2017 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 4
$360 Pot-Limit Omaha
Entries: 89 
Prize Pool: $26,700 
November 17, 2017 

Brad Ruben continued his dominance in four card flop games at the Seminole Hard Rock on Friday night. Just a year ago, Ruben won his first Hard Rock trophy in the $360 pot-limit Omaha 8-or-Better.

On Friday, he added a second Hard Rock trophy to his mantle after defeating an 89-entry field in the $360 pot-limit Omaha. He defeated Zack Milchman heads-up to earn the title and $8,471.

The win is just the latest in a string of top finishes for Ruben.

“It feels good,” said Ruben after the victory. “It’s always awesome to win a tournament. There were a lot of good players. You got to run good, play good and I did. I’m happy. It’s my second win in the last three or four months, so it’s nice.”

During six-handed play, talks of a chop were afoot. Ruben was one of the short stacks and was willing to take around $3,000 and end the tournament there. Joel Harwood was the chip leader and would’ve taken the trophy.

It was actually Milchman, who ended up finishing runner-up, who turned down the deal as the shortest stack at the table.

“I was like the second shortest chips and I would’ve gotten like third place money, so I thought that was pretty fair,” said Ruben about the chop negotiations. “The guy who got second actually had less than me and he wanted a little bit more. He wanted like $80 bucks from everyone.”

With Milchman demanding a little bit more money, the table couldn’t come to terms on the deal. After the deal negotiations were squashed, Ruben went on a run and never looked back.

“We played on and what vaulted me was that I flopped two pair with a couple backdoors and the other short stack flopped a worse two-pair,” said Ruben. “So, I stacked him and from there I never looked back. I kind of took control.”

The Florida native prefers Omaha to hold’em. The constantly changing hand equities and the intricacies of the game is what draws him to it.

“It seems like every flop, every turn, the equities change,” said Ruben about the game. “So, it’s more interesting and it’s more dynamic. So, I like it more.”

After getting a college degree, Ruben was in the finance world until finding poker. He spent some time playing full-time, but started getting into real estate to supplement his income.

Final Table Results:

1st: Brad Ruben – $8,471
2nd: Zack Milchman – $5,073
3rd: Alexander Orlov – $3,204
4th: Dave Brooker – $2,069
5th: Joel Harwood – $1,602
6th: Drew Epstein – $1,268
7th: Michael Daniel – $1,068
8th: Stefan Lundqvist – $935
9th: Brian Guzman – $847
10th: Mihails Morozovs – $774
11th: Michael Rosenberg – $721
12th: Haim Shrayer – $668

• Download: Final Results (PDF)

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 22: 6,000/12,000
Players Remaining: 1 of 89

Brad Ruben finished off Zack Milchman shortly after the level changed and the blinds were increased.

Ruben earned $8,471 for the win and Milchman took home $5,073 for his runner-up finish. A complete recap will be published shortly.

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 21: 5,000/10,000
Players Remaining: 2 of 89

Alexander Orlov was eliminated by Zack Milchman in third place, leaving Milchman heads-up with Brad Ruben.

On a flop of , Ruben checked from the big blind and Milchman bet 14,000 on the button. Ruben check-raised to 56,000 and Milchman called.

The turn was the and Ruben bet 83,000. Milchman called and the river was the . Ruben moved all in for Milchman’s remaining 120,000 and Milchman didn’t waste much time before folding.

Ruben mucked his hand and took the pot, extending his chip lead to more than 6-to-1.

Brad Ruben – 7700,000
Zack Milchman – 120,000

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 21: 5,000/10,000
Players Remaining: 3 of 89

Joel Harwood was eliminated in 5th place for $1,602 and Dave Brooker hit the rail in fourth for $2,069.

It looks like Brad Ruben did most of the damage in those two knockouts since he holds more than two-thirds of the chips in play with three players left.

Ruben sits with about 610,000 of the 890,000 in play. Zack Milchman has 160,000 and Alexander Orlov has about 110,000. The next player to be eliminated will leave with $3,204.

