2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
$2,200 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-out)
$200,000 Guarantee
April 14 – 15th, 2015
Total Entries: 125
Total Prize Pool: $250,000
Recap:
Event 11 was one of the bigger buy-in tournaments on the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown schedule and it drew an impressive number of top players in town for the Championship. The freeze-out format kept the numbers lower while 125 players put up their cash. In the end it was 2014 WSOP Main Event Champion Ryan Riess adding another title and the $63,7775 top prize.
The tournament had a $2,200 price tag for a 6-Max tournament and the short-handed action was somewhat tempered since they were unable to re-enter after a bust-out
Of those 125 players, only 13 survived until the end of Day 2 with Rayan Chamas holding a nice lead over the others. Those 13 players had combined career tournament earnings over $31 million, two WSOP Main Event Champions, four WSOP-C rings, and three WPT titles represented by Antony Zinno.
The field slowing moved down until they reached the final table when Jonathan Duhamel was eliminated in 7th. That set up a long battle between the remaining players until Zo Karim, Glen, Cressman, and Konstantinos Pantaridis fell to the wayside.
Three-handed play stretched event longer during which we saw the chip lead change, Anthony Zinno get very short, and finally a deal made among the remaining players. Riess held a big chip lead and earned the $63,775 first place prize while Zinno took home $43,175 followed by Rayan Chamas’ $28,225.
It was a little surprising to see Riess make a deal but it came down to the tough competition. He first complimented WPT Player of the Year leader Anthony Zinno on his tough play throughout the tournament before mentioning Chamas.
“I had Rayan [Chamas] from Canada on my direct left, and he made it incredibly tough.”
Riess said that the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood is one of his favorite stops of the year, and he usually comes here twice a year — this event and SHRPO in August. His girlfriend, Tabitha Trask, says it’s one of her favorite stops too. She loves the pool, and she praised the security — she feels safer walking around this casino than any of the others she’s been to.
This was Ryan’s second title, the first being his WSOP Main Event victory in 2013.
Final table results:
1st: Ryan Riess (Port Austin, MI) – $63,775
2nd: Anthony Zinno (Boston, MA) – $43,175
3rd: Rayan Chamas (Roxboro, QC) – $28,225
4th: Konstantinos Pantaridis (Belle Isle, FL) – $22,550
5th: Glen Cressman (Boca Raton, FL) – $16,925
6th: Zo Karim (Orlando, FL) – $13,025