th for $70,500), and Daniel Negreanu (7th for $47,000) were other high-stakes regs on the Event #9 final table.

PokerGO tweeted a clip of the final hand.

Dan Smith finishes the job and wins U.S. Poker Open Event #9 for $399,500.

Smith improved upon his 3rd place finish in Event #8 and defeated Ren Lin in just one hand of heads-up play to earn the title. pic.twitter.com/nSJ7DPQXdi

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 3, 2023

The final table action was live-streamed (on delay) on the PokerGO YouTube channel. You can watch the replay below.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Dan Smith – $399,500
2. Ren Lin – $258,500
3. Brian Kim – $176,250
4. Cary Katz – $129,250
5. Punnat Punsri – $94,000
6. Nick Schulman – $70,500
7. Daniel Negreanu – $47,000

Content and Images Courtesy: PokerGO

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