2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event #9
$360 Pot-Limt Omaha 
Entries: 152
Prize Pool: $45,600 
August 6, 2018 

At the 2017, David Shmuel made his mark on the South Florida poker world by winning two Hard Rock trophies in November’s Rock N’ Roll Poker Open.

He won his third in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the $360 pot-limit Omaha. He defeated 152 entries and Emily Perinjaquet heads-up to earn his third Hard Rock title and $12,589.

The one-day event started at 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon, but by the time Shmuel was crowned the champion, the sun was only a few hours from coming up on Tuesday morning and he had played heads-up against Perinaquet for over an hour.

“I had a very tough opponent,” said Shmuel. “She was amazing the way she played. I was down to 6,000 chips late in the stage and I got back to this level is amazing.”

Shmuel earned three hard rock trophies in three different variants of poker. His first came in pot-limit Omaha hi-lo and his second came in no-limit hold’em. Now, he adds a pot-limit Omaha title to his resume.

Shmuel’s main game was the hi-lo variant of this game, so making adjustments to what needed to be more nutted ranges was what helped him in playing the hi only version.

“In just hi, you got to really have the lock hand,” said Shmuel.

Having that knowledge allowed him to make a key fold against the eventual runner-up.

“I folded a big hand to [Perinjaquet],” said Shmuel. “I had the king-high flush and she had the ace-high flush. If I called that, I’d have been out. She would have had all the chips.”

Shmuel’s road to victory wasn’t an easy one. Aside from having to battle Perinjaquet heads-up, he had to maneuver his way through a final table that featured local pro Zach Milchman and Peter Walsworth.

Walsworth, a Sarasota native, finished in third place at his third final table of the series. Walsworth won the $360 Omaha hi-lo last week and finished fourth in the $360 HORSE the following night. He was just a few spots shy of his fourth Hard Rock title.

The field paid out the top 19 spots. Here are a look at the results:

1st: David Shmuel – $12,589
2nd: Emily Perinjanquet – $7,980
3rd: Pete Walsworth – $4,697
4th: Zachary Milchman – $2,851
5th: Manuel Gomez – $2,212
6th: Mike Zholendz – $1,826
7th: Doug Booth – $1,596
8th: John Palace – $1,425
9th: Gabriel Ramos – $1,259
10th: Barry Gallaher – $1,094
11th: Charles Kapetanakos – $1,094
12th: Doron Dahan – $1,094
13th: Jacobo Fernandez – $935
14th: Parker Detweiler – $935
15th: Bradley Butcher – $935
16th: Michael Lipman – $798
17th: Jason Wells – $798
18th: Dustin Lee – $798
19th: Zachary Donovan – $684