Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
$570 Eight Handed No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guarantee
February 2nd-3rd, 2015
Total Entries: 142
Total Prize Pool: $71,000
Event 14 Champion
> Download complete list of event results.
Recap:
Event 14 ($570 8-Hand No Limit Hold’em) has reached a conclusion at the Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open and the winner in a four-way chop was Giovanni Rodriguez from Miami, Florida. He took home the largest portion of the prize pool and the Seminole Hard Rock guitar pick trophy. The chop made Pasquale Caiazza the runner-up, and it also gave Herbert Woodberry third place and Yigal Hen fourth place.
“This is probably one of the biggest tournaments that I’ve won, so I felt pretty good. I was a little nervous at the beginning,” said Rodriguez about his tournament victory. “I just play my game, I think my game was good enough, solid. I just don’t make any mistakes and avoid the big pots. This tournament has more action,” said Rodriguez about his approach to the final table and this eight-handed event in general.
When asked about what he likes about playing at the Seminole Hard Rock, here is what Rodriguez had to say, “Good structure, good games, good opponents, good atmosphere. I like the big tournaments so it’s good.” Rodriguez also mentioned that he is going to look at playing some more events during the final week of the tournament series thanks to a larger bankroll.
The final hand of poker to eliminate a player took place when Joe Calderon was all in with 
on the cutoff and Woodberry had him covered with 
on the hijack. The final board read 
and Calderon was eliminated on the hand in fifth place, good for $4,296. The elimination of Calderon was fast on the heels of the exit of Ira Schwartz in sixth place ($3,436). It was after these two quick eliminations that the final four took up the discussion of a chop.
There were 10 players that returned today from the 142 that entered the tournament. The two players that were lost along the way to the final table were John Brody (10th) and Joe Ebelhar (9th). Once the players took their seats at the final table, it was two most notable players in the field that were the next to fall. Matt Stout busted out of the tournament in eighth place and he was followed to the rail by Barry Hutter in seventh place.
Final Table Results:
1st: Giovanni Rodriguez – $17,749
2nd: Pasquale Caiazza – $10,636
3rd: Herbert Woodberry – $7,704
4th: Yigal Hen – $5,723
5th: Joe Calderon – $4,296
6th: Ira Schwartz – $3,436
7th: Barry Hutter – $2,854
8th: Matt Stout – $2,414