Former Patriots star goes out on brutal hand in 2023 World Series of Poker after outlasting 9,700 players

One year after getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, former Patriots star Richard Seymour seems to have his sights set on getting into another Hall of Fame: The Poker one. 

The seven-time Pro Bowler has been in Las Vegas for the past week where he was entered into the main event at the 2023 World Series of Poker. The winner of the event gets a diamond bracelet and although Seymour was hoping to add that piece of jewelry to his three Super Bowl rings, it won’t be happening after he was eliminated during the fifth day of action. 

Although Seymour didn’t win, he has nothing to be ashamed of and that’s because he outlasted almost everyone in the tournament by finishing in 284th place. That might not sound impressive, but it was an incredible showing by Seymour, who outlasted more than 97 percent of the field. This year’s main event featured a record-setting 10,043 entrants, which means that Seymour stuck around longer than 9,759 other players.  

Seymour got knocked out of the event on a brutal hand. The budding poker star was holding a suited Ace and Jack and went all-in against an opponent (Christoper Vitch) who was holding pocket sixes. 

When the flop came, Seymour probably thought for a brief instant that he was going to win the hand and that’s because the first card of the flop was an Ace. For a split second, Seymour had the best hand, but the second card of the flop was a six, which put Vitch back in the lead. 

At that point, the final card of the flop was a two of clubs. After that, a two of diamonds came on the turn, which gave Vitch a full house. With only the river card remaining, Seymour needed an ace or jack to win the hand, but he didn’t get it. 

One reason Seymour was able to survive for so long is because he had taken out two players with one hand earlier in the day. 

Seymour’s impressive finish means that he’ll be taking home some serious prize money. For finishing in 284th place, the former Patriots star will be leaving Las Vegas with $50,900. (The entry fee for the main event was $10,000, so Seymour will walk away with a profit of $40,900).

The finish this year marks the second time in four years that Seymour has finished in the top 3%. Back in 2019, Seymour ended an impressive run in Vegas with a 131st-place finish.