2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 23
$25,500 SHRPO Big 4 High Roller (Re-Entry)
$2,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 115
Prize Pool: $2,840,500
August 12-13, 2019
The 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open finished off the series with The Big 4 tournaments and final tables. The $25,500 High Roller attracted some of the best players in the world and it was four-time WSOP bracelet winner Shaun Deeb taking the title along with $778,300 after defeating Albert Daher heads-up.
“Winning these fields is so tough,” Deeb said after. “There are a lot of soft spots at the start of the tournament, but you look at these final tables and everyone played great.”
“I got a lot of chips early, I ran perfect, won every key all in — Won like three flips.”
The High Roller is always popular and this year was no different. It drew 115 entries to easily surpass the $2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and put $2,840,500 up for grabs. The field was packed with top pros competing for the trophy and a lot of money.
Defending champion Jake Schindler tried to repeat but fell short of the money with 16 getting paid. SHRPO $50,000 Super High Roller champion Jason Mercier was in contention for another win, but he went out in ninth place to set the Big 4 High Roller live-stream final table.
Andy Andrejevic returned for the last day with the chip lead and Deeb not far behind. Day 2 of the tournament did not go well for Andrejevic,though, and he had to settle for a fourth-place finish.
Deeb continued to dominate the final table and only trailed for a short time when the last three players went into a long grind with very deep stacks.
“It was just crazy. I got very lucky,” Deeb said. “I just made the nuts every hand. In an edited broadcast, you don’t see how often I had it, but these guys were great players who were so frustrated because I only had to bluff like twice all day.”
“It’s crazy to have the best hand that often. I know how unlikely that is, so I’m just so happy.”
WPT Champions Club member Olivier Busquet was eliminated in third place when he made the same pair as Deeb but was outkicked. Deeb’s heads-up match with Daher did not last long and ended when Deeb won an all-in preflop race with a timely river.
Daher earned $545,375 for his runner-up finish which goes nicely with his seventh-place finish in the $50,000 Super High Roller.
Deeb finished off the win a year after he was in the same position as Daher. He made second-place money in the 2018 SHRPO Big 4 High Roller but closed it out this time around.
Deeb is a regular in all of our big tournaments, loves our property, rooms, and games.
“Honestly, the staff — They have the best dealers. They pay their staff right, they take care of the players,” Deeb said about the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood staff. “It’s everyone’s favorite stop, and that’s saying something.”
“They put on the greatest customer experience, they take care of the staff from top to bottom, it’s just perfect.”
Deeb earned the High Roller title not long after his close friend Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy won our $2,650 Pot Limit Omaha trophy. They posed in each the other’s winner photo and plan to have a nice celebration this evening.
“We are going to go back (to Kuro),” Deeb laughed. “Cliff Josephy just won one of the side events, so there’s going to be a picture floating online of me sitting in his lap, so I’m excited to return the favor now.”
“He said he was going first and now it’s my turn.”
Congratulations to Shaun Deeb on the High Roller win and thanks, as always, to our very loyal players.
High Roller results:
1st: Shaun Deeb – $778,300 + SHRPO Trophy
2nd: Albert Daher – $545,375
3rd: Olivier Busquet – $340,860
4th: Andy Andrejevic – $235,760
5th: TK Miles – $150,545
6th: Josh Ray – $110,780
7th: Jake Schwartz – $90,895
8th: Matthew Wantman – $76,695
9th: Jason Mercier – $73,855
10th: Ali Imsirovic – $71,015
11th: Jim Collopy – $68,170
12th: Chris Johnson – $65,330
13th: Sam Soverel – $62,490
14th: Mark Eddleman – $59,650
15th: Richard Lee – $56,810
16th: Daniel Strelitz – $53,970