From Fifth to Second to First: Manny Tarich Final Tables the Purple Chip Bounty Three Years in a Row, and Finally Gets the Win

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 7
$1,700 Purple Chip Bounty (Single Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  109
Prize Pool:  $111,725
Bounty Prize Pool:  $54,500
January 12-13, 2020

Event 7 Champion Manny Tarich
Event 7 Champion Manny Tarich

Two years ago, Manny Tarich final tabled the Purple Chip Bounty event at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open, finishing fifth. (This event’s name comes from the purple $500 chip that players receive for knocking out another player.) Last year, he made the final table again, getting heads-up but falling short of the trophy once again.

This year, Tarich finally got the job done and won the tournament to claim his own bounty. “It’s awesome,” said Tarich. “I’m glad to finally get the monkey off my back.”

Tarich could have claimed victory earlier, but he shut down a five-player deal even though, as chipleader at the time, it would have given him the title and the trophy.

“I don’t do this for a living,” said Tarich, “so for me it’s pure competition. I used to play a lot of sports, and I was a very competitive person. For me, the win is more important than the money. Normally I won’t chop, because I like to play to win.”

There was a lot of respect given to third-place finisher Viktor Kovachev, who was openly praised by the other players at the table with four left.

At one point, Tarich was openly contemplating making a call against Kovachev for six big blinds on the river knowing he was beat. “I almost want to call just to see what you have,” said Tarich at the time, “even though I know I’m going to lose the hand.”

Tarich didn’t make that call, but did fairly well picking his spots against Kovachev, giving up smaller pots to win bigger ones. He eventually knocked out Kovachev in third place when they got it all in preflop and Tarich’s Kd10h flopped a king against Kovachev’s JsJc.

“I got quite lucky to hit the king against his jacks to knock [Kovachev] out,” said Tarich. “But the whole final table was solid players, and I was lucky to win.”

After Kovachev was eliminated, Tarich and Jason Nablo took some time to discuss a deal, and Tarich finally relented, agreeing to an even chop, though Tarich got to claim Nablo’s bounty along with his own.

Tarich said we aren’t likely to see him much the rest of this series, as he has commitments to work and family. “I have a great family at home,” said Tarich, who has several children, “and I’m very lucky my wife is patient to let me spend 13 hours on a Sunday playing poker.”

But Tarich will definitely be back here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood before too long.

“I only play at the Hard Rock,” said Tarich. “I stopped playing at other casinos. The staff here is amazing, and I’ve been coming here since it was the original casino next door. Everyone knows me even if I’m here once every couple of months. I won’t play anywhere else.”


Final Results:

1st:  Manny Tarich  –  $27,093*
2nd:  Jason Nablo  –  $27,092*
3rd:  Viktor Kovachev  –  $12,401
4th:  Artem Zverkhovskyy  –  $8,100
5th:  Dominick Sannino  –  $6,257
6th:  Stanley Lee  –  $5,139
7th:  Chauncey Monk  –  $4,357
8th:  Jose Parra  –  $3,799
9th:  Truyen Nguyen  –  $3,352
10th:  Thiago Palmieri Camilo  –  $2,961
11th:  Leif Force  –  $2,961
12th:  Guy Naimi  –  $2,961
13th:  Vito Recchimurzo  –  $2,626
14th:  Filipp Khavin  –  $2,626

* Denotes a heads-up deal.

WPTDS: Edwards Muñiz Versus Brian Metter

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 36:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,404

Brian Metter

Brian Metter limped from the small blind, Edwards Muñiz checked his option in the big blind, and the flop came AdTc3h. Both players checked, the turn was 2c, and Metter bet 400,000.

Muñiz raised to 1,800,000 and Metter called. The river was 9s, Metter checked, and Muñiz put out a big 7,000,000 bet. Metter thought for several moments and called.

Muñiz tabled 5h4c for a turned wheel and Metter mucked the big pot to the leader.

Edwards Muñiz – 24,000,000 (60 bb)
Brian Metter – 2,450,000 (6 bb)

Brian Metter
Edwards Muñiz (foreground) versus Brian Metter (background)

WPTDS: Counts On Break

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 36:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,404

Level 35 came to an end and the four remaining players went on another 15-minute break. The average stack is 10,530,000 (26 bb) with the new blinds at 200,000/400,000 and a 400,000 big blind ante.

Seat 2: Peter Fellows – 10,700,000 (27 bb)
Seat 3: Brian Metter – 9,500,000 (24 bb)
Seat 5: Edwards Muñiz – 12,600,000 (32 bb)
Seat 8: Jason Block – 9,300,000 (23 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $228,717*
2nd: $159,206
3rd: $103,316
4th: $76,627
* First-prize amount includes a $3,000 package for the winner to play in the WPTDeepStacks Championship in April at Thunder Valley Resort & Casino.

