Event no. 5 of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open kicked off on April 15, the deadline for Americans to file their taxes. By the end of the night, 80 entrants had been whittled down to the final six, with Jesse Lonis exiting the final table prematurely in seventh place.
While Brandon Wilson carried the chip lead overnight, it was ultimately Peter Placey, a California property tax expert, cashing in on a strong tax week return. Placey earned $224,000 and the golden eagle trophy for his first PGT title.
The Laguna Niguel businessman also earned 480 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion. This was his first qualifying result of the year towards the 2026 leaderboard presented by CoinPoker. In addition, he banked 224 PGT leaderboard points, putting him directly in the running for the U.S. Poker Open player of the series race. It’s Placey’s second career cash inside the PGT studio. The first, interestingly enough, came in event no. 5 at the 2022 U.S. Poker Open, which was an identical $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event.
This $224,000 score represents the second-largest live tournament result of Placey’s career. He ran deep in the 2014 World Series of Poker main event, finishing 35th for $230,487. Placey’s tournament poker volume has been sporadic since his first recorded live cash back in 2004, and he’s only recorded three cashes in a calendar year twice, in 2024 and 2025.
Cashing In
Placey faced a tall order against the five players that stood in front of him at this PGT final table. Beyond Wilson, the current Card Player POY frontrunner, there was PGT champion and longtime tournament veteran Justin Zaki, recent USPO event no. 3 champion Cherish Andrews, and three-time WSOP bracelet winner and multi-time PGT champion Qinghai Pan.
Andrews entered the day on a short stack and was unable to mount a comeback. Her K♠J♦ couldn’t overcome Placey’s A♥10♣ after an ace hit the flop. With 40 PGT points for her sixth-place ($40,000) finish, Andrews holds a narrow lead on the U.S. Poker Open leaderboard, just ahead of her significant other, Brock Wilson, and 2024 PGT Player of the year Jeremy Ausmus.
Zaki’s (5th – $56,000) tournament also ended with K♣J♠ losing to Placey. This time, Placey’s pocket sixes held strong to secure the elimination. Wilson’s day went sideways, and he went out in fourth place ($76,000) when his pocket fours fell to Anil Jivani’s A♥J♦, courtesy of an A♠ on the flop. Placey picked up his third elimination of the day at Jivani’s (3rd – $104,000) expense, with pocket nines holding against A♠8♠.
Placey held a lead of more than 3:1 at the start of his heads-up match against Pan. While Pan doubled once while closing the deficit significantly, a timely cooler pushed Placey over the finish line. The chips went in on an 8♣3♣3♥ flop, and Placey’s Q♦3♦ was well out in front of Pan’s K♣8♦. All drama ended on the 3♠ turn, as Placey made quads to cap off his victory in style. Pan earned $144,000 as the runner-up.
The 10-event U.S. Poker Open series runs through April 22, culminating in a $25,000 buy-in championship event starting on April 21.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Peter Placey | $224,000 | 480 | 224 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | $144,000 | 400 | 144 |
| 3 | Anil Jivani | $104,000 | 320 | 104 |
| 4 | Brandon Wilson | $76,000 | 240 | 76 |
| 5 | Justin Zaki | $56,000 | 200 | 56 |
| 6 | Cherish Andrews | $40,000 | 160 | 40 |
| 7 | Jesse Lonis | $32,000 | 120 | 32 |
Photo credit: PokerGO Tour
