2016 Rock n’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino 
Hollywood, FL 
Event 11: $1,650 No Limit Hold’em Bounty (Single Re-Entry) 
Entries: 126
Prize Pool: $126,000 + $63,000 in bounties 
November 27-28, 2016 

Patrick Eskandar made his way to South Florida all the way from Southern California. With the 2016 Rock n’ Roll Poker Open nearing a close, Eskandar will be making the long flight back across the country, but he’ll be making the trek with some hardware in his luggage.

Eskandar took down the $1,650 no limit hold’em bounty tournament on Monday evening in a heads-up chop with Tom Nguyen. He topped a field of 126 players to take home the trophy and $35,642.

Eskandar eliminated three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Brian Hastings to give him a big chip lead against Nguyen as heads-up play was about to begin. Eskandar offered up a deal and after a few minutes of negotiation, they reached an agreement and Eskandar took the title.

“It feels great,” said Eskandar. “It was the tail end of the main and it was good to have a little recovery there and walk away with a pretty cool little trophy.”

Eskandar owns and operates medical clinics in his home state of California and he spends most of his free time traveling around playing poker tournaments against the best players he can find.

“I like to play some of the bigger events and wrestle with the pros,” said Eskandar. “It’s always fun to get on their turf and just punch through a little bit. You take some beatings, but every once in a while you punch them out.”

It wasn’t any different in this event for Eskandar. He had to punch through a very tough field and a final tabled that featured Hastings, Stephen Chidwick, Adam Geyer, James Dorrance, and Paul Balzano.

“It was definitely having to dodge a lot of sticky situations and a lot of really good players,” said Eskandar of the field he beat. “I just had to find some spots and get in there and chip up. I was able to find a few good spots and finally took it down.”

Eskandar was also able to take advantage of the bounty aspect of the tournament. For each player knocked out, the winner of the hand earns an extra $500. The bounty format gave Eskandar a little bit of an edge and some added entertainment.

“It definitely makes it fun,” said Eskandar. “You definitely may jump into a couple of pots that you wouldn’t normally play. Or you may realize that some people are taking advantage of that and punish them for it.

“And actually, that helped me quite a bit. There were like two spots where I knew two people were just going for the bounty and I was able to show some strength and win some pots and takes the bounty as well.”

Here is a look at the results:

1st: Patrick Eskandar – $35,642
2nd: Tom Nguyen – $29,500
3rd: Brian Hastings – $15,624
4th: Raffaello Locatelli – $11,214
5th: Stephen Chidwick – $8,190
6th: Derek Bowers – $6,300
7th: Richard Geyer – $4,914
8th: James Dorrance – $3,654
9th: Aaron Massey – $3,024
10th: Paul Balzano – $2,646
11th: Mike Poss – $2,646
12th: Alexander Ziskin – $2,646

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry) 
Level 23: 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 126

Patrick Eskandar and Tom Nguyen have reached a deal and will chop this event before heads-up play begins. Eskandar had the chip lead and will take home $35,642 and the trophy. Nguyen will earn $29,500 for his second place finish.

A recap will be posted later tonight.

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 126

Patrick Eskandar completed from the small blind, and Brian Hastings checked his option in the big.

The flop was . Eskandar checked, Hastings bet 20,000, and Eskandar called. The turn was the , and Eskandar quickly moved all in. Hastings had just less than 300,000 chips left in front of him, and he eventually called to put himself at risk.

Eskandar: (queens up)
Hastings: (pair of kings)

The river was the , and Eskandar won the pot with two pair, eliminating Hastings in third place.

Eskandar is now heads-up with Tom Nguyen for the trophy in Event 11.

Patrick Eskandar – 910,000 (91 bb)
Tom Nguyen – 600,000 (60 bb)
Brian Hastings – Eliminated in 3rd place ($15,624)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 126

Brian Hastings raised to 25,000 in the small blind, and Tom Nguyen three-bet to 100,000 in the big blind. Hastings shoved, and Nguyen called all in for 293,000 to put himself at risk.

Hastings:
Nguyen:

The board ran out , and Nguyen doubled up with a ten-high straight.

Tom Nguyen – 589,000 (59 bb)
Brian Hastings – 400,000 (40 bb)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 126

Brian Hastings completed in the small blind, Tom Nguyen raised to 25,000 in the big blind, and Hastings called.

The flop was . Hastings checked, Nguyen continued for 20,000, and Hastings check-raised to 55,000. Nguyen called. The turn was the , and Nguyen called another 65,000. The river was the , and Hastings moved all in for 174,000. Nguyen called to put him at risk.

Hastings showed for treys full, and Nguyen exposed his as he paid off Hastings’ double.

Brian Hastings – 641,000 (64 bb)
Tom Nguyen – 495,000 (50 bb)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 126

Brian Hastings opened the button to 25,000, Raffaello Locatelli called in the small blind, and Tom Nguyen defended his big blind to create three-way action.

The flop was . Locatelli checked, Nguyen bet, Hastings folded, and Locatelli called. Heads-up, the turn was the , and Locatelli check-called another 40,000. The river was the , and Locatelli checked again. Nguyen moved all in for about 140,000 effective, and Locatelli eventually called all in to put himself at risk.

Locatelli: (pair of jacks)
Nguyen: (Broadway straight)

Nguyen won the pot with the nuts, eliminating Locatelli in fourth place.

Tom Nguyen – 660,000 (66 bb)
Raffaello Locatelli – Eliminated in 4th place ($11,214)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 21: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 126

Raffaello Locatelli limped in under the gun, and Patrick Eskandar completed the small blind before Brian Hastings moved all in for 147,000 in the big blind. Locatelli called, Eskandar folded, and Hastings was heads-up and at risk.

Locatelli:
Hastings:

The board ran out , and Hastings’ ace-high was good enough to earn him a double-up.

Brian Hastings – 306,000 (38 bb)
Raffaello Locatelli – 360,000 (45 bb)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 21: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 126

Tom Nguyen opened the button to 20,000, Patrick Eskandar called in the small blind, and Brian Hastings defended his big blind to create three-way action.

The flop was , and all three players checked. The turn was the . Eskandar led for 25,000, Hastings raised to 80,000, and Nguyen moved all in for 170,000 total. Eskandar and Hastings folded, and Nguyen won the pot to nearly double-up with no showdown.

Tom Nguyen – 339,000 (42 bb)
Patrick Eskandar – 390,000 (49 bb)
Brian Hastings – 230,000 (29 bb)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 21: 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 126

Brian Hastings opened the button to 20,000, and Stephen Chidwick three-bet shoved for just about 100,000 in the small blind. Hastings called to put Chidwick at risk.

Hastings:
Chidwick:

The board ran out , and Hastings won the pot with kings up. Chidwick was eliminated in fifth place.

Brian Hastings – 410,000 (51 bb)
Stephen Chidwick – Eliminated in 5th place ($8,190)

$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
Level 20: 3,000/6,000 with a 1,000 Ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 126

Derek Bowers moved all in for 54,000 in the cutoff, and Brian Hastings called from the big blind to put Bowers at risk.

Bowers:
Hastings:

The flop was fun for everyone, giving Bowers a pair and Hastings a combo draw with two to come. The on the turn filled Hastings’ flush, but Bowers still had a few outs to make a full house or better. He could not; the river was the , and Hastings won the knockout pot with an ace-high flush.

Brian Hastings – 210,000 (35 bb)
Derek Bowers – Eliminated in 6th place ($6,300)