The Wynn Las Vegas poker room stepped up its holiday game this year with the first-ever Wynn Winter Classic. Anchoring the schedule was the $5,300 Championship and it attracted a field of 557 entries to generate a prize pool of $2.74 million. Taking home the inaugural title was Michael Rocco, who earned $540,800 in first-place prize money.

Rocco defeated Michael Dyer in heads-up play to win the title. Dyer gained notoriety from his third-place finish in the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event, when he took home $3.75 million in prize money. For his runner-up finish in the Wynn Poker Winter Classic Championship, Dyer earned $353,242.

Also placing at the final table were Louis Salter (4th – $168,312), Joe Kuether (5th- $124,690), and Adam Hendrix (8th – $63,852).

Bubbling the final table was Galen Hall, who took home $45,987 for his 10th-place finish. Right behind him were notables Ankush Mandavia and Kahle Burns in 11th and 12th places, respectively. Mandavia also earned $45,987 and then Burns took home $39,474.

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Final Table Results

1st: Michael Rocco – $540,800
2nd: Michael Dyer – $353,242
3rd: Ben Farrell – $239,789
4th: Louis Salter – $168,312
5th: Joe Kuether – $124,690
6th: Matt Yarra – $96,738
7th: Tomas Soderstrom – $77,006
8th: Adam Hendrix – $63,852
9th: Josh Bergman – $53,987

According to live reporting provided by PokerNews, the final hand between Rocco and Dyer saw Dyer open with a raise to 1 million and Rocco call to see the flop come down . Both players checked and the dealer landed the on the turn. Rocco led for 2 million, Dyer called, and the river was the . Rocco, having Dyer covered, shoved for effectively 9 million. Dyer called with the for ace high. Rocco had him beat with the for two pair and won the tournament.

Others to cash in the event were Shannon Shorr (15th – $34,325), Justin Bonomo (25th – $19,797), Matt Glantz (31st – $17,290), Maria Ho (39th – $15,101), and Cliff Josephy (54th – $11,619).

Gerhart and Kamphues Also Score Big at Wynn

The $5,300 Championship wasn’t the only big event as part of the 2019 Wynn Winter Classic schedule. Two events that stood out were the $600 NL $250,000 Guarantee and $1,100 NL $500,000 Guarantee tournaments.

In the $600 NL $250,000 Guarantee, a field of 727 entries generated a prize pool of $380,366. The top 80 places paid, and it was Kevin Gerhart walking away with the lion’s share of the prize pool. Gerhart won the event for a score of $69,561.

In the $1,100 NL $500,000 Guarantee, a field of 1,230 entries created a prize pool of $1.204 million. Germany’s Timo Kamphues emerged victorious to win $202,787. After this result, Kamphues went over to Bellagio and finished seventh in the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $273,695.