Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has been hosting World Poker Tour events for more than a decade and the next one kicks off on Friday morning with the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship.
The $3,500 buy-in tournament will feature a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize pool with two starting flights, the first on Friday followed by the second on Saturday. It will have hour-long levels on Day 1 and 2 going up to 90 minutes for Days 3 and 4. The final table will play out on Tuesday, January 26 and we will add a name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
Brian Altman made history in 2020 by becoming the first player to win the same WPT event twice. He won the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship in 2015 and followed that up with his second last January.
Action gets underway at 11 am on Friday and we will bring you all the action from cards in the air to crowning the winner.
$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) $200,000 Guaranteed | Structure Level 2: 100/100 with a 100 ante Entries: 103
Steve Ekin
Much like the other tournaments on the LHPO schedule, Event 16 quickly surpassed its guarantee and they are now playing for more than $200,000 in the one-day tournament. With late registration and unlimited re-entries, that number will get much bigger.
“I want to finish better than I did last year,” Steve Ekin told us.
That would be a really good day for the SHRP regular. We had 149 entries in this game last year and Ekin made it all the way to fourth place. Finishing higher this year would be a very nice payday.
The WPT LHPO Championship kicks off tomorrow and today we have the last preliminary event on the schedule. If it turns out anything like yesterday’s one-day event, it’s going to be a busy day in the Seminole Ballroom.
Event 16 is a $2,200 buy-in with a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool and one-day structure. Players will start with 20,000 deep stacks and all levels last 30 minutes. Late registration is available until the start of Level 9 at 4:30 pm with unlimited re-entries available during that time.
Cards go in the air at noon and we will bring you all the action as we prepare for the main attraction.
$200,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
Players begin with 20,000 in chips and 30-minute levels
Late registration/re-entry until start of Level 9 (4:30pm)
This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
2021 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida Event 15 $1,100 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $100,000 Guaranteed Entries: 556 Prize Pool: $539,320 January 20, 2021
Chad Eveslage
Event 15 was a one-day event, starting at noon (coinciding with the Presidential Inauguration), and it ended just a few moments before 5:00 am. Eventual winner Chad Eveslage assumed it was a two-day event, and he didn’t learn the truth until after midnight.
But Eveslage didn’t let the misunderstanding affect his play, even as the tournament continued for another four hours, with the payouts increasing to five figures, and for the winner, six figures — $101,572.
It was the third-highest live cash of Eveslage’s career, coming in just behind his 66th-place finish in the 2014 WSOP Main Event. But when the tournament ended, Eveslage seemed more excited about the trophy than the money.
“I think this is my first trophy,” said Eveslage. “I’ve won a tournament, but it only had like 20 people in it, so I didn’t get a trophy or anything.”
“I just got lucky,” said Eveslage. “I didn’t have any really tough decisions, and everything seemed to work out my way. There were a couple of really tough players, and everyone was pretty good. Whoever runs the best is going to win, and this time, it was me.”
Eveslage lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is a regular in the Seminole Hard Rock’s tournaments. What keeps him coming back?
“Big fields and big prizepools,” said Eveslage. “I love this room. I almost wish I didn’t live around here, because I would travel here every time. I’ve never even stayed at the hotel, but it looks sweet.”
