2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Charity Series of Poker $300 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)

August 14th, 2015

Total Entries:  232
Total Prize Pool:  $64,960

Event 20 Champion David Somers

The Charity Series of Poker event welcomed a record-breaking field of 232 players to the Seminole Hard Rock on Friday, August 14th and the tournament raised over $33,000 for the Habitat for Humanity charity. A collection of celebrities and the biggest stars in poker came out to have some fun and give back to charity. The contestants included actors Sasha Barrese, Mekhi Pfiffer, Omar Benson Miller, and Jennifer Tilly; as well as poker players Scotty Nguyen, Phil Laak, Will Failla, and the brainchild of the CSOP Matt Stout.

A cocktail party preceded the tournament at the L Bar, so the players were all in a good mood when cards got into the air at 7 p.m. The atmosphere was a lot of fun during the early, crazy stages of the event, and many players re-entered multiple times to help pump up the prize pool for charity. The final table of ten players was reached shortly before midnight, and then play got a little more serious despite the quickly escalating blind levels.

David Somers doubled up right before the final table began when he hit runner-runner kings with pocket queens in the hole on a K-9-4-K-K board. His opponent, Ashwin Sarin, held pocket fours, and that king on the river proved to be a pivotal card in the tournament.

Somers went on a rush at the final table as notables Jessica Dawley (7th place), Eddy Sabat (6th place), and Ken Aldridge (3rd place) were eliminated. Somers scored another fortuitous double up when his found an ace on the river of a board dealt to top the pocket deuces held by Nick Yunis, who was the winner of last year’s charity event.

A few hands later it was all over. Yunis moved all in preflop for 625,000 and Somers called. The last two players then tabled their hands.

Somers:
Yunis:

Board:

Yunis was eliminated on the hand in second place, good for $5,652, and he made a valiant effort to defend his title after winning this tournament one year ago. Somers won the CSOP event, and the 19-year-old took home $9,743 in addition to a seat in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event. Somers celebrated his tournament victory with CSOP founder Matt Stout after the win. The two grew up together in the same hometown.

After the tournament Somers was asked about his deep run in the tournament. “I came in a little above average at the final table. And then I just started playing standard strategy because the hands started coming. I got queens, kings, I was winning flips, I flopped a set with threes against kings. You gotta run good and I got lucky tonight.” He also offered his thoughts about the fun atmosphere of the tournament. “I’m a 19-year-old kid trying to make a name for myself and I was sitting around with Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Tilly, and Phil Laak. It was a great atmoshpere. The cocktail hour before the tournament was a lot of fun too.” Somers was also happy to give back to charity. “I went to a Jesuit high school and now I go to a Jesuit college, and they really stress the importance of being men and women for others. So being able to give a few bucks to help out folks who aren’t as fortunate as I am is a great thing,” said Somers.

Congratulations to our Event 20 Champion – David Somers!

1st: David Somers – $9,743
2nd: Nick Yunis – $5,652
3rd: Ken Aldridge – $3,670
4th: Tom Thomas – $2,371
5th: Ashwin Sarin – $1,721
6th: Eddy Sabat – $1,462
7th: Jessica Dawley – $1,072
8th: William “Vito” Sturiano – $780
9th: Paul Hoover – $747
10th: Chris Weber – $682

In addition to the prize money listed above, the final table players in the CSOP event received these prizes from the Seminole Hard Rock.

1st Place: Seat into the $5,250 buy-in, $5 Million Guarantee Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship

2nd Place: Hard Rock Punta Cana 6 Night Poker Package – 6 nights at Hard Rock Punta Cana double occupancy. One Punta Cana Poker Classic Main Event Entry. Round trip transport to and from Punta Cana International Airport. Unlimited premium food and beverage (all-inclusive system). 24 hour premium room service. Event gift bag. $1,500 in Resorts Credits to be used towards spa, gold, tours and other activities. $1,000 travel money.

3rd Place: Hard Rock Resort Package (USA) – $2,000 trip to USA Hard Rock property plus $1,000 travel money.

4th Place: Quarterbacks of the Century Signed Jersey

5th Place: John Elway Signed Jersey

6th Place: Dan Marino Signed Jersey

7th Place: Hard Rock Goodie Bag – Samsonite Luggage (4 piece). Panasonic underwater camera. Candle Shaving Kit. Gucci Men’s Card Case. Hard Rock Leather Duffel.

8th Place: Florida Hard Rock Dinner and 1 Night Stay plus Slash Autographed Guitar – $500 guitar value and $325 value on hotel and dinner. Redeemable at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood or Tampa.

9th Place: Hard Rock Goodie Bag – Hard Rock Leather Duffel. Gucci Men’s Card Case. Panasonic underwater camera. Jawbone Jambox. Klipsch earbuds.

10th Place: Florida Hard Rock Dinner and 1 Night Stay plus Penn & Teller Autographed Guitar – $265 guitar value and $325 value on hotel and dinner. Redeemable at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood or Tampa.