All posts by Steve Schult

Event 2: John Holley Scoops Joel Harwood

$360 Omaha 8-or-Better
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 blinds, 10,000/20,000 limits
Players Remaining: 8 of 113
Structure | Payouts

Joel Harwood raised from the cutoff and John Holley defended his big blind. The flop was Kc9d7d and Holley checked. Harwood bet and Holley check-raised.

Harwood called and the turn was the 3s. Holley bet and Harwood called. The river was the 9s and Holley bet.

“I got a full house, so I got to call you,” said Harwood.

“I do too,” said Holley, tabling KsKdAhTh, good for the second nuts.

Harwood mucked his hand.

“I’d have lost an extra bet against John,” said Phil Hui after he tossed a water bottle left-handed into the trash can about 15 feet behind him.

John Holley – 200,000
Joel Harwood – 140,000

Event 2: Ralph Broderick and Claudangelo Beaudoin Chop Up John Holley

$360 Omaha 8-or-Better
Level 18: 5,000/10,000 blinds, 10,000/20,000 limits
Players Remaining: 8 of 113
Structure | Payouts

Ralph Broderick raised from under the gun and was called by John Holley on his direct left and Claudangelo Beaudoin out of the big blind.

The flop was Qh8c6s and Beaudoin checked. Broderick bet, Holley called and Beaudoin called.

The turn was the 3d and the same action took place. The river was the 9s and Beaudoin checked. Broderick tossed in his last 15,000 and was called by both Holley and Beaudoin.

Beaudoin showed Ac9c6d4c, giving him two pair,  Broderick tabled Ad7c3s2c, good for the nut low, and Holley mucked his hand.

Ralph Broderick – 130,000
Claudangelo Beaudoin – 160,000
John Holley – 155,000

Event 2: Arturo Morgan – 9th Place ($1,000)

$360 Omaha 8-or-Better
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 blinds, 8,000/16,000 limits
Players Remaining: 8 of 113
Structure | Payouts

Arturo Morgan

Shortly after Peter Fountoulakis busted to Joel Harwood, Arturo Morgan busted to Harwood as well. Morgan finished in ninth and took home $1,000 for his deep run.

The players are just a couple minutes away from their first break of the final table.

Joel Harwood – 185,000

Event 2: George Fountoulakis – 10th Place ($883)

$360 Omaha 8-or-Better
Level 17: 4,000/8,000 blinds, 8,000/16,000 limits
Players Remaining: 9 of 113
Structure | Payouts

George Fountoulakis

George Fountoulakis moved all in for 8,000 from middle position, Pete Walsworth completed the small blind and Joel Harwood checked his option in the big blind.

Walsworth and Harwood checked to the river, declining to build a side pot as the board ran out KdJs3d6s6h. On the river, Walsworth checked and Harwood bet.

“You’re going to make me fold a king?” asked Walsworth before throwing his hand into the muck.

Harwood showed Ac8s7s6c, giving him trip sixes and won the pot against Fountoulakis’ AhAs3h2h.

Fountoulakis hit the rail in 10th place and the final nine players were credited with making the final table.

Joel Harwood – 160,000
Pete Fountoulakis – Eliminated 

Event 2: Aaron Kupin Leads Final 10 Players

$360 Omaha 8-or-Better
Level 16: 3,000/6,000 blinds, 6,000/12,000 limits
Players Remaining: 10 of 113
Structure | Payouts

The $360 Omaha 8-or-better is down to 10 players and they have redrawn for seats at the unofficial final table. They are all guaranteed a cash of at least $881 and the eventual winner will earn $10,000.

Here is a look at the seating arrangement and chip counts for the final 10 players:

Seat 1: Phil Hui – 141,000
Seat 2: Pete Walsworth – 155,000
Seat 3: Joel Harwood – 179,000
Seat 4: Claudangelo Beaudoin – 42,000
Seat 5: Arturo Morgan – 23,000
Seat 6: Ralph Broderick – 59,000
Seat 7: John Holley – 171,000
Seat 8: George Fountoulakis – 36,000
Seat 9: Aaron Kupin – 218,000
Seat 10: Steven Roth – 109,000

Event 1 Flight B: Nancy Birnbaum Forces a Fold

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5: 200/400 with a 400 ante
Flight B Entries: 323

Nancy Birnbaum

On a flop of Jh8s8c, Nancy Birnbaum checked from under the gun and a player in middle position checked as well. The player on the button bet 2,700 and Birnbaum check-raised to 6,000.

Middle position folded and the button took a moment before flashing a jack and folding.

Birnbaum mucked her hand and took the pot just before the end of the level.

Nancy Birnbaum – 36,000

Event 2: Pete Walsworth Leads On The Bubble

$360 Omaha 8-or-Better
Level 17: 2,000/4,000, limits of 4,000/8,000
Players Remaining: 16 of 113

Pete Walsworth

With 16 players left in the second event of the series, the first bubble of the 2018 SHRPO is here.

