2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
$50,000 High Roller
Entries: 21
Prize Pool: $1,043,700
November 22, 2016

(Hollywood, FL) – The $50,000 High Roller event was a late edition to the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” schedule but it drew a nice group of top players. It had bracelet winners and high roller experts that all battled it out with online specialist Ben “Ben86” Tollerene outlasting them all to earn the title along with $495,228 for one day’s work.

The tournament began with two tables in action, one in the ballroom and one in front of the Poker Night in America cameras for a live stream viewed around the world. The initial feature table lineup had a tough draw that included Jason Mercier, Chance Kornuth, Jason Koon, and Isaac Haxton.

Mercier was the first player eliminated from the tournament when his nut flush draw was no good against Koon’s flopped full house. He took a short breather before jumping back into the action.

Registration closed after the dinner break and the High Roller officially drew 21 entrants to create a prize pool over $1 million with the last four getting paid. There were 12 players remaining when they returned and quickly played down to the final table nine.

It was slow going at the start of the final table but the turbo format soon forced the action for quick eliminations. Mercier dropped out in the sixth place followed by eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel on the money bubble.

Jason Koon followed Seidel out of the door but was able to pick up a cash worth $125,244. UK pro Stephen Chidwick, second on the all-time English cash list, made a stand but fell in third place for $187,866. Sean Winter began the final table with only three big blinds but was able to push his stack higher until he was heads-up for the title.

Tollorene was the dominant force in the late stages of the final table and went into heads-up play with better than a 5-to-1 advantage. The match lasted more than 30 minutes before Winter’s night was through in second place. This was Winter’s second big RRPO score following his $270,000 cash in the 2014 Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open” Championship.

Tollorene was the well-deserved High Roller champion after overcoming an incredibly tough field, taking home $495,228 plus the Seminole Hard Rock Poker trophy.

High Roller results:

1st: Ben Tollorene – $459,228 + Trophy
2nd: Sean Winter – $271,362
3rd: Stephen Chidwick – $187,866
4th: Jason Koon – $125,244