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 20: 5,000/10,000
Players Remaining: 5 of 89

Six-handed play went on for a couple levels before Drew Epstein was eliminated in sixth place for $1,268. With five players left, the chip counts have changed quite a bit.

Brad Ruben, who was one of the shorter stacks six-handed, is now the chip leader with 300,000. Joel Harwood, who was the chip leader, is now the short stack with 97,000.

Here’s how the rest of the counts look:

Dave Brooker – 193,000
Zack Milchman – 155,000
Alexander Orlov – 145,000

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 18: 3,000/6,000
Players Remaining: 6 of 89

Joel Harwood raised to 15,000 from the cutoff and Drew Epstein defended his big blind.

The flop was and Epstein checked. Harwood bet 25,000 and Epstein called. They both checked the turn card and the came on the river.

Epstein checked and Harwood bet 25,000. Epstein calls. Harwood tabled , giving him a jack-high flush, and Epstein mucked his hand.

Harwood took the pot and the chip lead, still with six players remaining.

Joel Harwood – 252,000
Drew Epstein – 90,000

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 16: 2,000/4,000
Players Remaining: 6 of 89

Dave Brooker raised from under the gun and was called by Drew Epstein in the small blind and Alexander Orlov in the big blind.

All three players checked a flop of and the came on the turn. Epstein and Orlov both check again. Brooker bets 20,000, Epstein calls and Orlov moved all in for about 90,000.

Brooker tanks for a couple minutes before folding and Epstein quickly folds as well.

“I folded top set,” said Brooker.

Orlov didn’t respond and he took the pot.

Alexander Orlov – 150,000
Dave Brooker – 180,000

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 15: 1,500/3,000
Players Remaining: 6 of 89

Over the last couple of levels, there have been several casualties in the $360 pot-limit Omaha. What was recently a 10-player field is down to its final six.

Mihails Morozovs hit the rail in 10th ($774), Brian Guzman fell in 9th ($847), Stefan Lindqvist was eliminated in 8th ($935) and Michael Daniel finished in 7th ($1,068).

While those four were eliminated, three players have risen above the rest. Dave Brooker leads the pack with 205,000, but is followed closely behind by Joel Harwood with 200,000 and Drew Epstein with 180,000.

The final six players are guaranteed at least $1,268.

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 15: 1,500/3,000
Players Remaining: 10 of 89

The fourth event of the series has reached its final 10 players and they have redrawn for seats at the unofficial final table. With one more elimination, the final nine players will be credited with making an official final table.

Here is a look at the seating arrangement and chip counts for the final 10 players:

Seat 1: Brad Ruben – 128,500
Seat 2: Zack Milchman – 83,000
Seat 3: Drew Epstein – 157,000
Seat 4: Alexander Orlov – 109,500
Seat 5: Brian Guzman – 61,000
Seat 6: Dave Brooker – 39,500
Seat 7: Joel Harwood – 149,000
Seat 8: Michael Daniel – 60,500
Seat 9: Stefan Lundqvist – 65,000
Seat 10: Mihails Morozovs – 40,000

Here are the remaining payouts:

1st: $8,471
2nd: $5,073
3rd: $3,204
4th: $2,069
5th: $1,602
6th: $1,268
7th: $1,068
8th: $935
9th: $847
10th: $774

$360 Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure Sheet
Level 10: 400/800
Players Remaining: 27 of 89

The official payout numbers were released for the Pot Limit Omaha event and it drew 89 entries to create a prize pool worth $26,700.

The final 12 players will divide up the prize pool with a min-cash banking $668 and the PLO champ earning $8,471 along with the trophy and custom-framed winner’s photo courtesy of IMPDI.

Event 4 payouts:

1st: $8,471
2nd: $5,073
3rd: $3,204
4th: $2,069
5th: $1,602
6th: $1,268
7th: $1,068
8th: $935
9th: $847
10th: $774
11th: $721
12th: $668