Tommy Vedes Captures Second WPT Title In Florida

New York pro Tommy Vedes has just picked-up his second career WPT title, after topping a 290 player field at the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown in Florida for an impressive $779,520 payday.
Tommy Vedes’ previous WPT title came in 2009, when he won the Festa al Lago for $1,218,225, and the 40 year old also has an EPT victory under his belt after taking down the EPT Grand Final, Monte Carlo in 2010 for €170,000 ($226,317).  All told, Tommy Vedes now has $3,486,195 in live tournament cashes to his name.
Going into the $10k tournament’s six-handed final table, Vedes didn’t exactly have the highest of expectations with the full chip counts as follows:
1. Joe Serock – 3,137,000
2. John Dolan – 1,454,000
3. Sharon Levin – 1,216,000
4. Craig Bergeron – 1,235,000
5. Kyle Bowker – 1,070,000
6. Tommy Vedes – 590,000
As Vedes explains: “I came in thinking that if I took sixth, I’d be okay with it because I knew the table was super hard and I had no chips. Once I doubled the first time, I realized this was going to be different. I set myself up for success.”
That fateful double-up saw Vedes’ A-K win against the pocket tens of Kyle Bowker, after which a now crippled Bowker bowed out soon after in 6th for $122,496.
Tommy Vedes (6-6) then eliminated Sharon Levin (A-3) in 5th ($158,688), but pocket sixes proved no luck for Craig Bergeron who picked them up just as Vedes had been dealt pocket queens, and so exited in 4th for $212,976. Joe Serock (K-8) then went all-in on a 8-3-3 flop only to discover John Dolan was holding pocket queens, and after he took home $306,240 in 3rd spot, the heads-up battle got underway.
At this stage Dolan had a 2.5 to 1 chip lead over Vedes, who subsequently doubled up a few times before eventually the players were all-in with Dolan holding Kd-6d to his opponent’s A-10. The K-J-6-Q-4 board sealed John Dolan’s fate, who collected $459,360 for his runner-up finish, while Tommy Vedes won the title, plus a $25,000 seat to the WPT Championship.
Final Payouts As Follows:
1st Tommy Vedes $779,520
2nd John Dolan $459,360
3rd Joe Serock $306,240
4th Craig Bergeron $212,976
5th Sharon Levin $158,688
6th Kyle Bowker $122,496