2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Fla.
Event 7
$570 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
Entries: 169
Prize Pool: $84,500
August 8, 2017

Evan Teitelbaum won another trophy on home turf in the wee hours of Wednesday morning at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. Teitelbaum outlasted a field of 169 entries in Event 7, taking the title and the top prize of $18,832 in a heads-up deal with Francis Anderson.

Teitelbaum is a 50-year-old local grinder who’s originally from Brooklyn. A graduate of the University of Tampa, he now makes his home in nearby Parkland where he markets and trades and plays poker. He’s experienced a fair amount of success in all three pursuits, too.

Teitelbaum’s biggest poker result on record is a victory in the huge $570 Deeper Stack event at the 2015 Lucky Hearts Poker Open for more than $150,000. That one ended in a heads-up deal, and this one finished up in much the same way.

Around 1 a.m., Teitelbaum found himself seated next to Francis Anderson — the last two players left in the ballroom for the night. With almost nothing between the stacks, the two men quickly agreed to a straight-up chip chop.

Teitelbaum had just a few more chips, so he took the higher payout and the hardware.

“I don’t consider myself a professional poker player,” he said modestly after his win. “I’ve been playing poker for a long time, though.”

He’s only been posting tournament results since 2011, but this most recent run brings his total career earnings across the $750,000 mark. Much of that has been won right here at Hard Rock.

“It’s my number one casino, obviously,” Teitelbaum said. “They have the best games on the east coast now. They just had a $50,000 [Super] High Roller going in there,” he said, pointing to the auxiliary ballroom.

“Other than Las Vegas, I don’t know where you can find better tournament series. Tony [Burns] and the staff have done an incredible job here, and they have the best dealers around.”

Teitelbaum is seen and heard in the tournament room on a near-daily basis during the annual series, often wearing his emotions on his sleeve at the tables.

“It really is a frustrating game,” he said with a laugh. “But days like this make it all worthwhile.”

Results:

1st: Evan Teitelbaum – $18,832*
2nd: Francis Anderson – $18,032*
3rd: Edward Mantin – $8,665
4th: Edward Madoff – $5,273
5th: Ray Leone – $4,069
6th: Steven Bennett – $3,372
7th: Charles Reed – $2,915
8th: Margo Costa – $2,551
9th: John Gorsuch – $2,221
10th: Michael Lopez – $1,893
11th: Christopher Perkins – $1,893
12th: Tim Reilly – $1,893
13th: Mehdi Belhassan – $1,601
14th: David Jackson – $1,601
15th: James Romero – $1,601
16th: Luke Vrabel – $1,331
17th: Andrew Touchette – $1,331
18th: Martin Markov – $1,331
19th: Edgar Diaz Raal – $1,077
20th: Guillermo Hamilton – $1,077
21st: Joseph Duchman – $1,077
22nd: Esther Foley – $824
* denotes heads-up deal