Event 9: Prize Pool and Payouts with $13,310 Up Top

$600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 12:  1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining:  30 of 168

The books are closed on the $600 Double Black Chip Bounty tournament and it drew 168 entries to easily beat the $50,000 guarantee. They combined to put $55,400 in the regular prize pool and another $33,600 in bounties. The last 21 spots will be paid with a min-cash worth $720 and the Event 9 champ will earn $13,410.

2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 9
$600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  168
Prize Pool:  $55,400
Bounty Prize Pool:  $33,600
January 13, 2020

1st: $13,410 + LHPO Trophy
2nd: $8,940
3rd: $6,430
4th: $4,710
5th: $3,520
6th: $2,680
7th: $2,085
8th: $1,655
9th-10th: $1,340
11th-12th: $1,110
13th-14th: $940
15th-16th: $815
17th-21st: $720

Event 11: Big Stacks and Big Bonus

$150 Big Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1:  100/100

Closing out the Monday schedule, we have another huge evening tournament going at 6 pm. The tournament has a smaller buy-in, big guarantee, and a nice bonus prize at the end.

Event 11 is a $150 buy-in Big Stack tournament with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool and we ADDED a $3,500 WPT LHPO Championship seat to first place. Not a bad way to spend a Monday evening.

Each player will start with 15,000 in chips and the tournament will run 20-minute levels. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 9 at 9:10 pm. This is a one-day tournament and they will play until we have another LHPO champion.

  • $30,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • $3,500 WPT LHPO Championship seat added to 1st place
  • Players begin with 15,000 in chips and 20-minute levels
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 9
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 11 Structure Sheet

WPTDS: Trung Pham – 5th Place ($57,739)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 35:  150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,404

Trung Pham

Trung Pham open-shoved for 1,900,000 from the button and Jason Block reshipped from the small blind to get a fold from Peter Fellows in the big.

Block: Kh9c
Pham: Ah7s

Pham was in the lead to double up and the all-heart Qh8h2h flop was safe. The 2d turn left Pham with five outs to fade but the Ks river paired Block to send Pham out in fifth place.

Jason Block – 4,900,000 (16 bb)
Trung Pham – Eliminated in 5th Place ($57,739)

Trung Pham

WPTDS: Peter Fellows Doubles Through Trung Pham

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 35:  150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,404

Peter Fellows

Peter Fellows shoved for 4,975,000 from the cutoff and Trung Pham quickly called from the big blind.

Fellows: AcQh
Pham: AdKs

Fellows was in a lot of trouble but was bailed out when the dealer spread the Qd4d3h flop. The board finished with Jc turn and 8s river to send Fellows the double.

Peter Fellows – 10,400,000 (35 bb)
Trung Pham – 2,225,000 (7 bb)

WPTDS: Brian Metter Doubles Through Jason Block

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 35:  150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,404

Brian Metter

Jason Block opened to 650,000 from the button and Brian Metter moved all in for 4,800,000 from the big blind. Metter called and the cards were tabled.

Metter: Ah7d
Block: AcKd

Metter was dominated but he caught the 7c4h3h flop to take the lead. He made trip sevens on the 7s turn and Metter had his double after the 5c river completed the board.

Brian Metter – 10,050,000 (34 bb)
Jason Block – 2,375,000 (8 bb)

WPTDS: Howard Mash – 6th Place ($46,596)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 35:  150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,404

Howard Mash

Howard Mash open-shoved for 3,100,000 from the hijack and Trung Pham reshipped from the button to get folds from the blinds.

Pham: AcTc
Mash: QcTh

Mash was dominated and the board ran out AdQh3d3sTs. Both made two pair but Pham was best to send Mash out in sixth place.

Trung Pham – 7,200,000 (24 bb)
Howard Mash – Eliminated in 6th Place ($46,596)

Howard Mash

WPTDS: Alcides Gomez – 7th Place ($38,348)

$1,100 WPTDeepStacks Hollywood
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 34:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,404

Alcides Gomez

It folded around to Alcides Gomez on the button and he moved all in for 3,475,000. Peter Fellows moved all in over the top from the small blind for 4,500,000 and Brian Metter folded his big.

Fellows: JcJh
Gomez: KcJd

Gomez was dominated, found no love on the Ad4h3d flop, and was drawing dead after Fellows made a set on the Js turn. The meaningless Td river was dealt and Gomez was eliminated in seventh place.

Peter Fellows – 8,475,000 (34 bb)
Alcides Gomez – Eliminated in 7th Place ($38,348)