2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 25
$25,500 High Roller NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 41
Prize Pool: $1,012,700
January 20-21, 2020
The $25,500 High Roller returned to the LHPO schedule this year and the tournament bested its $1,000,000 guarantee with 41 entries. WPT Champions Club member Jonathan Jaffe conquered the tough field and walked away with the trophy along with $340,285 after a heads-up deal.
“I misfired my first bullet running kings into aces,” Jaffe said of his High Roller run. “But the second one went great and I ran really well.”
The tournament drew some of the best players around and it featured a talented final table. But with seven getting paid, they had a long process to get into the money. After two and a half hours with eight players, former SHRPO $10K Champ Alexander Turyansky dropped in eighth place to put the rest of the field in the money and end Day 1.
Jared Jaffee was short to start the final table but came into Day 2 with the chip lead. Kevin Rabinchow, Byron Kaverman, and 2019 Poker Showdown Championship final table member Maria Ho were all eliminated in the first four hands and Ping Liu followed in fourth place.
It was a long three-handed battle between Jaffe, Jaffee, and Arkadiy Tsinis. Jaffee’s lead as Jaffe took command and he was sent out in third place to begin the heads-up match for the High Roller title.
Jaffe had a big lead and the two decided to chop up the remaining prize money after playing a few hands. Tsinis earned $257,207 for a runner-up finish and Jaffe added a LHPO High Roller title to his WPT win.
“It’s definitely not as exciting as the WPT win,” Jaffe said. “But it’s always fun to get a win especially one this big.”
Jaffe was joined in his winner’s photo but former WPT LHPO Champion Brian Altman who returns on Wednesday to play his live-streamed final table and Jaffe plans to be on the rail for that one.
High Roller results:
1st: Jonathan Jaffe – $340,285 *
2nd: Arkadiy Tsinis – $257,207 *
3rd: Jared Jaffee – $146,842
4th: Ping Liu – $101,270
5th: Maria Ho – $70,889
6th: Byron Kaverman – $55,699
7th: Kevin Rabinchow – $40,508
* – denotes results of a heads-up deal
