Joe McKeehen, a 35-year-old professional poker player who lives in Plymouth Meeting, overcame an 11-to-1 chip deficit on Tuesday, Aug. 11, to win the 2026 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship in Hollywood, Florida, taking home $462,600 and the tournament's Guitar Tower Trophy, MoreThanTheCurve reported.

McKeehen defeated David Greufe of Kansas City in a heads-up match that lasted more than three hours, according to the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. The final hand came when McKeehen called Greufe's all-in holding ace-queen of diamonds. Greufe held king-nine of diamonds, and the board ran out queen-six-two-four-eight, giving McKeehen a pair of queens to seal the title.

The comeback was the story of the night. Greufe had built a lead as large as 11-to-1 during heads-up play, but McKeehen chipped back, won a key double-up with an ace-high flush against Greufe's jack-high straight and eventually took the chip lead before closing out the match, Card Player reported.

"Down here in Florida, I don't feel like I've ever done as well as I should have," McKeehen said after the win. "It feels like every time I get into the situation, I just can't. This time around, I was very focused."

The five-day championship ran Aug. 7–11, drew 673 players at a $5,300 buy-in and generated a prize pool of $3,262,704. Greufe earned $390,804 as runner-up, and Loni Hui finished third for $250,000.

North Wales roots, world titles

McKeehen grew up in North Wales, graduated from La Salle College High School and earned a mathematics degree from Arcadia University. He won the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event at age 24, collecting $7,683,346. He holds three WSOP bracelets.

His career live tournament earnings now stand at $22,601,442, according to Card Player. Nearly $15 million of that has come from results outside his 2015 WSOP Main Event victory.

Before turning to poker full-time, McKeehen worked on an ice cream truck, earning him the nickname "Joey Ice Cube" from fans at the 2015 WSOP final table. He also won the 2010 world championship in the board game Risk.

Upcoming in the community

The Seminole Hard Rock 'N' Roll Poker Open returns to Hollywood, Florida, in November, though McKeehen's participation has not been confirmed. Locally, Whitemarsh and Plymouth townships continue their summer event schedules through September.