2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
$300 Turbo No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 133
Prize Pool: $33,915
April 5, 2017
It was an anniversary of sorts on Wednesday for Ty Akbasli. Four years ago to the day, Akbasli won a tournament at the Hard Rock. On the four-year anniversary of his win, he came back to the Hard Rock to win another tournament.
Akbasli defeated a field of 133 entrants to take home $9,582 and a title in the $300 turbo no limit hold’em.
“I woke up this morning and I’m checking my Facebook and it said four years ago on this exact day, I won a tournament here at the Hard Rock,” said Akbasli. “I think it was a bounty and that was awesome.
“That got me riled up to play today, so I just hopped in the car and saw there was a tournament running and I got lucky again.”
Akbasli had to work hard for the title in the final preliminary event of the series. After coming into the final table in the middle of the pack, he found himself heads-up against Sean Perry with a huge chip deficit to overcome.
“I basically just waited it out,” said Akbasli. “I had a few favorable spots, nothing major. Just grinded it and then ended up coming in with a five-to-one chip deficit against a young hot shot guy that said he was 98% to win it. That gave me more motivatoin to show him what we do.”
What Akbasli did was deny Perry his second title of the series. Perry, who is only 20-years-old, had a monster series in South Florida. He had five cashes throughout the series, with two runner-up finishes and a win in the $570 no limit hold’em.
Akbasli and Perry were engaging in some back-and-forth banter heads-up, but Akbasli said that the minor trash talk was all in good spirits.
“It was all in good fun,” said Akbasli. “He was a big talker and had been talking the whole tournament. I told him with four tables to go that I was going to bust him and then somehow I ended up heads-up with him.”
Akbasli’s second Hard Rock trophy won’t be going far. Akbasli is a recreational player who lives in the area. He owns an internet marketing company, which allows him the freedom to get down to the poker room and put in some hours on the felt when he can.
The turbo format was appealing for Akbasli’s business life. It enabled him to come in and play for some good money without having to commit multiple days to the tournament.
“It’s very efficient,” said Akbasli. “I don’t want to sit around for two or three days. It’s good to just get one in and be able to finish in one day and get back to business afterwards.
After growing up in the Washington DC area, he moved down to South Florida five years ago. He’s been “loving life” ever since.
“I play poker for fun,” said Akbasli. “I play a lot, but I only play for fun. I’m not a pro or anything. I just wanted to get one for the good guys.”
Results:
1st: Ty Akbasli – $9,582
2nd: Sean Perry – $6,026
3rd: Andrey Plotnikov – $3,595
4th: Justin Conley – $2,204
5th: Dreyson Parker – $1,679
6th: Richard Katz – $1,424
7th: David Zemel – $1,238
8th: Seth Gilson – $1,085
9th: Ory Hen – $958
10th: Norman Zapcynski – $848
11th: Patrick Heneghan – $848
12th: Spencer Champlin – $848
13th: Adam Goldberg – $746
14th: Nicholas Baurichter – $746
15th: Ronald Magers – $746
16th: Angelo Castaldi – $653
17th: Ryan Dunn – $653