2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
$1,100 No Limit Hold’em Turbo (Freeze-out)

April 15th, 2015

Total Entries:  107
Total Prize Pool:  $107,000

Recap:
A final table loaded with talent, a lightning fast structure and a earlier flight that day from Mexico couldn’t stop Robert Kuhn as he barrelled to the Event 12 Championship.

Throughout this tournament with fifteen minute levels, it was hard to keep track of all the action with players exiting the field everywhere you looked all evening. So many top stars had decided to take a shot at this event as a lead-in to the Main Event and it was inevitable that some great names were going to find their way to the end. The presence of Aaron Massey, Darryll Fish, Ory Hen and Jarod Ludemann loomed large but Robert Kuhn had one thing to counteract them: chips. Kuhn was a force with two tables left and by the time he reached the final table, Kuhn had nearly 30% of the chips in play and was ready to face down with some of poker’s best.

Kuhn, Aaron Massey and Jarod Ludemann did most of the heavy lifting terminating players in quick fashion. Massey took out Max Romano and Ory Hen, Kuhn cleared out James Oliver and Darryll Fish and Ludemann knocked out Tony Marini and then set himself up to compete for the championship by sending Massey to the rail in fourth place.

The eliminations did not slow down until the final three were left standing. Matthew Schnell battled ferociously but Kuhn and Ludemann would have none of it. Kuhn whittled down Schnell’s stack and then finished him off to get the field down to the final two players.

And as fast as the tournament ran, it ended even more quickly. After the two remaining players asked for a quick break before heads-up play, they returned to the table agreeing to a chop. Kuhn held a slight chip edge and with that claimed the Event 12 title.

Kuhn felt very fortunate to get to this final table and take it down. “I got it in extremely badly three different times and then got aces in two really clutch spots. I came into the final table with about 30% of the chips and when the dynamic is like that I’m just going to raise quite a bit. I kinda expected the field to be softer than it was. I saw a bunch of these tables and recognized a lot of these guys. There were no easy spots. The key spot on the final table was when my ace-jack held up against Darryll Fish. It was good to take him out.”

Tired from just having flown in from Mexico that day and winning the tournament this evening, Kuhn was feeling happy for quite a few reasons. “I feel good – now I don’t have to go to the bank! Now I can probably shell off $3,500 a couple more times than I intended to (for the Main Event). This is nice and fun plus friends being here is exciting. We literally came here straight from the airport from Playa Del Carmen.”

Kuhn was very complimentary of the staff and likes what he’s seen far of Seminole Hard Rock. “The dealers were really good. The tournament director did a great job keeping his composure especially running around like he did and I love this casino. First time I’ve been here and it’s really nice.” Kuhn will be spending some more time and money here as he gets ready for a run at the Main Event title starting on Thursday.

Congratulations to our Event 12 Champion – Robert Kuhn!

Results:
1st – Robert Kuhn (Barnsville, OH)  – $28,738
2nd – Jarod Ludemann (Wells, MN) – $27,258
3rd – Matthew Schnell – (McKinleyville, CA) – $13,375
4th – Aaron Massey (Elmwood Park, IL) – $9,095
5th – Darryll Fish (Cape Coral, FL) – $7,223
6th – Ory Hen (Cooper City, FL) – $5,618
7th – James Oliver (Boca Raton, FL) – $4,548
8th – Riley Fuller (Boca Raton, FL) – $3,478
9th – Max Romano (Montreal, Ontario, Canada)- $2,408
10th – Tony Marini (Trumbull, CT) – $1,873