Justin Zaki scored one of the largest paydays of his tournament poker career on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The Floridian poker pro overcame a field of 40 entries in the 2026 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $25,000 no-limit hold’em high roller to secure the trophy and the top payout of $391,550.
This was the fifth-biggest cash yet for the Tampa resident. His top score remains the $496,801 he earned for a runner-up finish in a $10,000 turbo bounty event at the 2023 World Series of Poker. This latest win pushed Zaki’s lifetime earnings to just shy of $8.1 million.
In addition to the title and the money, Zaki also scored 420 Card Player Player of the Year points as the last player standing. This was his second title and tenth final-table finish of 2026. With 2,772 total points, he now sits in 63rd place in the overall POY rankings presented by CoinPoker.
Big Names Run Deep
This event sported a $1,000,000 prize pool, which was ultimately split amongst the top five finishers. Bracelet winner and four-time World Poker Tour champion Brian Altman was knocked out on the bubble shortly after he ran pocket tens into the pocket kings of Zaki.
Brock Wilson
Bracelet winner and SHRPO main event 11th-place finisher Roman Hrabec then bowed out in fifth place, earning $80,000 for his efforts. David D’Alessandro got the last of his chips in preflop with A♠J♥ leading the A♣8♠ of Brock Wilson. The recent WSOP main event 16th-place finisher came from behind, though, rivering aces and eights to win the pot and narrow the field to three. D’Alessandro settled for $110,000 as the fourth-place finisher.
Joseph McGuire (3rd – $150,000) lost the majority of his stack when A-Q clashed with Wilson’s pocket kings. Zaki took his final couple of blinds not long after that to enter heads-up play with more than a 3:1 chip advantage.
The final two struck a deal that redistributed the remaining prize money, leaving the title and $70,000 to play for. Zaki was able to close it out, winning the final hand with A♠10♠ against Q♠J♦. The A♦5♣4♣8♥5♠ runout send Wilson packing with the $268,450 he negotiated for. Wilson’s career earnings grew to over $14.7 million as a result.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Justin Zaki | $391,550 | 420 |
| 2 | Brock Wilson | $268,450 | 350 |
| 3 | Joseph McGuire | $150,000 | 280 |
| 4 | David D’Alessandro | $110,000 | 210 |
| 5 | Roman Hrabec | $80,000 | 175 |
Photo credits: Seminole Hard Rock Poker Blog
