Among all the big final tables in Seminole Hard Rock Poker history, the final table of the 2017 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood might be one of toughest of them all. The six players who will play it out for the RRPO Championship represent nearly $28 million in career live tournament earnings and they are all worthy of the title.
The six players have combined for nine WSOP Circuit rings, an Aussie Million Tournament of Champions title, an Aussie Million Main Event win, a half-dozen SHRP titles, a WPT Champions Club member, and a half dozen SHRP trophies.
One of the best final tables you will find in recent memory, all trying to win the RRPO Championship.
Seat 1
Name: Darryll Fish
Chip Count: 2,385,000
Hometown: Cape Coral, FL
This former Dunkin’ Donuts employee has been a poker professional for quite a while, and a successful one at that. Fish has won over $3 million in live tournaments alone and countless more online. The 31- year-old is looking for his second biggest score of his career. The biggest score of his career happened here at the Hard Rock earlier this year when he finished second in the $3,500 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $455,185.
Seat 2
Name: Michael Newman
Chip Count: 3,360,000
Hometown: New York, NY
Michael Newman is a regular at the Hard Rock and if there is a tournament series running in Hollywood,
he can usually be found in whatever is running. The 48-year- old used to work on Wall Street and is still in the banking industry now that he lives in Florida. He is looking for his second Hard Rock title after winning the $570 no limit hold’em at last year’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open.
Seat 3
Name: Thomas Marchese
Chip Count: 1,050,000
Hometown: Parsippany, NJ
Thomas Marchese is easily the most accomplished player at the final table. He comes in as the shortstack, but is still dangerous. He’s a regular in the highest stakes tournaments on the planet and a win in this event would push him over the $17 million mark in career earnings.
Seat 4
Name: Matas Cimbolas
Chip Count: 3,680,000
Hometown: Lithuania
Matas Cimbolas brings an international flare to the RRPO Championship event final table. The Lithuanian
poker pro is the only non-American at the table and is no stranger to success on the felt. The 24-year- old has seven figures in career earnings, while still being able to play on some of the major online sites outside of the U.S.
Seat 5
Name: Ari Engel
Chip Count: 4,495,000
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ari Engel comes into the final table as the chip leader and is the only player with more than 4 million in chips. Engel originally made his name in the poker world as an online phenom under the name “BodogAri.” After Black Friday, he made his transition to the live arena and continued to crush. This cash will put him over the $5 million mark in career earnings and his most notable live cash came down in Australia when he won the Aussie Millions main event for $1,120,110.
Seat 6
Name: “Sheddy” Siddiqui
Chip Count: 2,580,000
Hometown: Miami, FL
Sheddy Siddiqui is the local favorite coming into the final table. The 39-year-old father of two joins Darryll Fish as the other SHRP Team Member at the final table. Like every other player at this stacked final table, Siddiqui has seven figures in earnings. With his family responsibilities, he doesn’t leave South Florida too often, which makes his career earnings even more impressive. A win in this event would top his fifth-place finish in the 2015 WSOP Millionaire Maker for his biggest career cash.