2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 988
Prize Pool: $3,161,600
November 29 – December 4, 2019

(Hollywood, FL) — The WPT Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship headlined a successful series and capped off a great two weeks. It drew the biggest field in RRPO history and Milen Stefanov dominated the final table to outlast them all, taking home the title along with nearly $550,000.

“It feels amazing, it’s almost like it’s catching me off guard,” Stefanov said after his win. “The emotions are running rampant, like even more than when I was playing.”

“To be a champion finally of the WPT, it feels amazing. It’s an understatement.”

The $3,500 buy-in tournament had 988 entries over the two starting flights to easily surpass the $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. They combined to put $3,161,600 up for grabs with a $545,070 top prize which included a $15,000 seat in the WPT Tournament of Champions.

There were still 720 players around for Day 2 with  124 set to make the money. The bubble burst late in the day with WSOPC Coco ring winner Roberto Bendeck going out one place short of the money.

Only 65 players advanced to Day 3 and that number was culled down to 17 for Day 4. Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Poker Room regular Cesar Fuentes held the chip lead for portions of Day 4 and was among the six players who moved on to the WPT Final Table after a long day.

Francis Anderson was an early elimination from the final table and the five remaining players settled into a groove. It took two more hour-long levels before Fuentes was eliminated in fifth place for $146,760, the biggest cash of his career.

Roman Korenev was eliminated in fourth place after he ran into Stefanov’s aces and David Novosel’s knockout in third place set the heads-up battle for the title. Stefanov had a huge lead over Fabian Gumz but Gumz came back to take a small lead after two doubles. Stefanov quickly moved back ahead and finished it off after a few close calls.

Gumz earned $353,380 for his runner-up finish while Stefanov took home $530,070 plus the WPT TOC seat, the biggest cash of his career by far. The Varna, Bulgaria native will now have his name on the WPT Champions Cup as the 2019 WPT RRPO Champion.

“I wanted to experience the U.S., it’s my first time coming here for poker, so this is my first WPT festival in America,” Stefanov said. “I love it. Pretty much everything.”

“The organization about the tournament and everything from this to the weather to the life here, it’s amazing,” he continued. “I’ll definitely be back. I have to defend the title.”

Final table results:

1st: Milen Stefanov – $545,070 + RRPO Trophy *
2nd: Fabian Gumz – $353,380
3rd: David Novosel – $260,845
4th: Roman Korenev – $194,605
5th: Cesar Fuentes – $146,760
6th: Francis Anderson – $111,895
* – includes WPT TOC seat

• Download – Complete 2019 RRPO Championship Results (PDF)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 988

The pre-game instructions and introductions are complete, Tony Burns put cards in the air for the 2019 WPT RRPO Championship final table.

Blinds are at 100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante and blind levels are now one-hour long.

We will be posting on a 30-minute delay to avoid spoilers for the WPT Live Stream.

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  100,000/200,000 with a 200,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 988

The 2019 WPT Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” final table is set and the stage is awaiting the six remaining players. They return at 2 pm to play it out for the title along with $545,070.

The final table consists of players from around the world including our Poker Room’s very own Cesar Fuentes sitting second in chips. Melin Stefanov holds the biggest stack but everyone still has a chance.

Cards fly at the top of the hour and we will bring the updates.

Seat 1.  Cesar Fuentes  –  7,550,000  (38 bb)
Seat 2.  Milen Stefanov  –  8,925,000  (45 bb)
Seat 3.  David Novosel  –  7,525,000  (38 bb)
Seat 4.  Francis Anderson  –  2,175,000  (11 bb)
Seat 5.  Roman Korenev  –  8,175,000  (41 bb)
Seat 6.  Fabian Gumz  –  5,150,000  (26 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st:  $545,070* + RRPO Trophy
2nd:  $353,380
3rd:  $260,845
4th:  $194,605
5th:  $146,760
6th:  $111,895

Primary Event Schedule

2PM: Final Table – $3,500 WPT RRPO Championship (Re-Entry)

• Championship Final Table Counts and Seats
• Championship Payouts

2PM: Event 21 Day 2 – $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

• Event 21 Day 2 Chip Counts
• Event 21 Day 2 Chip Table and Seat Assignments
• Event 21 Payouts

2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 23
$25,500 RRPO High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 45
Prize Pool: $1,111,500
December 2-3, 2019

For the first time in our history, there was a High Roller during the Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N Roll Poker Open” and it did not disappoint. The $25,500 buy-in tournament drew 45 talented players and it was High Roller specialist Bryn Kenney walking away with the title along with $354,565 in a heads-up deal with Brock Wilson.

