2019 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 25
$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha 
Entries:  84
Prize Pool:  $81,480
January 22, 2019

“I was long overdue for a trophy at the Hard Rock.”

After a couple of deep runs in previous tournaments here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, Matty Bretzfield overcame a field of 84 entries to win the final event of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open — $1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha.

From the Money Bubble to the end of the tournament, Bretzfield held the chip lead most of the way. The final five players agreed to a deal to split the remaining prizepool, and as chipleader, Bretzfield won the title, the trophy, and $15,323.

“It’s 4 am, that’s why I wanted to chop so bad — I’m really tired. But it feels really good, and I’m really happy. I chopped with good people.”

It was a long night for the players at the final table, as it took nearly three hours to drop from 12 players to eight.

Bretzfield has a few victories under his belt, but he really wanted a trophy from Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, especially after finishing 10th in last August’s SHRPO Championship (earning a career-best $62,415), and 11th yesterday in Event #21, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em.

“The trophy means a lot to me. It’s a sense of accomplishment. My mom just moved down here about two months ago, and she’s never seen me win a trophy. She’s just seen the ones I already have. So now I get to go home and bring it to her, and that means a lot to me.”

This is Bretzfield’s first trophy from the Seminole Hard Rock, but he doesn’t plan on it being his last.

“I just started tournament poker seriously back in August. Now I’m on the circuit grinding and it feels great. Living my dream, living in paradise.”

Final Results:

1st:  Matthew Bretzfield  –  $15,323 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Sam Sweilem  –  $14,804
3rd:  Tom Guedj  –  $12,495
4th:  Robert Banks  –  $10,891
5th:  Joseph Rahman  –  $10,307
6th:  Joseph Irgon  –  $4,074
7th:  Mario Cohen  –  $3,381
8th:  Zachary Milchman  –  $2,852
9th:  Farid Dhanani  –  $2,628
10th:  Eitan Elbaz-Dahan  –  $2,444
11th:  Mathyeu Provost  –  $2,281

$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 16: 6,000/12,000
Players Remaining: 5 of 84

When Level 15 came to an end, the final five players agreed to a deal to split up the remaining prizepool. These were the official chip counts:

1.  Matty Bretzfield  –  367,000  (31 bb)
2.  Sam Snead  –  339,000  (28 bb)
3.  Tom Guedj  –  232,000  (19 bb)
4.  Timothy Banks  –  171,000  (14 bb)
5.  Joseph Rahman  –  151,000  (13 bb)

And these were the payouts agreed to:

1st:  Matty Bretzfield  –  $15,323
2nd:  Sam Snead  –  $14,804
3rd:  Tom Guedj  –  $12,495
4th:  Timothy Banks  –  $10,891
5th:  Joseph Rahman  –  $10,307

Stay tuned for a recap from this event, which will be posted later tonight.

$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 15: 5,000/10,000
Players Remaining: 5 of 84

Sam Snead raised under the gun to 10,000, Joseph Irgon moved all in from the hijack for 22,000, Matt Bretzfield called from the big blind, and Snead also called.

Bretzfield and Snead checked all the way down on a board of , and all three players turned over their cards.

Matt Bretzfield:    (two pair, jacks and sevens)
Sam Snead:    (pair of queens)
Joseph Irgon:    (pair of nines)

Bretzfield won the pot with his two pair to eliminate Irgon in sixth place.

Matt Bretzfield  –  468,000  (47 bb)
Joseph Irgon  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($4,074)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 252,000 (25 big blinds).

$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 15: 5,000/10,000
Players Remaining: 6 of 84

Mario Cohen was all in preflop against Matt Bretsfield.

Matt Bretzfield:  
Mario Cohen:  

The board came , and Bretzfield won the pot with a pair of aces to eliminate Cohen in seventh place.

Matt Bretzfield  –  420,000  (42 bb)
Mario Cohen  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($3,381)

$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 14: 4,000/8,000
Players Remaining: 7 of 84

Zack Milchman was all in preflop from the button for 37,000 against Sam Snead in the cutoff.

Zack Milchman:  
Sam Snead:  

The board came , and Snead won the pot with a flopped set of deuces to eliminate Milchman in eighth place.

Sam Snead  –  280,000  (35 bb)
Zack Milchman  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($2,852)

$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 14: 4,000/8,000
Players Remaining: 8 of 84

Sam Snead limped under the gun for 8,000, Jordan Dhanani called from middle position, and Tom Guedj raised from the cutoff for 22,000. Snead called, and Dhanani moved all in for 24,000. Guedj and Snead both called.

Snead and Guedj both checked all the way down on a board of , and all three players turned over their cards:

Tom Guedj:    (two pair, kings and queens)
Sam Snead:    (nine high)
Jordan Dhanani:    (ace high)

Guedj won the pot with his pocket kings to eliminate Dhanani in ninth place.

Tom Guedj  –  350,000  (44 bb)
Jordan Dhanani  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($2,628)

2019 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 24
$570 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$75,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 182
Prize Pool:  $91,000
January 22, 2019

Joseph Cheong defeated Rafael Bababekov in a heads-up battle to win the $570 No Limit Hold’em event, earning $23,568.

There were 182 entries in this one-day event, which played out on the final day of the Lucky Hearts Poker Open.

This victory puts Cheong over the $13 million mark in career live tournament earnings, and he moves up to 43rd on poker’s all-time money list. This is the second trophy that Cheong has earned here at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, with his previous victory coming at last year’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown when he won $29,503 in $1,100 No Limit Hold’em.

Final Results:

1st:  Joseph Cheong  –  $23,568 + LHPO Trophy
2nd:  Rafael Bababekov  –  $15,811
3rd:  Elias Nassif  –  $9,328
4th:  Steven Pollack  –  $5,674
5th:  Luis Mantilla  –  $4,382
6th:  Mark Wiser  –  $3,631
7th:  Gautam Lillaney  –  $3,094
8th:  Paul Freedman  –  $2,721
9th:  Walter Buss  –  $2,358
10th:  Ruth Ruffman  –  $2,002
11th:  Mathieu Selides  –  $2,002
12th:  Jose Parra  –  $2,002
13th:  Mehdi Belhassan  –  $1,684
14th:  Benjamin Wallace  –  $1,684
15th:  Nick Yunis  –  $1,684
16th:  Robert Flacco  –  $1,411
17th:  Scott Zakheim  –  $1,411
18th:  Brian Hastings  –  $1,411
19th:  Matthew Rizai  –  $1,138
20th:  Carlo Rodriguez  –  $1,138
21st:  Adrian Troya Santos  –  $1,138
22nd:  Thomas Gari  –  $864
23rd:  Jonathan Ounjian  –  $864

$1,100 Big Stack Pot Limit Omaha (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 13: 3,000/6,000
Players Remaining: 9 of 84

Eitan Elbaz-Dahan got it all in preflop for about 45,000 against Tom Guedj.

Tom Guedj:  
Eitan Elbaz-Dahan:  

The board came , and Guedj won the pot with a full house, kings full of tens, to eliminate Elbaz-Dahan in 10th place.

Tom Guedj  –  300,000  (50 bb)
Eitan Elbaz-Dahan  –  Eliminated in 10th Place  ($2,444)

With nine players remaining, the average chip stack is about 140,000 (23 big blinds).