Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Event 4: $1,100 Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
August 18, 2014
Entries: 114
Prize Pool: $114,000
RECAP
Event 4 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open came to a close after the end of a long Day 2 that saw both the money bubble burst and the final three players decide to end the tournament with a chop. There were 19 players that returned from the original 114 entries on Monday when cards got into the air this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.
The money bubble took close to an hour to burst right at the start of play (only one player from the returning 19 would not get paid), and when it did Marou Akiki took a bad beat to end his tournament run. Bad beats would turn out to be theme for the pivotal hands of the day in this tournament. Akiki held 
and Stuart Greenbaum had him covered with 
. The board ran out 
and Akiki was out in 19th place.
Even after the money bubble burst the pace of play remained slow thanks to the great structure of the tournament that gave players deep stacks and a lot of play. Things eventually got down to the final table around 9 p.m.
The first set of eliminations came pretty quick, with Gordon Battle (ninth), Yigal Hen (eighth), and Stewart Newman (seventh) falling in the first hour of play at the final table. But almost two hours passed before Richard Leger fell in sixth place. He was soon followed to the rail by Angel Vu, who put up a strong fight to make a deep run to fifth place.
The battle for fourth place then lasted another hour before Daniel Buzgon took a bad beat to get knocked out of the tournament. On his final hand Buzgon got his money in good with pocket queens on a flop that read 
. Paul Domb was behind with 
, but by the river he had come from behind to win the hand when the rest of the board was dealt 
.
With just three players remaining they decided to chop up the remaining prize pool according to chip counts and here are the results of that chop.
1st: Paul Domb – $23,971 (573,000)
2nd: Victor Coelho – $21,104 (448,000)
3rd: Stuart Greenbaum – $18,765 (346,000)
After the win, Paul Domb, the 55-year-old champion from Key Biscayne, Florida talked about the enjoyable experience he had playing in the tournament. “It was fun. It was great. The staff was unbelievable. This ballroom setting, I love this. The people are super friendly so it made it enjoyable. I probably wouldn’t be here if the people weren’t so friendly. Sitting there is really a pleasure, meeting all of the different people. The guy who came in fourth (Daniel Buzgon) was super nice,” said Domb of his tournament experience.
Domb works in corporate real estate and only has time to play in tournaments once or twice a year. When he does play, Domb prefers two-day tournaments like this $1,100 No-Limit Hold’em event. Domb also has a daughter and wife at home so he is a busy man. These shorter tournaments are right in his wheelhouse.
Domb also enjoyed the great deep structure of the event that allowed for a lot of play. But for a man with limited time, it might have been too much play. “I thought it was terrific. I just don’t plan on making the final table because I’m not a professional. I’m here for a bit of a diversion, and I like that diversion. When it goes on, and on, and on, I was like, ‘Wow it’s getting late.’ I got an hour and a half of sleep last night because I went to work at seven o’clock in the morning,” said Domb about the tournament schedule. But despite the lack of sleep he was still in great spirits after the win. Domb added, “That was fun. I enjoyed myself, it was perfect.”
FINAL RESULTS
1. PAUL DOMB (KEY BISCAYNE, FL): $23,971
2. VITOR COELHO (TAMPA, FL): $21,104
3. STUART GREENBAUM (HOLLYWOOD, FL): $18,765
4. DANIEL BUZGON (MARLTON, NJ): $9,120
5. NGOC VU (SOUTH DAYTONA, FL): $6,840
6. RICHARD LEGER (LIGHTHOUSE POINT, FL): $5,700
7. STEWART NEWMAN (WESTON, FL): $4,560
8. YIGAL HEN (HOLLYWOOD, FL): $3,420
9. GORDON BATTLE (FORT MILL, SC): $2,565
10. DAVID FELGER (LANTANA, FL): $2,280
11. EMIL SOFFER (MIAMI, FL): $2,280
12. JONATHAN MARKS (WESTON, FL): $2,280
13. JIE LIU (ORANGE PARK, FL): $1,995
14. DIMAS MARTINEZ (BUFORD, GA): $1,995
15. CLIFFORD GOLDKIND (POTOMAC, MD): $1,995
16. CARLOS CRUZ (MIAMI, FL): $1,710
17. WALTER PIETRZAK (PORT ST LUCIE, FL): $1,710
18. ROBERT PANITCH (NORTHBROOK, IL): $1,710