“A $25K tournament could run every time you guys have a festival,” Kenney said of the first RRPO High Roller. “There are enough people in Florida who will play and enough pros who come.”

Those 45 put $1,115,500 into the prize pool to best the $1,000,000 guarantee. A few of the top players in the game included Jason Mercier, Erik Seidel, Anthony Zinno, Andjelko Andrejevic, Rainer Kempe, Anton Wigg, Darren Elias, and James Romero among the tough group.

The tournament paid out the last seven spots so they still had some work to do when they hit the final table late on Day 1. SHR Poker Showdown Champ Scott Margereson, Anton Wigg, Robert Heirdon all fell short of the money with Lazaro Hernandez going out in seventh place before Day 1 came to an end.

Brock Wilson was the chip leader at the six-handed final table to start Day 2 but Bryn Kenney quickly began building his stack. Mercier, looking for his four SHRP High Roller title and fifth overall, had the lead for a short while before Kenney stormed back to send him out in fourth place.

Kenney made quick work of third-place finisher Jerry Robinson after Mercier was knocked out and Kenney went into heads-up play with a huge lead. Wilson doubled back early in the match and the two decided to split the remaining prize pool.

As the chip leader, Kenney earned the High Roller title along with $354,565 while Wilson took home $301,215 for his runner-up finish.

“It was a fun time,” Kenney said of his tournament. “I was in New York for Thanksgiving and flew in the morning of [the][High][Roller] and played.”

“Two days, 45 players, in a nice city. Great weather and I’m going to the beach now. It’s perfect.”

High Roller results:

1st: Bryn Kenney – $354,565 + RRPO Trophy *
2nd: Brock Wilson – $301,215 *
3rd: Jerry Robinson – $161,170
4th: Jason Mercier – $111,150
5th: Anthony Zinno – $77,805
6th: Andjelko Andrejevic – $61,135
7th: Lazaro Hernandez – $44,460
* – denotes results of heads-up deal

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure
Level 1:  100/100

We are closing out the series with our last new tournament at 6 pm. Event 27 is a $1,100 buy-in Turbo No Limit Hold’em game that will speed its way through the evening and award a trophy in the last event on the schedule.

Turbo players will sit down to 15,000 starting stacks and all levels will last 15 minutes long. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 8:15 pm and players may fire as many times as needed during that time.

• Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 15-minute levels
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
• This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
• Event 27 Structure Sheet

$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 10:  600/1,200 with a 1,200

The Seniors Event is one of the last tournaments on the schedule and it drew a great crowd of those 50 years and older. The 122 entries created a prize pool worth $41,480 and the last 16 players will get paid.

A min-cash earns $809 while the 2019 RRPO Seniors Champ walks away with $12,028 plus the RRPO trophy and custom-framed winner’s photo courtesy of IMPDI.

2019 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 26
$400 Seniors 50+ NLH (Re-Entry)
Entries:  122
Prize Pool:  $41,480
December 2, 2019

1st: $12,028 + RRPO Trophy
2nd: $7,466
3rd: $4,459
4th: $2,800
5th: $2,074
6th: $1,784
7th: $1,545
8th: $1,369
9th: $1,203
10th-12th: $1,058
13th-15th: $923
16th: $809

$25,500 RRPO High Roller (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 18:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante

Shortly after Brock Wilson doubled through Bryn Kenney, the two quickly agreed to a deal to split up the remaining prize pool. As the leader, Kenney earned $354,565 for the High Roller win and Wilson banked $301,215 as the runner-up.

Tournament report to come shortly.

Bryn Kenney – 3,115,000 (104 bb)
Brock Wilson – 1,435,000 (48 bb)

1st: Bryn Kenney – $354,565
2nd: Brock Wilson – $301,215