2023 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 19
$2,200 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 257
Prize Pool: $514,000
January 17-18, 2023
Fresh off a final table appearance two days ago in Event #1 (which had 4,535 entries), Aaron Flores won Event #19 in a three-way deal on Thursday afternoon.
“It feels amazing,” said Flores, “because I won it on my mom’s birthday.”
There were 257 entries in this two-day tournament, generating a prizepool worth $514,000, more than doubling the $200,000 guarantee. And the final eight players came back on Day 2 to play the final table.
“It was a tough final table,” said Flores. “A lot of good players, but after battling so long, the hands came. I got the kings against the sixes, then the threes against two pair. Those two big hands got me the stack.”
The kings against the sixes came during a preflop all-in against then-chipleader Brandon Hamlet, and it catapulted Flores to the chip lead. (Details here.)
The other hand Flores mentioned was the last hand of the tournament, when David DiBernardi check-raised all in on the turn with top two pair. But Flores snap-called with bottom set, and it held up for Flores to eliminate DiBernardi in fourth place. (Details here.)
At that point, the final three players agreed to a deal. As chipleader, Flores was awarded the title, the trophy, and $97,935. Combined with his eighth-place finish in Event #1 two days ago, Flores has earned $141,735 this week.
“I think I’m playing my best poker at the moment,” said Flores.
Unfortunately, Flores won’t be able to capitalize on this momentum by playing the $3,500 Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship (which starts tomorrow), because he’ll be celebrating the birthday of his mother, Dulce. But he’s still a fan of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood.
“This is my favorite spot, honestly,” said Flores. “I’m from Chicago, but every time I come here, I tend to do good. So, yeah, this is my favorite spot.”
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron | Flores | $97,935* |
| 2 | Brandon | Hamlet | $79,900* |
| 3 | Adam | Hendrix | $70,500* |
| 4 | David | DiBernardi | $34,050 |
| 5 | Tongguang | Sun | $24,750 |
| 6 | Christian | Roberts | $20,500 |
| 7 | Jon | Borenstein | $17,215 |
| 8 | Richard | Menjura | $14,390 |
| 9 | Andrew | Blake | $11,700 |
| 10 | Michael | Ben-Shoaff | $11,700 |
| 11 | Daniel | Sepiol | $9,895 |
| 12 | Zachary | Hench | $9,895 |
| 13 | Darren | Rabinowitz | $8,490 |
| 14 | Peter | Mugar | $8,490 |
| 15 | Abhinav | Iyer | $8,490 |
| 16 | Yordan | Petrov | $7,145 |
| 17 | Bin | Weng | $7,145 |
| 18 | Dominic | Brazier | $7,145 |
| 19 | Andrew | Moreno | $5,860 |
| 20 | Nicholas | Carballo | $5,860 |
| 21 | Benedict | Castle | $5,860 |
| 22 | Joseph | Cappello | $4,625 |
| 23 | Mitchell | Garshofsky | $4,625 |
| 24 | Timothy | Ulmer | $4,625 |
| 25 | Chad | Himmselspach | $4,010 |
| 26 | Jim | Collopy | $4,010 |
| 27 | Raminder | Singh | $4,010 |
| 28 | Philip | Shing | $3,530 |
| 29 | Mitchell | Halverson | $3,530 |
| 30 | Michael | McCauley | $3,530 |
| 31 | Conrad | Simpson | $3,530 |
| 32 | David | Jackson | $3,530 |
| 33 | Ryan | Depaulo | $3,530 |
* Indicates a three-way deal.