2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event 26: $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries: 506
Prize Pool: $60,720
August 15-17, 2016
Cesar Fuentes was the last player to claim victory in the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open late Wednesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Fuentes, a resident of nearby Deerfield Beach, FL, dominated the 506-entry field in Event 26, a $150 re-entry tournament, and earned the title along with $15,500 in prize money following a six-way chop.
Fuentes owned a commanding chip lead at the time the deal was proposed. His stack was so strong, in fact, the remaining five players chopped it up evenly while sending Fuentes home with $15,500 — just $896 less than the natural 1st-place score. His dominating ways began long before the final table as he sent the field into the money busting Leonid Shteyn during the third round of hand-for-hand play. From there, the field narrowed to the 10-handed final table after Fuentes eliminated Yigel Hen in 11th. He then busted Aaron Klausman in 10th, Marty Robbins in 9th, Antonio Colon in 8th and Luis Miranda in 7th. By then, Fuentes had accumulated 3,248,000 of the 5,060,000 chips in play and all his opponents could do was wave the white flag. They split the remaining prize pool evenly, going down in the official results by order of chip count at the time of the chop. In all, the 54-player restart (which took place in the poker room) lasted just over five hours. Preceding the final six to the rail were Jeff Fogel (16th, $546), Eli Levy (20th, $455) and Elliott Zaydman (25th, $455).
Fuentes is a 32-year-old professional poker player. Following the win, his resume boasts seven tournament victories along with more than $250,000 in reported earnings.
The conclusion of Event 26 marks the end of the SHRPO series. Things kicked off July 28 with the first of 28 primary events. For the second year in a row, the three-week festival was headlined by The Big 4 — a four-tournament final comprised of the $5,250 Championship and $25,500 High Roller events as well as a $2,650 Freeze-Out and a $1,100 Re-Entry tournament. Jason Koon earned the Championship victory and $1,000,000 while Germany’s Marvin Rettenmaier’s earned the High Roller title along with $787,497. Bradley Snider nabbed victory in the $2,650 scoring $246,400 while Ruslan Dykshteyn pocketed $151,000 in the $1,100.
With that, the 2016 SHRPO has conlcluded. Next up for the Seminole Hard Rock is the Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open beginning November 16th with a $360 buy-in, $1,000,000 guarantee. Seminole Hard Rock Poker, meanwhile, begins its 2016/2017 season September 2nd at Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee.
Event 26 final results:
1st: Cesar Fuentes – $15,500
2nd: Damen Gooljar – $5,444
3rd: Esteban Garcia – $5,444
4th: David Coughlin – $5,444
5th: Marcela Newmark – $5,444
6th: Alfredo Ratmiroff – $5,443
7th: Luis Miranda – $1,973
8th: Antonio Colon – $1,427
9th: Marty Robbins – $1,032
10th: Aaron Klausman – $789
11th: Yigal Hen – $789
12th: Yitzhak Quinn – $789
13th: Jameel Harris – $638
14th: Michael Borrelli – $638
15th: David Recke – $638
16th: Jeff Fogel – $546
17th: Nesly Jean Baptiste – $546
18th: Jeffrey Berry – $546
19th: Daniel Mariani Sung – $455
20th: Eli Levy – $455
21st: Andrew Reid – $455
22nd: Roy Paulena – $455
23rd: Rubens Apovian – $455
24th: Gil Morgensztern – $455
25th: Elliott Zaydman – $455
26th: Rafael Ramos – $455
27th: Joan Schank – $455
28th: Trent Smith – $395
29th: Joe Patalano – $395
30th: Richard Leger – $395
31st: Jesse Delbene – $395
32nd: Ethiel Garcia – $395
33rd: Jorge Chavez – $395
34th: Howard Mash – $395
35th: Carl Cajuste – $395
36th: Michael Abitol – $395