David Shmuel Defeats the Defending Champ to Win His Seventh Seminole Hard Rock Trophy

2023 Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 5
$400 Limit Omaha 8 (Re-Entry)
Entries:  129
Prize Pool:  $43,215
January 13, 2023

Event 5 Champion David Shmuel
Event 5 Champion David Shmuel

“I just told my friend today, ‘I’m going to win this tournament,’ and I actually did it.”

On Friday night, David Shmuel won his seventh major series trophy here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in Event #5, $400 Limit Omaha 8.

“I like to compete,” said Shmuel, “and it’s always nice to get the trophy. But I don’t think about the [career] numbers, just the competition.”

Here are Shmuel’s other six victories here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood:

2017 RRPO:  $360 Pot-Limit Omaha 8  ($7,152)
2017 RRPO:  $150 No-Limit Hold’em  ($16,573)
2018 SHRPO:  $360 Pot-Limit Omaha  ($12,589)
2020 LHPO:  $400 Omaha 8  ($7,742)
2022 Showdown:  $600 H.O.R.S.E.  ($13,890)
2022 RRPO:  $400 H.O.R.S.E.  ($7,471)

This seventh victory moves Shmuel into a tie for third place on the career leaderboard, behind Raminder Singh (nine SHR trophies) and Michael Newman (eight SHR trophies).

This seventh trophy was a tough one for Shmuel, who was down to about two big blinds with 11 players remaining.

“Even at the final table, I was down to almost nothing,” said Shmuel. “But I had a couple of nice rushes in the end, and that’s what counts.”

When heads-up play began, Shmuel was slightly outchipped by defending champion Jay Kerbel. Kerbel won this Omaha-8 event at Lucky Hearts last year, and also the Omaha-8 event a few months before that during the 2021 Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open.

“I’ve played with Jay many times,” said Shmuel. “He’s a very good player.”

With seven victories here at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, it’s no wonder that Shmuel keeps coming back. But for him, it’s more than that.

“This is a great organization,” said Shmuel. “They have an amazing staff and dealers. This is basically the only place I play, besides Vegas and sometimes Tampa. This is where I like to play.”

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1DavidShmuel$12,025
2JayKerbel$7,725
3PaulWillenbring$4,580
4MarcSaia$2,800
5WilliamHanawalt$2,140
6A.J.Kelsall$1,815
7RicardoQuintero$1,575
8DonnyRubinstein$1,385
9JeffreyKenny$1,225
10RobertMangino$1,225
11BobbyLeff$1,080
12PedroLarred$1,080
13MarvinBonstein$950
14IanFeller$950
15MichaelMorgan$950
16GaryKosakowski$855
17MarkKastory$855