2018 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 8
$570 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em Multi-Flight Re-Entry     
Entries: 795
Prize Pool: $397,500  
November 22, 2018 

Dragos Iosub earned a career-best score in the early hours of Thursday morning at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. In a heads-up deal with Mathieu Selides, Iosub won $82,000 and bested a 795-entry field in the $570 no-limit hold’em.

Not only was it his biggest score of his career, but it had to be one of the most dominating performances he’s ever had. When they first ran ICM numbers and started negotiating a deal, he was so far ahead, Selides’ payout would only be $5,000 more than what he would normally get if he played it out and finished second.

He asked for more money, but Iosub gave a quick response that let everyone know how he felt he was playing.

“You can take the extra $5,000 or you can give it to me,” said Iosub.

The two played heads-up a little bit longer and Selides chipped up a little bit. They agreed on a final deal after a long negotiation and the poker pro from Romania officially took down the title.

“It’s very welcome,” said the 35-year-old after his victory. “I work so hard for getting here.”

Despite having about two-thirds of the chips in play with three players remaining, Iosub credited positive variance with the main reason for his huge stack.

“I get good cards and I feel like I was ahead all of the time when I raised,” he said.

Iosub played almost exclusively in Europe up until a couple years ago when he won a tournament in Italy. He won a $30,000 package to play at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Since then, he’s made the trek across the Atlantic Ocean to play in some of America’s more lucrative events.

Iosub made the trip to Florida because he won a package to play in the $3,500 WPT Main Event. He came a few days early and wound up with a career-best score just a few days before the main event started. He’s going to head into Friday riding high and with plenty of momentum.

The final table had quite an international flare to it, with more than half of the final table residing from outside the United States, including all three of the top finishers.

Ben Dobson, who won a WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 seven-card stud hi-lo event last summer, made the final table and finished seventh for $14,310.

Final Table Results:

1st: Dragos Iosub – $82,000*
2nd: Mathieu Selides – $63,866*
3rd: Dennis Cyr – $32,794
4th: Lawrence L’Hommedieu – $27,030
5th: Gavin O’Rourke – $21,863
6th: Richard Leger – $17,888
7th: Ben Dobson – $14,310
8th: David Rivera – $10,931
9th: Timothy Pettus – $7,553

*Indicates adjusted payouts to accommodate a deal

• Download: Full Event 8 Results (PDF)

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 795

At the end of level 30, the final two players took a 10-minute break. They asked the staff to run ICM numbers while they took their break. When they came back from break, they negotiated for just shy of 10 minutes before they agreed to a deal.

Dragos Iosub held a massive chip lead and took $82,000, while Matthieu Selides agreed to take home $63,866 for his runner-up finish.

A complete recap will be posted later tonight.

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 795

Mathieu Selides got his last 2,175,000 into the middle preflop against Dragos Iosub.

Selides showed and needed some help against Iosub’s .

The flop was , which gave everybody a piece of the board. The turn was the , keeping Iosub in the lead, but the came on the river and Selides rivered the nuts to double up and stay alive.

Mathieu Selides – 4,350,000
Dragos Iosub – 11,550,000

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 795

On a flop of , Dennis Cyr checked from the big blind and Dragos Iosub bet 300,000 on the button. Cyr check-raised to about 900,000 and Iosub thought for about 30 seconds before moving all in.

Cyr called and committed the last 1,000,000 he had behind. He tabled and was in trouble against Iosub’s .

The turn was the and the river was the . Iosub won the pot with two pair and eliminated Cyr in third place for $32,794. Iosub now has nearly every chip on the table as he starts heads-up play with Mathieu Selides.

Dragos Iosub – 13,825,000
Dennis Cyr – Eliminated 

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30: 75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 795

Lawrence L’Hommedieu raised to 300,000 from the cutoff and Dragos Iosub three-bet to 800,000 on the button. L’Hommedieu called and the flop came .

L’Hommedieu moved all in and Iosub snap-called. L’Hommedieu shook his head and tabled . He was drawing to running hearts against Iosub’s .

The turn was the , giving Iosub a full house, and left L’Hommedieu drawing dead to the river.

Iosub rivered quads and eliminated L’Hommedieu in fourth place for $27,030.

Dragos Iosub – 10,000,000
Lawrence L’Hommedieu – Elimnated 

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 795

Gavin O’Rourke moved all in on the button for about 500,000 and Dennis Cyr called out of the small blind.

O’Rourke tabled and was up against Cyr’s .

The board ran out and O’Rourke was out in fifth for $21,863.

Dennis Cyr – 4,400,000
Gavin O’Rourke – Eliminated 

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining: 5 of 795

Dragos Iosub raised on the button to 275,000 and Richard Leger moved all in out of the big blind for 1,050,000. Iosub called.

It was a race with Iosub’s against Leger’s . The flop was and Leger took the lead. The turn was the , giving Iosup an open-ended straight draw, which he hit on the river when the peeled off.

Iosub won the pot and eliminated Leger in sixth place for $17,888. He also takes over the chip lead, and has about a third of the chips in play.

Dragos Iosub – 5,600,000
Richard Leger – Eliminated 

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 795

Dennis Cyr raised from under the gun and Mathieu Selides moved all in on the button for 1,525,000. Action folded back to Cyr, who called.

It was a flip with Cyr’s against Selides’ . The flop was and Selides took the lead.

The turn was the and the river was the . Selides won the pot with top pair and doubled up. Cyr loses the chip lead for the first time at the final table.

Mathieu Selides – 3,300,000
Dennis Cyr – 2,900,000

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29: 50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 795

Ben Dobson moved all in on the button for 900,000 and Dragos Iosub called out of the big blind.

Dobson showed and is dominated by Iosub’s .

The flop was , giving Iosub second pair and leaving Dobson dead to runners.

“It’s going to be tough for me to win this one,” said Dobson as he got up from his chair after the flop.

The turn was the and he picked up some hope with a straight draw, but the river was the and Iosub won the pot, eliminating the WSOP bracelet winner in seventh place for $14,310.

Dragos Iosub – 3,400,000
Ben Dobson – Eliminated 

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$250,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 28: 50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining: 7 of 795

Action folded around to Mathieu Selides in the small blind, who moved all in. David Rivera called and was the player at risk for his last 700,000.

It was a flip with Selides’ against Rivera’s .

The board ran out and Rivera’s pair was counterfeited, sending the pot to Selides with ace-high.

Rivera earned the first five-figure payout of the event.

Mathieu Selides – 1,600,000
David Rivera – Eliminated