Pete Walsworth holds the chip lead on the bubble of the $360 Omaha 8-or-Better event with about 150,000 in chips. They will play hand-for-hand until they lose one more player. At that point, the final 15 players will all be in the money and guaranteed a cash of at least $763.

Phil Hui, Joel Harwood and John Holley are also still in the field and looking to add another cash to an already long poker resume.

Event 1 Flight B: Robert Campbell Flops a Set

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 4: 200/300
Flight B Entries: 257

Robert Campbell

On a flop of Jh6d2h, the player on the button got all in against Robert Campbell in the hijack. Campbell tabled 6c6s, giving him middle set, and was in great shape against the button’s KcKh.

The turn was the 4d and the river was the 5d, sending the pot to Campbell. Campbell was all in for 17,500 and had his opponent slightly covered. The button hit the rail and Campbell, who is a regular in all of the Hard Rock’s mixed game tournaments, chipped up at the beginning of the level.

Robert Campbell – 49,000

Event 1 Flight B: Peter Jacobson Scores an Early Knockout

$570 Deep Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 2: 50/100
Flight B Entries: 202

Peter Jacobson

The player in the hijack raised to 800 and the player on the button called. The small blind called before Peter Jacobson three-bet to about 3,500 out of the big blind. The hijack called, while the button and small blind folded.

They were heads-up to a flop of 7s2s2d and Jacobson bet 7,000. The hijack moved all in for about 20,000 and Jacobson quickly called.

Jacobson was in the lead with QhQd against his opponent’s AcKd. The turn was the 2h and the river was the 9d. Jacobson won the pot and knocked out his opponent just before the end of the second level.

Peter Jacobson – 45,000

James Scott Fulfills Premonition, Wins $150 No-Limit Hold’em in Heads-Up Deal

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 18
$150 No-Limit Hold’em 
Entries: 565
Prize Pool: $67,800
April 16-18, 2018

James Scott

James Scott dreamed about winning the $150 no-limit hold’em event, literally.

Shortly after the clock struck midnight and the calendar switched to Thursday, Scott made a deal with Manuel Jo and took credit for the win in the $150 no-limit hold’em. Scott earned $15,574 and defeated a field of 565 entries for his first live tournament win.

“It was great because I had a dream today,” said Scott. “I took a nap and I had a dream that I was heads-up and playing for the money. So, it’s unbelievable. It was very exciting.”

Scott came into the final table near the bottom of the chip counts. He took his time and waited for his spots to come up while several other players hit the rail.

It all fit into his strategy to fulfill a modest goal.

“My strategy was to come in fourth because I was so short stacked,” said Scott. “Then, I got that double up and then I got that triple up with the three jacks. So, that was fantastic.”

That was the turning point for Scott. He scored a triple up when he shoved the button with ace-jack, got called by Alfredo Fernandez in the small blind and Jo shoved over the top in the big blind. Fernandez folded and Scott was able to suck out with AcJc against Jo’s pocket queens.

That moved Scott from the short stack three-handed into the chip lead. He never relinquished his lead after that. After Jo eliminated Fernandez, the two agreed on an almost dead even chop, which left Scott with the trophy as the chip leader.

Scott is a local player from Fort Lauderdale. He lives a busy life as a business owner, a husband, a father and a grandfather.

He owns a jewelry store in North Miami, which was opened by his grandfather in 1949 and has been in business ever since. With so much on his plate, poker isn’t even close to the top of his priorities, but he makes time to play when some of the major series are in town.

“I try to play once a month,” said Scott. “Then, when they have the series, I play for two weeks straight.”

Scott’s win nearly puts a bow on the entire 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, with only the $3,500 WPT main event still running.

The top 36 players earned a payday and here are the results:

1st: James Scott – $14,574*
2nd: Manuel Jo – $14,573*
3rd: Alfredo Fernandez – $7,119
4th: Christopher Zito – $4,916
5th: Claudio Piedrabuena – $3,627
6th: Antonio Colon – $2,882
7th: George Navarro – $2,204
8th: Joaquin Sosa – $1,593
9th: Bob Tanner – $1,153
10th: Angelo Castaldi – $881
11th: Homero Molina – $881
12th: Daniel Saffer – $881
13th: Ariel Rosello Quintana – $712
14th: Jarrett Vaughn – $712
15th: Jay Klitzner – $712
16th: Larry Klur – $610
17th: Mitsuru Sano – $610
18th: Paul Nguyen – $610
19th: Eric Rivkin – $509
20th: Raymond Nalbandian – $509
21st: David Wyatt – $509
22nd: Elnatan Aminov – $509
23rd: David Jacobs – $509
24th: Thomas Kornechuk – $509
25th: Richard Contell – $509
26th: Julien Durity – $509
27th: Trent Smith – $509
28th: Carlos Torres Vazquez – $441
29th: Nashaat Antonius – $441
30th: Alexis Moreda – $441
31st: Justin Molis – $441
32nd: Brett Taylor – $441
33rd: Julio Rodriguez – $441
34th: Iftikhar Memon – $441
35th: Jermain Phang – $441
36th: Darrell Carril – $441

*Indicates adjusted payouts to reflects the deal